Catalonia’s long list of grievances against Spain’s Public Works Ministry

Last week Catalonia’s Chamber of Commerce unveiled a shocking report which shows that in 2015 Catalonia only received 9.9 per cent of Spain’s total investment budget, an all-time low since 1997. The bulk of that cash was earmarked for public works but, even though the items had already been budgeted for in most cases, the funds never came. In the last few years Spain has systematically ignored the actual needs of Catalans. The delays and breakdowns that hit Barcelona’s commuter lines day in and day out due to a lack of investment in railway infrastructure are a clear example of this.

After nearly one year with a caretaker government in Madrid, we finally have a new Minister of Public Works, Cantabria’s Íñigo de la Serna. As Mayor of Santander, the new minister has always been adamant that Spain’s fast regional train service (AVE) must reach his home town, too. It remains to be seen whether having a better overview of the country’s actual needs in terms of transport will prompt the minister —who holds a degree in civil engineering— to change his mind or, at the very least, to sort out his priorities. Chiefly among such doubts is the need to renovate Barcelona’s commuter network —practically every project budgeted for is yet to be carried out— at a cost of €3,5bn, and the construction of the Mediterranean Railway Corridor, which will require €2,588m worth of investment through to 2020 in Catalonia alone. The EU feels strongly about the latter, which would be a shot in the arm for the economy of the Mediterranean regions and Spain as a whole.

The Spanish government’s lust for high-speed regional railway lines —a redundant, loss-making investment in many cases that has allowed the PP to woo voters and economic agents— should become a thing of the past. Spain’s transport needs must be analysed rationally and in terms of their return on investment, with projects that aid mobility and the economy, whilst saving lives. The lack of funding for adding extra lanes to unsafe roads is intolerable. Catalonia’s list of grievances against Spain’s Public Works Ministry is a long one and the new minister would do well to bear it in mind before making any rash or anti-economic decisions