Illa's public-private infrastructures "begin their journey" with the aim of starting works next year

BarcelonaThe President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, tried to win over Catalan businesspeople during his intervention at the Cercle d'Economia announcing investments in "strategic infrastructures" through a public-private collaboration system to accelerate the construction of infrastructures with investments of up to 3.3 billion euros. This Tuesday, the executive council of the Generalitat "analyzed the projects" and the spokesperson for the Generalitat, Sílvia Paneque, assured at the press conference following the meeting that the Government's intention is for the works to begin in the autumn-winter of next year and for them to be available in about "six years".

According to Paneque, the initiative "begins its journey with this call to the private sector", although the Government agreement simply explains the projects chosen by the executive, but does not currently open any tender or specific study for any of the infrastructures. Paneque stressed that the public-private collaboration system will allow the construction of new infrastructures to be completed in a "much shorter" period than the twenty years estimated if processed with other formulas. They will be paid for from 2034, "depending on service availability".

In his participation at the Cercle d'Economia last week, Illa stated that it is a model "stalled since 2010" that "now is the time to recover". A week later, this "first package" of these infrastructures has reached the Catalan executive's table: It is endowed with 1.5 billion euros, out of the 3.3 billion announced by the president, which will serve to promote and maintain four infrastructures: the L9 stations; a network of charging stations; the 2+1 road axes, and the Berga-Bagà axis, those that the president himself had already highlighted during his participation in the Cercle's conferences.

"Basic" infrastructures

Paneque has defended that the first infrastructure package includes "basic" initiatives for the country. Firstly, it plans to allocate 550 million euros to build and maintain nine stations on the central section of the L9 metro line.

Secondly, it will convert the sections connecting Balaguer and Oliana, Amposta and Lleida, and Vallès-Maresme and La Selva into 2+1 roads. According to the Government, they add up to 150 kilometers of "strategic corridors". The action will require an estimated investment of 335 million.

A third infrastructure included in the measure is the partial duplication of the C-16 road section between Berga and Bagà, with a budget of 480 million, an action "highly demanded territorially", according to the spokesperson. Finally, the Government has also included in the first package the implementation of a network of 11 ultra-fast charging stations for electric vehicles, although it has not specified the resources it plans to allocate to it.