LISBON (Xinhua) -- More than 100 heavy vehicles from Portugal’s earthworks sector joined a slow-driving protest Friday morning to demand concrete measures to address rising fuel costs.
The protest began at the Lordelo entrance to the A42 motorway in Paredes, northern Portugal, with more than 100 vehicles taking part initially, according to the official Lusa news agency.
The convoy was scheduled to travel south via the A41 motorway and then continue along the A1 toward Coimbra, where the protest was expected to end at the Coimbra Sul exit.
Miguel Machado Mendes, a representative of the protest organizers, said at the scene that nearly 500 heavy vehicles were expected to join the demonstration along the route toward Coimbra.
The protest was being monitored by the National Republican Guard, Portugal’s national gendarmerie force.
The demonstration brought together companies involved in aggregate extraction, transportation, earthmoving and other activities related to the earthworks sector.
According to a statement issued by the organizers, diesel prices in Portugal rose from 1.59 euros (1.81 U.S. dollars) per liter on Feb. 27 to 2.22 euros (2.53 dollars) per liter.
The organizers described the increase as “historical” and said it was creating an “unsustainable” situation for companies in the sector.