The Regional Transport Fund (FRT) ensures financial and technical support for land, maritime and air transport in the Autonomous Region of the Azores as established, or to be established in legislation, and is specifically responsible for:
a) Providing the Regional Secretariat for Housing and Infrastructures and the Regional Secretariat for the Economy with the elements required to define and execute the support policy for the transport sector;
b) Covering the costs resulting from the approval of tariffs in which the respective social component has been verified and determined;
c) Providing direct financial support, through repayable subsidies or non-refundable grants, to companies operating in the region;
d) Fully or partly covering the financial costs of loans contracted by transport concessionaries designed to be used for renovating, replacing or acquiring new transport units;
e) Providing guarantees in the form of sureties for transport concessionary financing operations, which translate into investments;
f) Either directly or by using specialist services or entities, producing the studies required for the careful consideration of requests for financial support;
g) Ensuring that any subsequent support measures for transport and concessionaries are applied.
The FRT is headed by a Management Committee consisting of a chairman and two other members and its responsibilities include the following:
a) Producing budget plans;
b) Producing the plan of activities;
c) Producing funding proposals;
d) Producing the FRT annual report;
e) Producing the FRT management accounts;
f) Monitoring fulfilment of obligations arising out of operations financed by the FRT and undertaking or promoting inspections, examinations or any other form of investigation deemed necessary;
g) Contracting technical experts or specialist companies to undertake the studies required for the FRT to pursue its objectives;
h) Providing opinions and deliberating on matters submitted for its consideration and submitting others for a ruling in the form of a despatch issued by the Regional Secretary, as required.