Procedure for recovery works of Vila do Porto Port to be launched by the end of the year, says Ana Cunha
The Regional Secretary for Transport and Public Works stated today that the procedure for the recovery works to repair the damage caused by the passage of Hurricane Lorenzo on the breakwater mantle and head of the Commercial Port and Marina of Vila do Porto, Santa Maria Island, should be launched by the end of this year, through the company Portos dos Açores.
Ana Cunha spoke after attending the presentation of the preliminary study for this intervention. On the occasion, she added that "the damage repair works will now enter the project implementation phase and the procedure is expected to be launched by the end of the year," representing an estimated investment of more than 16.5 million Euros.
The Regional Secretary visited the Vila do Porto Port to learn about other investments made there that are under way, such as the provisional repair of the base of the ferry wharf, the replacement of the passenger terminal and the newly acquired self-propelled trailer for vessels, an investment of more than 440 thousand Euros.
For Ana Cunha, the self-propelled trailer, already in operation, “is innovative in the Region's port system and allows the optimisation of the parking space for recreational vessels and others, as it is easier to operate." In fact, "it will not only contribute to a more efficient use of other port spaces during the winter, generating more revenue for Portos dos Açores, but also generate more movement for the island of Santa Maria."
In this context, the government official stressed that this island has “the capacity to receive other types of vessels,” seeing that the self-propelled trailer also allows the handling of catamarans.
For Ana Cunha, this is a new project that "is working quite well here and, eventually, it may work very well in other ports" of the archipelago.
The Secretary for Transport also recalled that Santa Maria will receive within a few days a new all-terrain crane, which will “also reinforce the response capacity” of this port.
Ana Cunha recalled that, since 2019, the Regional Government, through Portos dos Açores, “has made an investment in port equipment amounting to more than 10 million Euros,” including this new crane.
For the Regional Secretary, “all these investments are under way here and will directly improve the port's capacity, namely the response capacity to operations and the conditions for those who use the port."