Government launches contract work for expansion of Corvo aerodrome in the first half of next year
The Government of the Azores will move ahead with “contract work to expand and resurface the Corvo aerodrome in the first half of next year, thus enhancing its operation and minimising its current shortages,” announced President of the Government of the Azores today.
Carlos César, who spoke at the ceremony to lay the first stone of the aerodrome control tower on Corvo, also announced that the Government will undertake other interventions, such as the “partial demolition of the hill near the runway, the expansion of the terminal and the construction of a garage for the fire fighting vehicle.”
According to the President of the Government “it is an intervention and an investment of continuity, hence we expect important improvements in the quality of the service rendered by this infrastructure."
For Carlos César, these investments should not be regarded as being isolated. By improving the quality of air accessibility to Corvo, other regional investments with local impact will be possible, such as the renewal of the Sata Air Açores fleet and the decision to reduce air fares under the new obligations of the inter-island public service, thus reducing in 19% the air fare for Corvo, which in addition to the elimination airport taxes will reduce the cost of air operations in the Azores for users.
Nevertheless, according to the President of the Government “accessibility is not a problem that is only solved through the improvement of air transport or its of infrastructures.
“There are sectors which urgently require a continuous investment, whether in telecommunications, whether in maritime transport in order to provide the island with other capacities and other opportunities to develop. This is the case of the “Porto da Casa” where we have implemented several projects and works in which we are involved, the renewal works that we undertake in this infrastructure which are still being developed and the improvement of the vessel that transport passengers between Corvo and Flores,” stated the President.
In this context, Carlos César pointed out that “only this year 3000 passengers were transported between Flores and Corvo, which demonstrates the importance of that transport and its impact on these islands.”
Therefore, the Government “is aware that almost everything in the Azores is dependent on transport and communications.” For that reason, he also stressed that “with regard to ports and airports we have made investments over 320 million Euros over the last four years, a situation that would be unnecessary in other regions to achieve the same level of services.”
Finally, Carlos César pointed out that the Government is starting the work for the Strategic Plan for the Cohesion of the Azores, which not only involves the registration of a vast set of measures, but also the understanding and the adjustment of regional policies, and the specific potentialities that each island may develop in the context of regional development of the Azores."