For the JPP leader, Élvio Sousa, the “recurrent lack of transparency” of the public administration, with the need to resort to the courts, is manifested “once again” in the Curral das Freiras Cable Car project.
“The JPP had to go to court again, so that the population has access to all parts of the procedure (namely the economic and financial feasibility study and the proposals submitted by the company. To this end, the JPP has submitted a request for an urgent parliamentary hearing to the 3rd specialised committee on Environment, Climate and Human Resources,” announced Élvio Sousa.
The parliamentary leader of the JPP said, “in order to dispel the many doubts generated, it is therefore essential to hear in a parliamentary hearing the following four entities: the Regional Secretariat for Agriculture and Environment, the direction of the Institute of Forests and Nature Conservation, ICFN, the accounting company Opção Divina, LTD – author of the Economic and Financial Feasibility Study of the Curral da Freiras Cable Car and Adventure Park and the company Inspire Capital Atlantic.”
“We recall that contrary to what the Government claimed, there will be public investment in this project, and still without quantification disclosed, as Quinta Vigia has not yet responded to the request for information. A situation that adds to the non-transparent nature of the process and the evidence that the Region’s finances will be highly harmed.”
“It should be noted that in this type of concessions the return on investment usually happens in the first 20 years of operation. The 60-year concession penalises future generations by favouring a minority. The operation of the Cable Car expects to pay the Region only 2 thousand euros per month, 24 thousand euros per year in the first 10 years of operation, a very low amount, when compared to the 5.2 million euros of annual revenues pointed out by the study. A 60-year concession with these values as a reference (very conservative, it must be said) means a global revenue of 312 million euros.”
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
