TW
0

BALEARIC government spokesman, Margarita Najera said yesterday that the estimate for repairing deficiencies in Palma's metro system could be as high as 80 million euros.

The transport network has remained closed since last September after it had been flooded on several occasions, requiring the intervention of the fire services. Najera, who is also regional minister for Employment said that the quoted amount is an approximation as the government is still awaiting the results of a structural audit to see how far-reaching the damage really is and to explain why the metro is flooding so regularly and to such an extent. The minister also said that the government is making its own investigations into just which companies or municipal organisations can be held to account for different flaws and shoddy practice within the entire metro project. Once this is established, claims for compensation will be made accordingly. Najera alleged that at the time of Francesc Antich coming to power as president of the Balearic Islands after elections in May this year, the design of the drainage system for the metro had been altered just one month earlier to minimise the number of soak away units which needed to be installed. The Transport ministry has also blamed poor waterproofing at the intermodal station in Plaza Espanya.