Mariano Rajoy announces 5-billion euro investment in highways through public-private collaboration

Moncloa Palace, Madrid

"Our country has an exceptional asset in its infrastructure", remarked Mariano Rajoy at an event to present the Extraordinary Investment Plan in Highways (Spanish acronym: PIC), through public-private collaboration, which was also attended by the Minister for Public Works, Íñigo de la Serna. The President of the Government recalled that Spain is a benchmark in high-speed rail travel and its airports have set a new record in passenger numbers. He also stated that the government is boosting land-sea access, as can be seen in the Land-Port Access Investment Plan and the reform of the stevedore sector.

"In short, we have wonderful infrastructures and we want to continue improving them", he stated. The government, he pointed out, seeks to continue doing this based on the experience of other European countries, in which the private sector is involved whilst maintaining the government's commitment to reducing the public deficit.

"Now that we have managed to come out of the crisis and are heading up growth and job creation in Europe, as well as being on the verge of exiting the excessive deficit procedure, we are in a position to give a renewed boost to investment in the infrastructure that our country needs", he stressed. This boost will be provided by the PIC, with a provision of 5 billion euros to act on 2,000 kilometres of highways over a period of four years, between 2017 and 2021.

European financing

Pool Moncloa/Diego CrespoMariano Rajoy underlined that the plan will be implemented "without allocating this cost to the Budget" and called for construction companies to take responsibility for the maintenance of these infrastructures for a period of 30 years, "with the same levels of quality and safety as on the day of their start-up".

This guarantee of maintenance, he explained, is based on the formula of payment for availability. This mechanism of public-private collaboration has already proved to be successful in Europe, where it has gone from representing 5% of projects to more than 90% over the last 10 years, pointed out the President of the Government.

The Plan will also be backed by European financing under the best conditions through the European Investment Bank, with preferential financing in addition to the possibility of the projects contained in the PIC signing up to the Juncker Investment Plan. "The European authorities have received this application with great interest", stressed the President of the Government.

Driver of growth and employment

In his speech, Mariano Rajoy highlighted the importance of maintaining and improving road infrastructures. A total of 90% of passenger transport and 93% of goods transport take place on the roads in Spain, he pointed out, and the majority of foreign and national tourists travel by car. He also added that investment in infrastructure is "a powerful driver" of growth, job creation and opportunities, helps boost the competitiveness of a country and promotes its territorial structure and cohesion.

Pool Moncloa/Diego CrespoThe President of the Government specified that this plan is complementary to the annual investment contained in the General State Budget and will principally be allocated to completing the stretches of the Trans-European Road Transport Network, to resolving the "bottlenecks" in the current network and to adapting the main motorways to the requirements of new legislation on road accidents, noise pollution and CO2 emissions.

The specific actions contained in the PIC, which provide for investments in more than 20 large corridors, will be presented after the summer. All the actions planned have passed, or will have to pass, a preliminary filter to ensure a minimum return, as well as a "strict environmental impact assessment, explained Mariano Rajoy.

The President of the Government highlighted "the multitude of additional benefits" from an investment of this magnitude, such as its "high fiscal return" - estimated at some 3 billion euros - and its knock-on effect on employment in the construction sector, since it will create 189,200 new jobs, between direct employment, indirect employment and other jobs triggered under the plan.

Authoritarian twist by Regional Government of Catalonia

Mariano Rajoy expressed his interest in all public authorities working "so that we can grow more, create better quality jobs and improve the well-being and wealth of people".

Pool Moncloa/Diego CrespoIn his opinion, the plan announced by the government "contrasts with what is happening in Catalonia, with a regional government engrossed in its own quarrels".

In relation to the changes in the Regional Government of Catalonia announced on Friday, the President of the Government believes that "we are once again witnessing an authoritarian twist that breaks the law and rules every day that we have created between us all". After pressuring the media, the opposition, the regional police force, public servants and the local councils, they are now pressurising their own party", he added.

"What dialogue are they seeking by behaving this way?" asked Mariano Rajoy, who concluded by insisting that "the Government of Spain will be up to the task".