The Government and Acciona negotiate an agreement to close the conflict over the privatization of ATLL

BarcelonaThe Generalitat and the company Acciona are negotiating to definitively close the conflict over the privatization of Aigües Ter Llobregat (ATLL), according to what was announced this Thursday The Vanguard and sources from the Government have confirmed to ARA. The negotiation is focused on how much the Government should pay the company for the loss of profits.

ATLL was the largest privatisation carried out by the Government at the time of the cuts, when Artur Mas was in charge and Lluís Recoder was the Minister of Territory. The award was made at the end of 2012 for a period of 50 years and a price of 1,000 million euros. Acciona paid almost 300 initially, but the case was taken to court.

The TSJC annulled the concession, which was ratified by the Supreme Court, establishing that the company should be compensated. The government of the Generalitat, with Pere Aragonès at the head, made a first payment to ATLL of 377 million euros. But Acciona and its partners filed a claim in which they also asked for compensation for lost profits, that is, for the money it stopped earning due to the end of the concession that was to last 50 years.

The company controlled by the Entrecanales family claimed up to 900 million euros in compensation. But now, according to The Vanguard, the company would be negotiating to receive about 120 million euros to close the case, which would mean raising Government payments for bankruptcy privatisation to around 500 million euros in total (the 377 already paid plus those 120 of lost profits). The case could end with a impact on public coffers of more than 1 billion euros in case the courts accepted the initial claim of Acciona and its partners (900 million) plus legal interest.

Judicialization and claim

In their claim, Acciona and its partners are relying on a clause in the contract that recognised that the company should receive compensation for lost profits if the concession was revoked. The award of ATLL was judicially annulled after the company Agbar, which was competing with Acciona for the award, was removed from the tender by the Administrative Body for Contractual Appeals (OARCC). Agbar then took the case to court, which ultimately annulled the award.