The president of Portos dos Açores announced this Sunday that they have already been invested 36 million euros in the reconstruction of the port of Lajes das Flores and reiterated the intention to complete the work, budgeted at 166 million, by 2028.
“We have planned a total of 166 million for the work. Obviously, we are aware that there are materials that are becoming more and more expensive and there are applications that we are not able to launch for the same price as last year. All this is an evolutionary process”, said Rui Terra, confirming that 36 million have already been invested in the reconstruction of the port of Lajes das Flores.
The president of Portos dos Açores, the regional public company responsible for port management, spoke to journalists in Lajes das Flores, after the presentation of the requalification project of the island’s commercial port, which was attended by the Minister of Infrastructure , Joao Galamba.
In October 2019, Hurricane Lorenzo destroyed the dock of the port of Flores, the only commercial port on the island, which was affected again in December 2022 by the passage of storm Efraín.
Rui Terra stressed that the work in the port of Lajes could be expedited if the “The financial contracting process is made more flexible”reiterating the intention to complete the reconstruction by 2028.
“[O que pode agilizar é] making the financial contracting process more flexible as it was after the passage of Hurricane Lorenzo. At this time it was not yet categorized in this way. Today we were assured by the Minister that it would be classified in this way, which facilitates access to financing ”, he highlighted.
According to him, despite the damage caused by Efraín’s depression, the intention is “keep deadline [prazo] five years for the construction” of the port.
“During the first quarter of this year we plan to launch the candidacy for the new dock construction project. Going forward with this, it follows the normal schedule, which is about five years of work. We will evaluate how the sea helps to build”, he highlighted.
The head of Portos dos Açores revealed that the construction of the dock bridge and the ró-ró ramp in the port of Lajes has been completed, with the construction of an “emergency dock that is already more than half completed”.
Next, the “requalification of the embankment” and the accesses from the port to the town will be carried out.
Earlier, in a visit to the site, the Minister of Infrastructure, João Galamba, assured that there are “sufficient” funds for the construction of the port of Lajes das Flores, Azores, but acknowledged “operational difficulties” and the need to “accelerate up”. the process.
The Government of the Azores warned this Friday of “important delays” in the “compliance” with the financing of the Republic for the repair works of the damage caused by Hurricane Lorenzo, in October 2019, alleging that it resorts “to its own resources from 2021”.
Source: Observadora
