Norte, a PSD Deputy of the Assembly of the Portuguese Republic for Faro has asked the Government to revisit the number of petrol stations which will be open and prepared for the strike. He expressed that the current plan was “blind” to the potential long-term havoc that could take place within the region.
Presently a strategic network of 22 stations are predicted to be open and functioning around the Algarve, in order to attempt to minimise the effects of the fuel truck drivers’ strike, which is planned to occur on the 12th of August. However, the deputy has warned of the harmful effects this strike could have on the region if the current network isn’t expanded by the Government.
“The Government knows what this is about. They know what happened in April and what was avoided in extremis. At that time, after not having established any backup services for the region, 21 posts were planned for the Algarve. In August we have 400,000 more people than during the previous period, according to the survey. Does it really make sense to have just one more post, at the peak of the tourist season?” he asked.
Norte stated that he had received “dozens of letters of great concern from local associations and businesses who fear that the proposed network will not provide the necessary supplies, and will not adequately respond to the needs of the region.”
Furthermore, he pointed out apparent contradictions when comparing the Algarve with other regions of the country, considering that “the strategic network of fuel stations foresees, for example, more stations in Leiria and Aveiro than in the Algarve. We all know that there will be twice as many people in the Algarve as in Aveiro and three times as in Leiria.”
“The effect on the region of things not going well, entails not only short-term negative effects, but long-term damage, such as reputational damage, which cannot be estimated, so the specific situation of the Algarve has to be weighed when defining the measures to take,” warned Cristóvão Norte.
“I know this is a time that any government would have a hard time dealing with, but they have time to prepare and to take all the necessary steps to provide supplies and alleviate the adverse effects of any such strike. We cannot have grounded planes, diminished hospitals and emergency services, broken supply chains, tourists out of fuel, trapped in local hotels and accommodations. That would be a terrible problem for the region”, concluded the PSD deputy.
Click here to see the LIST OF FUNCTIONAL STATIONS.
