Rogério Bacalhau, the new mayor of Faro, has pledged to go over the government’s head if necessary to get the various road projects in and around Faro finished off.
The mayor was sworn in only yesterday, Thursday 10th October, yet has come out fighting with priority number one being the completion of the bypass on the EN 125.
Bacalhau has announced he has a meeting scheduled for next Monday with the Secretary of State for Infrastructure, Transport and Communications, Sergio Silva Monteiro.
"This is already a good sign, it means that we will hear some news. Whether the situation is resolved or not, I do not know. But the Secretary of State will have to understand one thing, that we will keep the pressure on him until the situation is resolved" said Bacalhau to reporters.
The situation of the bypass has been going on for decades and the incomplete work impairs Faro residents and the wider Algarve as people try to drive through Faro.
The new Mayor of Faro sees a "common interest" here and will try for an agreement as the completion of the work will take between four and six months and we he does not want to see the existing work demolished.
"There is not that much left to do. I'm not technical, but I think what's done does not need to be done over again," said the mayor.
Besides the N125 bypass there is the rail link to the airport, work on the access to Faro dock and other topics with which he will table at the meeting with the Secretary of State.
As for social policies, education and housing the mayor promised to build "an army of goodwill and mutual assistance" with institutions to support "the families blighted by unemployment, poverty and exclusion."
His job creation policy involves releasing land on which to build units for shiny new companies.
