The Minister of Transport and Public Works, José Luis Falero, together with the Undersecretary, Juan José Olaizola, and his team, appeared in Parliament to report on road, architecture, hydrography, topography and transportation issues that fall under accountability. “Practically all the directorates exceeded 90% of budget execution”, he indicated.
“We are committed to continuing to improve the comfort levels of the road network (…) In 2021 we will exceed the goal that we initially set for ourselves,” said the Minister in the Budget Commission integrated with the Treasury of the Chamber of Deputies.
In 2021, the Ministry invested more than 500 million dollars in the road network and is committed to continuing to improve. This year more than 905 million dollars will be invested. This is a strong investment that improved traffic conditions and road safety on national routes.
At a press conference, the Minister explained that the increase in budget execution is due to the “reformulation of the new financial engineering that allows facing extraordinary expenses, complementary to those that had been presented at the beginning of the administration” through the contracts CREMAF, the extension of some PPPs that are being executed and the contract with the National Development Corporation (CND) that extends until the year 2051.
Architecture
The investment in architecture exceeded 1,000 million Uruguayan pesos, between building and social works. “In what has to do with social agreements, 100% of the budget item for 2021 was executed, which has made it possible to serve different institutions with scarce resources.”
Regarding rail transport, Falero said that an article on the restructuring of the Ministry is being incorporated. The MTOP will absorb the railway infrastructure and the communication of the Association of State Railways (AFE). The government wants to reverse the situation of AFE. The entity will be in charge only of the commercial and passenger operational part. “We are convinced that it is an opportunity that the Uruguayan government is giving to AFE so that it can get ahead,” he assured.
