The Secretary of State for Infrastructure confirmed yesterday that the tender for the acquisition of new radars for Madeira’s airport could be launched in the second quarter of the year, and that the funding is included in the NAV budget.
At the end of a seven hour meeting at the joint parliamentary committee on Budget, Finance, Economy, Public Works, Planning and Housing, within the scope of the assessment, in particular, of the State Budget for 2022 (OE2022), Hugo Santos Mendes, said that if all goes to plan the tender will be launched in the second quarter of the year, if this fails, it will be in the third quarter! Originally, the tender was supposed to be launched in March this year.
In 2021, a working group created by the Government of the Republic concluded, among other things, that it was essential to acquire radar equipment that allows for a more accurate measurement of winds, contributing to the better operation of the airport, which is often affected by bad weather.
The acquisition process is the responsibility of NAV – Portugal.
On the 10th of February, a member of the NAV – Portugal Board of Directors, Egídia Martins said, in a parliamentary hearing at the Legislative Assembly of Madeira, that the company is in a position to proceed with the public tender, up to the amount of 4.5 million euros, provided that guaranteed funding from the Government is obtained. However, this does not appear to be the case, as NAV have indicated that they have not yet received any indication or guarantee of funding from the mainland Government. Furthermore, the tender amount has not been included in the 2022 State Budget.
The President of Madeira remains skeptical, saying, “I’m waiting to see if it will come to fruition,” he then went on to say that the new radar equipment is essential for the continued operationality of the airport.
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
