The National Road Number One (EN1), the main highway in the country, is in an advanced state of degradation, a scenario that has sometimes led to a high number of traffic accidents. The government is concerned about the situation.

"At this moment the work of surveying the necessary quantities for the rehabilitation of the road is being done," said government spokesman Filimão Suaze yesterday after the Council of Ministers session.

The spokesman assured, however, that there will be a statement from the Ministry of Public Works about the rehabilitation of the EN1 in the near future.

The situation of the EN1 is a concern of the Government and it hasn't been for a long time, that's why funds have been mobilized with one difficulty and another, but the perspective indicates that it will be achieved", explained the spokesperson of the Council of Ministers session.

It should be noted that last April, the government already had the intention to rehabilitate the EN1 and, according to calculations advanced at the time by the Ministry of Public Works, Housing and Water Resources, the works were budgeted at 750 million dollars.

At the time, the government indicated that the amount needed for the rehabilitation, which includes the construction of a total of 13 toll roads and will cover 1,300 kilometers of the 2,477 kilometers of the highway, would be provided by the World Bank.