The Minister of Territorial Cohesion, Ana Abrunhosa, this Wednesday at the Assembly of the Republic renewed the government’s intention to “continue” tolls on motorways, in particular on Via do Infante, in the Algarve.
“We have already reduced tolls and we are committed to further reducing them,” Ana Abrunhosa said at a hearing before the Committee on Public Administration, Spatial Planning and Local Power at the request of the PSD and the PS.
In the debate following the working visit of the parliamentary committee to the Intermunicipal Association of the Algarve (AMAL) at the beginning of May, the minister emphasized that “the best solution” would not be a toll.
In this part of the hearing, the government official addressed the problem of the EN (National Road) 125, which passes through several locations and causes traffic problems in different parts of the Algarve.
“Which means that a large part of the circulation has to be done on Via do Infante, which means that tolls are a context cost here,” explained Ana Abrunhosa, who indicated that “very soon” there will be “news” from the outset of those works, which he classified as essential.
The Minister of Territorial Cohesion also mentioned that the Algarve region has a large circulation of foreign vehicles, with the occupants of these drivers finding it difficult to know how to pay the toll.
Ana Abrunhosa defended that the government interventions should target a series of “hotspots”as identity of places or organization of the urban fabric, the availability of services of general interest and the qualification of public space, the availability of green space treatment, mobility and housing.
“It is exactly what we are trying to do,” assured the minister, recalling that the Algarve’s Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) has so far been responsible with a global investment of approximately EUR 334 million in the region.
Responding to delegates’ questions, Ana Abrunhosa said it was “fundamental” to manage water in “two dimensions”.
On the one hand, to achieve “the reduction of losses in the systems and a better use of waste water and rainwater”, on the other hand, to “make the territory more resilient through measures that increase the biodiversity of the territory and the production of water itself” .
Source: DN
