Seopan alert: Spain needs 127,000 million euros to save infrastructures
The construction employers' association warns that public investment has fallen by half since 2009 and proposes payment per use on roads
BarcelonaThe state of infrastructure health in Spain requires urgent intervention. Seopan, the employers' association representing large construction and concession companies, has estimated the investment needed for the conservation and maintenance of the road, rail, and water networks over the next decade at 127,341 million euros. This figure is just the tip of the iceberg: if we add new projects and climate adaptation, the total needs rise to 407,341 million euros.
According to data presented by the president of Seopan, Julián Núñez, the situation is the result of a long decade of disinvestment. In 2024, public investment barely represented 2.7% of GDP, far from the 5.2% recorded in 2009. "It is worrying that today we invest only 52% of what was invested in 2009," lamented Núñez, who believes the current model is exhausted and calls for structural change.
The debate on payment for use
The road network is the one that presents the most worrying diagnosis. 58,369 million euros are required, of which close to 15,000 million should be allocated to a "reset" to reverse years of neglect.
Faced with budgetary asphyxia, the employers' association proposes implementing road pricing –paying according to distance used– as "the only alternative" to guarantee quality without raising taxes. According to their calculations, an average payment of 111 euros per user per year could generate 43,260 million euros in 10 years, which would be reinvested in the network and in the ecological transition.
Water and rail emergency
The report also focuses on the water cycle, with a necessary investment of 48,692 million. In a context of structural drought and with a forecast of a fall in water resources of between 7% and 11%, Seopan calls for urgent action in the urban water cycle and dam safety to protect the 2.7 million people already living in flood-prone areas.
Regarding railways (20,280 million), the increase in demand –46.8% more high-speed services since 2019– requires the renewal of key sections that have already exhausted their useful life, such as the Madrid-Barcelona AVE line.
Seopan's other major battlefront is current regulations: it denounces that the de-indexation law has "paralyzed" the sector, with an 84% drop in works concessions. Faced with an inflation forecast of 3.6% for 2026, the employers' association calls for price review mechanisms that include energy and labor costs to prevent public contracts from becoming deserted or ending in bankruptcy.