Victor Guerreiro, the president of the Algarve’s business group ACRAL, today called for an end to the tolls on the Via do Infante, saying that any financial impact will be reduced by the recent negotiation to reduce the cost of the public-private partnership used to fund the motorway’s construction and operation.
The renegotiation of the contract for the design, construction, financing, operation and maintenance of the Via do Infante, which resulted in savings for the state of €85 million, "could lessen the financial impact of the suspension of tolls the benefit of which would extend to the whole regional economy," said Guerreiro, with rare insight.
Having finished rearranging the paperclips on his desk, the president of ACRAL said, "without tourists, tourism is an impossibility: if we want more tourism - and we do want more tourists because this implies revenue, employment and wealth - then we have to worry about what deters visitors.”
Victor Guerrero points out that the high number of tourists and the poor existing toll collection methods are causing "queues of Spanish visitors at Ayamonte, creating strong dissatisfaction, while many others for the same reason are deterred from coming to the Algarve at all.”
The end of tolls would be "more than offset by the increased mobility and satisfaction of tourists as well as reducing business costs and the consequent increase of the wealth produced."
No analysis and report of the cost of tolls to the regional economy has been commissioned by ACRAL.
To do nothing about the Via do Infante "is not a smart way to tackle the problem," he says, adding, "this could only be justified if they thought that we already have too many tourists, as apparently some sectors of society are thinking, especially in Lisbon."
To combat this and other bottlenecks in the Algarve economy, the association leader calls for "uniting the forces of the region and taking a common position."
The tolls system on the Via do Infante started in December 2012, established anti-toll protestors will be delighted to have Guerreiro fully on board despite his comments bringing nothing new to the debate.
Comments
And how many of them are ignorant of the strange, mysterious toll system of this road? How many will eventually receive large fines as their reward from Portugal for their visit?
The automatic, baffling, and under-signed toll collection system is the worst thing to happen to the tourism industry since the great earthquake.
is that not enough tax for maintenance?
The design, construction, operation and maintenance should be no concern of the taxpayer as Brussels oaid for around 80% (?) of the road and the toll company pays for the running, repairs and cleaning of the road, (OK, generously subsidised by the taxpayer while traffic volume is low, as now.)
The PPP system, as in the UK, has been the real vampire squid, sucking the country dry while keeping the bankers rich at zero risk to themselves.
The renegotiation of the PPP is at the expense of maintenance, according to the contractor.
Thanks guys, great deal yet again. We are paying through the nose for a road already mostly paid for by EU funds and for a mysterious PPP contract that now involves a sharp reduction in maintenance - and weeding, according to P. Booker Esq..
If I am not mistaken, the motorway was designed and built long before anyone thought of tolls. So what does this sentence actually mean? It can refer only to the operation and maintenance of the motorway. Why refer at all to its construction?
Apart from this oddity, has anyone else noticed that the road surface of the motorway is now degrading fast, particularly at the eastern end, despite its underuse? When is the "public private partnership" actually going to do what it´s paid for, and maintain the motorway surface, and cut down the weeds that edge the carriageway?