CV Interilhas promises to invest 19 million euros in ships after victory in arbitration court against the State of Cape Verde

CV Interilhas, the concessionaire for inter-island maritime transport in Cape Verde, has announced an investment of 19 million euros in the acquisition of new ships, following a favorable decision by the Arbitration Court which recognized the state's breaches of the concession contract.

According to the company, the decision will allow it to resume the strategic plan initially planned, which was suspended due to the withholding of payments due since 2021, now validated by the Court. The amount will be used for the definitive purchase of the ships Chiquinho BL and Dona Tututa, which are currently under charter, and for the acquisition of a new vessel with similar characteristics, which is due to come into operation later this year.

During the recent debate on the State of the Nation, the PAICV bench revealed that the state was ordered to pay around 40 million euros to CV Interilhas for violating the exclusivity clause of the concession contract, including compensation for operating costs, failure to comply with timetables and suspension of fare updates.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Olavo Correia, stated in Parliament that the Government does not agree with the arbitration decision and stressed that the State has a specialized team to defend the public interest.

CV Interilhas was created in 2019 and holds a 20-year concession for the public transportation of passengers and goods between the Cape Verdean islands, currently operating with a fleet of four ships. The company is controlled by the Portuguese group ETE (51% of the capital) and has the participation of 11 Cape Verdean companies.

The ETE group, owned exclusively by Portugal, is present in nine countries, employs more than 1,330 people and has an annual turnover of more than 325 million euros. In Cape Verde, it has around 4,000 m² of covered warehouses, including air-conditioned areas.