The PS-Madeira has submitted to the Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region of Madeira a proposal for the opening of an international public tender for the concession of maritime transport services by ferry ship between Madeira and the mainland, for 5 years, extendable up to 10 years, as published today by JM.
Today, in a press release from the party, Paulo Cafôfo argues that “the reactivation of the maritime connection between Madeira and the mainland throughout the year is decisive for the dynamisation of the regional economy and the mobility of residents in our Region.”
According to the President of the PS-M, “this is a claim of the Madeirans and Porto Santo residents, who have the right to choose the way they wish to travel to the mainland, by air or by sea, and territorial cohesion must be guaranteed both ways.”
Paulo Cafôfo also recalls that “Madeira has a high external dependence, importing a good part of what it consumes, so the reactivation of this maritime connection via ferry would bring greater speed and more competitive prices in terms of the transport of goods and raw materials.”
For the socialist parliamentary leader, “it is not understandable how the Regional Government pushes this decision of such importance for our companies and our citizens to the Republic, which in fact has been a demand of the Madeirans and Porto Santo since 2019, the date on which Empresa de Navegação Madeirense stopped carrying out this maritime connection activity between the Region and the Mainland”.
In the proposal presented, the PS-M parliamentary group calls for dialogue with the Government of the Republic, with the aim of guaranteeing all the operational and logistical conditions for the viability of this maritime connection with ports on the mainland.
This maritime transport line between Madeira and the mainland (port of Portimão) for passengers and round cargo was operated between 2008 and 2012 by Naviera Armas. In 2018 and 2019, Empresa de Navegação Madeirense was awarded a public concession for the maritime transport of passengers and vehicles, between Madeira and the Mainland. No new tender procedure has been initiated by the Regional Government, to date.
The return of the ferry line is a commitment that is part of the PS-M’s electoral programme for the Regional Legislative Elections, which has now taken shape in a draft resolution presented as one of the priorities by the parliamentary group.
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
