The environment minister said this Thursday that the Transtejo/Soflusa government’s decision to buy ships without batteries was considered “the best” and admitted that the Court of Auditors’ (TdC) judgment “creates disorder”.
“I am absolutely convinced that the decision was made in the knowledge that it was the best that could be taken at the time,” said the head of the Environment and Climate Action portfolio, Duarte Cordeiro, who oversees urban transport, talking to journalists in Évora.
The official said these decisions were made by the Transtejo/Soflusa administration were taken because at the time they were believed to be the “fastest to promote” the operation of electric boats on the Tagus River.
Duarte Cordeiro spoke about a TdC report accusing the Transtejo/Soflusa board of directors of illegal and irrational practices and asking for his resignation, which the government has already accepted.
It concerns the purchase of nine batteries, for a value of 15.5 million euros (ME), in an add-on contract to another contract previously inspected by the TdC for the purchase, for 52.4 ME, of ten ( one already with battery for testing) new ships with battery-electric propulsion, to ensure the public service of passenger transport between the two banks of the Tagus.
TdC’s decision “is a nuisance”
“Transtejo bought a complete ship and nine incomplete ships, which could not function, because they did not have the necessary batteries for the purpose. The same would be, with the necessary modifications, to buy a car without an engine, a motorcycle without wheels or a bicycle without pedals, which is reserved for a procedure after purchase,” the TdC said.
In statements to journalists, at the end of the award ceremony of the honoris causa doctorate to the architect Carrilho da Graça, the Minister emphasized that the The government will have to “make quick decisions” to “allocate the batteries in time for the arrival of the boats”.
“This TdC decision is a clear inconvenience and we need to look at it and make decisions quickly,” he underlined, point out the urgency of appointing a new administration for the company and establishing a working group.
With “legal and financial” valences, he explained, this working group will analyze the TdC report and chart a path for “the necessary public procurement procedures” for the procurement of batteries for the boats.
The PCP and BE have already requested to hear the Minister of Environment and Climate Action and the Board of Directors of Transtejo/Soflusa in response to this TdC report.
In addition to the hearings of Minister Duarte Cordeiro and the management of the company at the request of blockers and communists, the PCP also wants to hear the TdC.
The president of the board of directors, Marina Ferreira, told journalists today that “the procedure has gone well and has served the public interest”, saying that the Court’s considerations are “offensive and outrageous”.
Transtejo is responsible for connecting Seixal, Montijo, Cacilhas and Trafaria/Porto Brandão, in the Setúbal district, to Lisbon, while Soflusa crosses between Barreiro, also in the Setúbal district, and Terreiro do Paço, in Lisbon.
The companies have a common administration.
Source: DN
