The Regional Secretary for Science, Technology and Infrastructures signed this morning the contract for the construction of an aqueduct on regional road no.1-1st in the area of João Bom in the village of Pilar da Bretanha, municipality of Ponta Delgada.

The works, with an estimated budget of approximately 750 thousand Euros, will be carried out to repair the damages caused by landslides as a result of the bad weather that hit the villages of Pilar da Bretanha, Ajuda da Bretanha, Remédios, Feteiras and Mosteiros last May.

For José Contente, the Government of the Azores "is once again the first entity to combat disasters and it requires the necessary strength to provide an efficient response at a technical level as well as the financial capacity to rapidly respond in emergency situations that always cause serious difficulties."

The government official said that "sometimes one needs to be patient regarding some misunderstandings and misinformation; however these are minor issues. Nowadays, we want to highlight the Regional Government's strength to provide, once again, a response to the natural disasters that occurred in the Region. This strength comes from the enormous responsibility to bring back to normal the lives of people and we are working towards this goal. Restoring the normalcy and safety of people who live here has always been our main concern.

The Regional Secretary for Science, Technology and Infrastructures also said that the Government considers safety as an unfinished asset. "We must always be on permanent alert in a Region with a geodynamic nature as ours, which is occasionally hit by natural disasters that require a quick and timely response from authorities."

In his speech, José Contente thanked all the presidents of village councils and especially to the population for their understanding, consideration and ability to understand that the Government is doing everything within its powers as rapidly as possible.

The Regional Secretary took the opportunity to announce the awarding of the contract works to repair the road between Vigia das Feteiras and Vista do Rei. It was also announced the signature of a contract for the repair works of the damages caused by the same catastrophe on the south coast.