Maritime transport should be regarded as a whole to avoid separate solutions for each issue, says Vítor Fraga
The Regional Secretary for Tourism and Transport stated in Ponta Delgada that the proposal presented by the Communist party (PCP) regarding the purchase of a passenger and cargo vessel by the Regional Government to operate year-round between S. Miguel and Santa Maria is a proposal that does not fit into the overall transport policy in the Region. It also lacked information on the operation of this route.
Vítor Fraga spoke to journalists after being heard by the Committee on Economic Affairs of the Legislative Assembly. He restated that the position of the Government is clear with regard to maritime transport, stressing that this should be considered as a whole in order to avoid separate solutions for each area.
"In regard to the maritime transport policy for the Region, this proposal does not fit into the political choices of the Government. The latter require the development of a global maritime transport policy for the archipelago that will include all islands and meet their needs," said the Regional Secretary.
"There is part of our territory, the "Triangle" islands (Faial, Pico and São Jorge), with specific characteristics that are addressed by maritime transport system already implemented in that area," said Vítor Fraga. According to him, "there must be a solution for the remaining islands that meets the needs of all the islands; they should not address specific situations, which is what PCP allegedly proposed. However, we are not entirely acquainted with this proposal as PCP did not specify its contents."
In fact, Vítor Fraga pointed out that it does not specify "the type of vessel, the tonnage, the number of links or the costs; the latter is an obligation of the proposer, who are required to indicate the estimated amount of the proposal."
In this regard, the government considered that it is not possible to discuss the proposal, taking into consideration the data available.
The Regional Secretary also recalled that "this is the second the same proposal is submitted during the current legislative period."
"We do not fully understand what PCP intends," Vítor Fraga said, adding that "it is apparent that PCP proposes the acquisition of a vessel for the route Ponta Delgada-Santa Maria, which does not make any sense from an economic perspective."
Vítor Fraga also stressed that the position of the Government will be maintained with regard to maritime transport.
"Our proposal for maritime transport in the archipelago positively discriminate all islands" insofar as it "provides an integrated solution for the transport of passengers, vehicles and cargo on a roll on/roll off system. On the one hand, it has the clear purpose of increasing the mobility of all Azoreans and, on the other hand, it decisively contribute to the development of the internal market," said the Regional Secretary.