The TSJC endorses the rescue of the Eix Transversal by the Generalitat
Cedinsa had filed an appeal arguing that it was done out of time and at a lower price than it should have received.
BarcelonaThe High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) has upheld the operation by which the Generalitat (Catalan government) rescued the Eix Transversal (C-25) highway, operated by the concessionaire Cedinsa, which took place at the end of 2022 at the hands of the Catalan government. In a ruling by the administrative court, the judges dismissed the appeal filed by the concessionaire Cedinsa and considered that the rescue was carried out taking advantage of a window provided by the contract and that the price was correct.
The Eix Transversal rescue operation was initiated by the current Junts MP Jaume Giró when he was Minister of Economy, although it was completed by his successor as head of the department, Natàlia Mas. The Generalitat (Catalan government) paid €479 million from its own funds to terminate the concession. According to calculations by the Department of Economy, the rescue of this highway between Cervera and Caldes de Malavella allowed the Generalitat to save up to almost 800 million euros over time.
The Government took over the highway from January 1, 2023, with direct management by the Department of Territory, after paying 479.3 million euros to the concessionaire Cedinsa. With this measure, the Government anticipated a total net savings of 781 million euros until 2040, when the concession ended.
The 2010 concession contract opened three windows for the Government to regain direct management of the highway. The first window, in 2017,the then Secretary of Economy tried to activate itand later president of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès, but the application of Article 155 thwarted the operation. The second window was in 2022, and the former Minister of Economy, Jaume Giró, designed the operation to recover the concession, which was later closed by the next holder of the portfolio, Natàlia Mas.
Cedinsa, the concessionaire initially set up by several Catalan construction companies, is now controlled by the French fundVauban Infrastructure PartnersAlthough Minister Giró had proposed financing the operation with external resources or even the FLA, the Generalitat ultimately paid with treasury surpluses, that is, with its own resources.