Palma.The worst fears of the Majorcan Railway Services (SFM) have been realised - the regional government has announced that due to lack of funding from Madrid, it is going to stop the works on the Manacor to Arta rail line temporarily. The absence of cash flow, said SFM Managing Director Joses Ramon Orta yesterday, also jeopardises other projects planned for the island rail network which had orginally been agreed in a funding arrangement with Central Government back in 2008.
Orta was speaking during a meeting held with the joint venture company which had been awarded the contract to build a tram-style train line over the old route between Manacor and Arta, passing through - amongst other stations - Sant Llorenç.
Orta insisted to the company however, that the project was being put on a temporary hold because SFM had not received all the money which had been due to it from both regional and Central Governments to finance the operation. He said that SFM are officially due to receive 443 million euros worth of funding of which to date it has only had sight of 57.5 million.
The situation, said Orta, will also affect plans to electrify already-existing train services between Manacor, Sa Pobla and Palma.
He gave reassurances that the government is to establish a repayment programme to the construction companies who are now out of pocket.
No comments
To be able to write a comment, you have to be registered and logged in
Currently there are no comments.