After the financial crisis that lasted between 2008 and 2011, Public-private collaboration models were conspicuous by their absence for more than a decade in Spain. The case of the bankrupt toll roads scared most Public Administrations away from resorting to concession formulas to develop infrastructure.
The Government of Mariano Rajoy threatened with an Extraordinary Road Investment Plan (PIC) of 5,000 million euros that never saw the light of day and that, with Pedro Sánchez in La Moncloa, ended up being buried in drawers. In parallel, the Law of deindexation of the Spanish economy, in force since 2015, limits the discount rate (the profitability, after all) of possible projects to the point of making them practically unviable for construction companies, banks and investment funds. investment.
Although the State continues to abandon the use of concessions and the modification of the deindexation law that construction companies have been imploring for years remains obstructed in the Ministry of Financethere are several Autonomous Communities that have found a way to promote initiatives with sufficient yields for private groups within the legislation or who are working on programs to launch soon.
Aragón, Andalusia, Community of Madrid and Extremadura emerge as main promoters with budding projects that exceed 3.5 billion euros. They are, for now, in general, modest movements and in conditions that are far from the opportunities they offer. United States, Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, Chile or Colombiabut at least construction concessions in Spain are resurrected.
This Monday, October 28, precisely, the Extremadura Government celebrates a day in which will slide the collaborative model on which it intends to establish an infrastructure investment plan in the region, highly focused, according to knowledgeable sources, on roads. The construction sector trusts that the meeting will serve to fuel the debate and refine this model.
The Board has not revealed details, but market sources indicate that the idea of María Guardiola’s Executive is to launch a first project that serves as a pilot test. On the table is using a concession contract for the works of the section between Coria and the Portuguese border of the regional highway EX-1. This will culminate this highway that will connect the north of Cáceres with the neighboring country through high capacity.
Other private sector sources indicate that there are proposals to promote several road projects that would require investments close to 300 million euros. This, under a concession regime, would mean being able to mobilize between 700 and 800 million, they add. In this sense, several roads are designated for conversion into highways: the EX-112, from Zafra to Jerez de los Caballeros; the EX-20, from Cáceres to Miajadas; and the EX-107, from Badajoz to Olivenza.
While waiting to specify the scope and conditions of the foreseeable plan in Extremadura, the official intention of betting on infrastructure concessions It already represents a paradigm shift regarding past positions in the region and present in many other Public Administrations, including the state.
The closest precedent that has been a success, at least so far, is that of Aragón. The Executive of Jorge Azcon gave birth a few months ago to the Extraordinary Highway Plan (previously prepared by the PSOE Government of Javier Lambán). It includes the construction of 11 high-capacity highway routes in the region with an investment in works of 630 million euros and a total value of 2,652 million during the 25 years of the concession – through payments for availability.
Competition was limited, given the limited profitability, but all the tenders managed to be completed with groups such as Acciona, FCC, the Portuguese Ascendi (owned by the French fund Ardian), Papsa, Sarrión, Cyopsa, Alvac, the French fund Meridiam or Aceinsa.
There are already several projects that have achieved financial closure with the support of entities such as Santander, BBVA, Sabadell, the Swiss Swiss Life, or the German asset manager of Munich Re, MEAG, among others.
The Junta de Andalucía, for its part, has been trying to promote public-private collaboration initiatives for years and in recent months has completed the first projects. It has also done so thanks to the development of private initiatives, a very widespread figure in America.
The most advanced project is the City of Justice of Jaénwhose tender is expected before the end of the year. Acciona and Vialterra (Pigasol) prepared the feasibility study of an infrastructure that contemplates an investment in construction of around 80 million and a cost of 270 million.
The Government of Juan Manuel Moreno has hired KPMG to design a document that could serve as a basis for other concessions in progress, such as new courts of Cádiz and Huelva. Iridium (ACS), and Martín Castillas have presented an initiative for the first case, with an investment of about 70 million and a cost of 175 million for the fee. Meanwhile, Cointer (Azvi) has done the same for the capital of Huelva, with at least 75 million of investment.
Also on the table of the Junta de Andalucía are private initiatives from ACS and Azvi and Acciona to improve the A-376 and A-362 between Seville and Utrera and the A-357 between Málaga, Campillos and Ronda, with estimated investments of more than 600 million. Moreno and his team are also looking at options for a new hospital in Malaga.
Meanwhile, the Madrid Municipal Transport Company (EMT), dependent on the Community of Madrid, promotes the concession of work for the New La Elipa Operations Center for electric buses and studies a similar project in Las Tablas. The use of the concession model comes after the Government of Isabel Díaz Ayuso failed in its attempt to apply it in the City of Justice of Madrid, which finally had to be put out to tender with a construction contract.
Within the Community of Madrid, in any case, other important concession projects have also been put out to tender. It was last year when the Commonwealth of Northwest Municipalities for the Management and Treatment of Urban Waste carried out the concession of works for the Colmenar Viejo environmental complex for 1,091.2 million euros.
This project, the Aragon Highway Plan and other service contracts led to exceeding 6,000 million euros in 2023 in contracts under a concession regime, a figure that has not been seen since the early years of this century.
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