The PSD Parliamentary Group complained yesterday that the Madeiran economy is at the mercy of the Government of the Republic, as lack of funding for new airport equipment is creating an unstable platform from which Madeira has to operate from.
Talking to reporters, PSD Deputy Carlos Rodrigues, stated that both tourism and the economy area affected by the airports frequent ‘down times.’ He went on to say that everyone “knows that Madeira’s airport is perhaps one of the most critical infrastructures for the region as a whole, but essentially for our economy, since it is based on tourism, and the tourism sector bases its own activity on the existence of accessibility and global connections.”
“In this sense,” he stressed, “the constraints seen in recent years in the operation of the airport have brought “profound consequences” to both mobility and the economy.”
Faced with this reality, a working group was set up, coordinated by the Ministry of Infrastructure, involving different entities, in order to find solutions to improve airport operationality and reduce the constraints caused by atmospheric conditions, namely wind and visibility. This group concluded that it would be essential to invest in two pieces of equipment that would guarantee the improvement of these operational conditions at the airport, and that investment should be installed by NAV, with full financing from the Government of the Republic.
However, said the deputy, in a hearing at the Regional Legislative Assembly, the Board of Directors of NAV confirmed that all the conditions were created for the launch of the public tender, but the investment could not be carried out due to lack of State Funding investment guarantees.
Carlos Rodrigues underlines that the fall of the Government cannot be used as an excuse for this situation, since this issue was not contemplated in the State Budget proposal, which was rejected.
“There is here a clear failure to comply with those that are the conclusions of the Working Group in order to guarantee the equipment,” he said, stressing that this should be a “priority project to ensure the mobility of Portuguese citizens residing in Madeira and also, to remove some constraints to the tourism sector and the economy in general.”
The deputy also stated that, according to the conclusions of the working group, the tender should be launched by the end of February, but the lack of funding will delay the entire process, adding that it takes approximately eight months after the launch of the tender to install the new equipment.
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
