When presiding over the opening ceremony of the renewal works of Ramalho road section (regional road) between the city of Ponta Delgada and the village of Relva, Carlos César recalled the one thousand kilometres of roads that have been built or renewed since 1996 and added that by next year we will enter in maintenance phase of the road network.

"This situation happens because the construction process of new roads is completed as well as the vast majority of the renewal works involving considerable investments," stated the government official.
 
For the President of the Government, from 2013 onwards "we will not lose investment money, we will be able to channel our investment to other commitments, such as other economic areas and social development."

At a time when "construction companies are facing difficulties and struggle to adjust to new paradigms of investment and the Government's medium-term investment plan, Carlos César stressed the importance of having the perception that "investing in less road does not mean less investment."

The work opened today, which consisted in the renewal of 1200 metres of Rua Ramalho and the respective access to Avenida Príncipe de Monaco, corresponds to an investment of 650 thousand Euros that concludes the Government's intervention plan in improving accessibilities to the city of Ponta Delgada.

Carlos César pointed out that this plan included the renewal of regional road section between Milícias beach and Atalhada, with the construction of an access roundabout to the beach; the renewal of the regional road section between São Roque and Rotunda de Belém; the renewal of the regional road between Pranchinha and Grilo, with the construction of a roundabout in Laranjeiras; the renewal of the regional road between Ponta Delgada and Fajã de Cima, with the construction of roundabout in Caminho da Levada; the renewal of Avenida Príncipe de Mónaco, with the construction of a roundabout on the northern edge; the renewal of the expressway access to the city of Ponta Delgada under the toll-free road project which included the Belém, São Gonçalo and the Hospital intersections.

With regard to these and other works carried out across the archipelago, Carlos César said that the Government invested last year 15.5 million Euros in regional roads, apart from the toll-free road project.

The President of the Government estimates that this year's investment will exceed this amount, reaching almost twenty million Euros.