Government exemptions to a controversial new virtual toll charge on Portugal’s ‘A’ roads and dual carriageways could rob the State treasury of 200 million Euros by 2012.
At present, the Government-owned public company responsible for the roads, Estradas de Portugal (EP), estimates that if the electronic chip charge scheme goes ahead on August 1, the Government will rake in 250 million Euros by the end of 2011 from seven SCUT roads.
But with exemptions mooted for local traders, that won’t be enough to cover the costs of operating the scheme given that the public owned company would have to continue paying the concession-holders an amount equal to the income made.
In other words, a scheme designed to help reduce Portugal’s budget deficit would prove totally useless in financial terms.
The amount that the Government expects to make by the end of 2012 is estimated at around 650 million Euros per year.
But in 2012, when the Government tightens up exemption criteria, receipts are expected to stand at around 400 million Euros because of exemptions offered before that date.
EP, which is headed by Almerindo Marques, has already estimated that discounts and exemptions will reduce receipts by 130 million Euros at least.
A Parliamentary Public Works Commission was expected to pass the decree-law for the SCUT scheme on Wednesday at the time of going to press.
The first three SCUT routes, Costa da Prata, Grande Porto and the North Coast will start charging tolls on August 1. The remaining four, Algarve, Beiras Litoral and Alta, Beira Interior and Interior Norte from January 1, 2011.
In the first year, receipts from the initial three routes are expected to make EP 120 million Euros.
Meanwhile, Mendes Bota, MP and president of the PSD party in the Algarve, has come out against the imposition of tolls on the A22 (Via do Infante).
He said that the introduction of tolls is “an arbitrary and abusive act from the Government, which is trying to extort money under a false argument”.
“The PSD/Algarve party took a position against the intention of introducing tolls at Via do Infante. Our position is based on the indisputable fact that two-thirds of the Via do Infante were built long before the introduction of the funding model of highways known as SCUTs. The inclusion of the Via do Infante in the SCUTs network is completely unacceptable,” he added.
Mendes Bota also highlighted the fact that if this project goes ahead, it will open the way for the introduction of tolls on roads that are not highways and were not built under the funding model of the SCUT roads.
C.G. & P.S.
