Under the terms of a legislative decree published in the Official Journal today, the four companies that have been in charge of port administration in the Azores until now were merged into a single company.

With the reform of port administration reform in the Azores, which comes into force today, the Government estimates an annual saving of about 2.2 million Euros.

This cost reduction will be achieved with the reduction of the number of administrators from 11 to 3 as well as with other gains in the acquisition of goods and services.

For the Regional Secretary for the Economy, Vasco Cordeiro, the reform of port administration is justified given the “maturity” of the system in force until now and consists in the “implementation of a simpler and more flexible institutional solution.”

The government official also stressed the fact that the “operational autonomy of each port” is ensured.

Headquartered in the city of Horta, the company Portos dos Açores S.A. results from the merging of the Administração dos Portos das Ilhas de São Miguel e Santa Maria, S.A., Administração dos Portos da Terceira e Graciosa, S.A. and of the Administração dos Portos do Triângulo e do Grupo Ocidental, S.A.

The new company will be in charge of the administration of the ports of Ponta Delgada (São Miguel), Vila do Porto (Santa Maria), Praia da Vitória and Pipas (Terceira), Praia (Graciosa), Horta (Faial), São Roque, Madalena and Lajes (Pico), Velas and Calheta (São Jorge), Lajes and Santa Cruz (Flores) and Casa (Corvo).

Under the terms of the new legislation, the exercise of the administration powers is aimed at its “operation, conservation and development, comprising the exercise of the port authority powers and prerogatives assigned to it.”

Furthermore, the legislation also provides the distribution of regional ports according to five classes. The class A, B and C ports will be under the administration of port authorities (Portos dos Açores S.A.) and the remaining will be under the jurisdiction of the governmental department overseeing the fisheries sector (Class D) and the administration of the maritime public domain (class E).

The previous restructuring and reorganisation of the regional port management model had taken place in 2003 when the former port administration entities were extinct, which had been established following the port operation guiding principles and the Statute of Port Authorities issued in 1949 and 1950, respectively.