Catalonia needs 53.8 billion euros to avoid the collapse of its infrastructure.

Barcelona€53.8 billion by 2043 to prevent the collapse of infrastructure in Catalonia. This is the calculation made by the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce through its new Infrastructure Observatory, which produced the study. Strategic projects for Cataloniawhich affects airports, railways, roads, ports, logistics, and water transition. "Current investment must be doubled," summarized the Chamber's vice president, Miquel Martí. Without addressing the investment deficit, "the system will collapse," he said. The Chamber representative called for a national agreement on the matter, led by the Catalan government. The president of the Chamber and of the Council of Chambers of Commerce of Catalonia, Josep Santacreu, stated that the necessary effort cannot be undertaken "without a united effort," such as "a major national agreement on infrastructure," and called for "local management" of these projects.

Santacreu explained that a consensus is emerging that "the way we've been doing things until now isn't working." The observatory, he explained, aims to provide solutions and "respond to the actual state of the projects that Catalonia needs," as they did during the drought by creating a specific observatory. For this reason, the chambers will increase the resources allocated to studies, he said. Santacreu announced the imminent launch of a sustainability observatory focused on the energy transition.

Martí presented the observatory and the study with representatives from the Generalitat (Catalan government) and the other Catalan chambers of commerce, among others, in attendance. He explained that in recent years "budgets are higher, but spending falls short." Between 2021 and 2023, the Spanish government spent an average of 41% of what was planned, failing to comply with the third additional provision of the Statute of Autonomy, whose investments represent 16% of the total state investment instead of the 19% it should be. The current deficit separating the 19% from the 16% is around 16.2 billion. And one example has been the commuter rail network. The maintenance and asset replacement program for the commuter rail network was around 1 billion euros in the 2020-2030 plan, of which 530 million were spent. And in the update carried out after the crisis last January, it has risen to 2.2 billion euros for the entire period. The first version of the 2020-2030 commuter rail plan totaled 6.346 billion euros, and the subsequent update, 8.037 billion euros until 2030. The Vice-President of the Chamber also recalled that Catalonia has grown from six million to eight million inhabitants in the last 25 years, with the forecast to reach 2 million. Another step forward

Jaume Fàbregas, vice president of the Council of Chambers of Commerce, has stated that Catalonia is in a position to "take another step forward" and has therefore called for the necessary investments in airports and rail connections. In addition to the expansion of El Prat Airport, improvements are needed at the Girona and Reus airports, as well as rail connections to these hubs and to Sabadell Airport. Alícia Casart, director of the Chamber's infrastructure studies department, explained some of the necessary actions, ranging from the airport network to improvements in the road system and the water and energy transition. Until 2030, the necessary actions exceed €14.5 billion, of which 77% should come from the central government and 23% from the Catalan government. The figure estimated by the central government "represents an annual investment equivalent to more than double the recent actual investment in infrastructure in Catalonia." Casart stated that greater efficiency requires governance reforms that implement "direct management from the local level." This management should include airports of general interest and major road networks.

Of the total amount allocated until 2030, €5.571 billion would correspond to the Barcelona metropolitan region; €2.510 billion to airport infrastructure; €2.400 billion to water infrastructure projects; €1.882 billion to road infrastructure; €1.015 billion to the port and logistics sector; €606 million to road infrastructure in the Barcelona metropolitan region; and €538 million to the Catalan rail system.

Airport Connection

The list of initiatives includes the expansion of El Prat Airport and the deployment of pending rail connections to Girona and Reus through an integrated airport network. The Chamber advocates for connecting airports to the conventional rail network and high-speed rail. Regarding commuter rail, it is necessary to begin the 2026-2030 phase, including the doubling of the R-3 line to Vic and the improvement of the rest of this route to Puigcerdà, in addition to completing the 2020-2025 phase. Furthermore, there is a call to strengthen intercity bus transport to increase service offerings by 50% by 2030, both in radial connections to Barcelona and cross-city routes. The study proposes resolving the remaining bottlenecks in the metropolitan area, especially in the Vallès region, by extending the B-40 and widening lanes and improving connections to the AP-7 and AP-2 highways. It also advocates for road widening projects such as the N-340 and the Girona sections of the N-II, and "the definition of a toll pricing model for high-performance roads" nationwide.

The new observatory's catalog also includes the urgent implementation of new land access routes to the ports of Tarragona and Barcelona, ​​as well as intermodal port and land terminals, including the strategic terminals already identified by Cimalsa. The plan envisions desalination and water regeneration, investments in distribution networks, and accelerating planned projects along the Mediterranean rail corridor. A priority action is the restructuring of the rail network in the Tarragona area. Another longer-term action should be to revive the concept of a cross-country rail axis.