Praia, Feb. 9, 2026 (Lusa) - CV Interilhas (CVI) believes that the decision taken by the Cabo Verde Supreme Court in the dispute between the company and the state will "appease" the situation of inter-island maritime transport and help to plan investments.
"This is an issue that, once resolved, will appease any and all noise that may be growing and being raised by other people," said administrator Fernando Braz de Oliveira in an interview with Lusa on Monday.
"The sooner this problem is resolved, the better CVI can count on the development of the strategic plan, and the government can have justification for paying or not and how much" of the €16 million claimed by the company in relation to the 2021 and 2022 accounts for the maritime transport concession.
"I am completely in the hands of the courts. I believe we all agree that it is up to the judges and the legal process to reach conclusions" about what is owed to whom, he said, without venturing any predictions about the court's decision or when it will happen.
Braz de Oliveira is available to provide any clarifications to the courts or other entities, such as a Parliamentary Inquiry Commission, which has since been created, making "transparency" a "point of honour" for the company, which he says is continuously audited by the state and externally.
The administrator described the relationship between CV Interilhas and the state as one of "partners," considering that the resolution of the dispute "will allow the government and CV Interilhas to plan for the future."
"CVI has a contract until 2039, intends to honour it and provide the company with the most capable resources and investment in Cabo Verde" in order to have "an operation that is efficient and minimises any and all complaints".
Fernando Braz de Oliveira said he had "the greatest privilege in working in Cabo Verde" and "with the government, whatever it may be", in addition to having "the best relations with institutions linked to the sea" and their respective guardianship.
In August, CV Interilhas announced an investment of €19 million in the purchase of ships, following a "favourable arbitration decision" that recognised the state's breaches of the concession contract.
However, Cabo Verde's government appealed, and the decision of the Supreme Court of Justice is pending.
"The government does not agree with the reasoning behind the arbitration court's decision, which it believes is not supported by the evidence produced or the arguments put forward by the parties," it explained at the time.
According to Fernando Braz de Oliveira, CV Interilhas and the government want to "serve Cabo Verde's people", i.e. "there are converging objectives, now we need the paths to achieve them to also converge".
CV Interilhas is a company established in 2019 with which the Cabo Verdean government has entered into a 20-year concession contract for the public service of maritime passenger and cargo transport between islands, using four ships.
The company is led by the Portuguese group ETE, which holds 51% of the share capital (through its subsidiaries Transinsular and Transinsular Cabo Verde), with the remainder held by 11 companies in Cabo Verde.
In Cabo Verde, the ETE Group has approximately 4,000 square metres of covered storage space, including temperature-controlled areas, and is present on the main islands.
Owned exclusively by Portuguese capital, the ETE group operates in nine countries, employs more than 1,330 people, and generates an annual turnover of more than €325 million.
LFO/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
