THE MINISTRY for the Economy has still not given any explanation to the Área Metropolitana do Algarve (AMAL), the entity that represents the Algarve’s 16 boroughs, concerning the intention to offer a concession for the prospecting and exploration of oil off the Algarve coast.
In a communication to the media, AMAL states that no explanation nor information on the issue, either written or verbal, have been provided, despite successive requests in writing having been sent to the Minister for the Economy and Innovation, Manuel Pinho.
The government has received valuable investment proposals from firms seeking to prospect for oil off the Algarve and Alentejo coasts, and appears to be going ahead with the signing of a contract with the Repsol/RWE consortium.
The Algarve councils and hotel owners are concerned about the way the exploration will be made and what studies have been undertaken to evaluate the impact the action could have on an environmental level and, consequently, on the region’s tourism activities.
According to AMAL, around 20 phone calls have already been made to the office of Manuel Pinho, but no response has been received so far, a situation that is being described as “deplorable”, showing “discrimination and contempt for local power”.
