AP-46
The Government is to negotiate with Sacyr to help get work started again
02.06.09 - 19:53 -
NO ACTIVITY. Pillars stand ready to support a bridge. / A. SALAS
At the end of last year the construction of the new toll motorway from Las Pedrizas to Malaga (AP-46) provided employment for around a thousand people and works lorries and cement mixers were a common sight on the once quiet country roads. Now work has practically ground to a halt.
On Thursday last week barely fifty workers could be seen on the pillars that will hold up two of the 15 viaducts that will span the 24.5 kilometre road. Residents living in some of the country houses dotted around the area said that they hadn’t seen a lorry on the road for a week.
The majority of the cranes have disappeared and the tunnel entrances have been blocked up. However the biggest clue to the massive slowdown is the condition of the tracks leading to the construction sites, which show clear signs of neglect and have even collapsed in places.
Before work started to wind down it was announced that 50 per cent of the project was complete, with the levelling of land almost finished, most of the pillars put up to support the bridges and significant progress made on the tunnels. It looked like the target of having the road open by the end of this was could be met but now this is very unlikely, if not impossible.
Negotiations
The problem has prompted a reaction from the Ministry of Development and negotiations have started with Sacyr, the main member of the temporary union of companies with the contract to build the motorway and run the toll system.
“Once we’ve studied the situation we will sit down and negotiate; we want things to move fast because this is a strategic project for the province of Malaga”, said Ministry sources, who blamed the problem on the global financial crisis and the difficulty the contractors are having to obtain credit.
The opposition (PP) have called for the Government to take immediate action and stand as a guarantor for Sacyr so that the firm can obtain the loans it needs to finish the job.
