PALMA Council said yesterday that it is the responsibility of the Spanish government to fully fund the tram project running from the Avenidas out to Palma airport, later on to El Arenal and, in the opposite direction, from Palma to Calvia.
Transport Councillor Antoni Verger said that it is totally justifiable that Madrid pay the 380 million euros that the tram will cost. He added that he hoped Central Government were able to recognise that Majorca needs public transport of the most sustainable kind, given the island's fragile and limited territory.
Verger pointed out that Majorca had the right to claim funding from the State for the tram as taxes from the Balearics went to pay for similar projects on the mainland.
The Councillor said that he hoped that Jose Blanco, Central Government Minister for Public Works would stand by his promise to find funding for Palma's tram project in its entirety.
On 29th December last year, Blanco signed an agreement in Palma with Balearic President Francesc Antich confirming that Central Government would provide an initial amount of 35 million euros to get the first phase of the tram project started and to buy the first set of rolling stock.
Verger said that the regional government was currently making its reports on what impact the construction of the tram line will have on the environment, and that once recommendations had been made, plans for the project would be put out for public scrutiny.
If all goes according to plan, construction will begin at the end of next year and will take between 2 and 3 years to complete, said Verger.
The tram is expected to carry between 12 and 14 million passengers annually.
The second phase out to S'Arenal won't begin until the next Balearic government is in power.
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