Cape Verdean fuel company Enacol has proposed providing Boa Vista International Airport with its own fuelling system next year. The idea, which was confirmed by Airport and air Security ASA administrative council president Mário Paixão, took many by surprise, as it appears to run against the current of the contacts established so far by the Ministry of the Economy, which has recommended joint actions by Enacol and Shell in supplying fuel to the new airport.

The lack of a fuelling system at Boa Vista International Airport, which was officially opened Wednesday by Prime Minister José Maria Neves, forces long-haul aircrafts to make a stop at nearby Amílcar Cabral International Airport, on the island of Sal, for refuelling. In order to overcome this problem, Enacol has announced that it intends to install a fuel pump at the airport next year prior to the beginning of charter flights to the island.

Confirmed during the inauguration ceremonies by ASA’s Mário Paixão, Enacol’s initiative, according to reliable sources, took a number of well-placed individuals by surprise - not only the representative of Shell at the ceremony, but also the Minister of the Economy, Growth and Competitiveness himself.

The surprise, according to A Semana Online’s sources, comes from the fact that the two fuel companies had been contacted following the sessions of the Specialized Council of Ministers for Economic Affairs last month with the intention of setting up a single fuel supply system.

But all indications are that the situation is slightly more complex. According to information gathered from the Boa Vista and Maio Integrated Tourist Development Corporation, Enacol intends to sign an exclusive contract with the RIU hotel chain before the end of the year to supply fuel for its chartered aircrafts beginning in 2008.

Enacol’s initiative is also seen as a “destabilizing element” in the process of the constitution of Cape Verde’s Fuel Logistics Company, which is being created by Enacol, Shell and the State of Cape Verde in order to ensure the importation of petroleum derivatives at a cost lower than those currently practiced.

Source: A Semana