Javier Pérez Fortea has been leading Globalvia for a decade, a large transport operator with a presence in toll roads, subways, trams, railways and buses. The company is a reference shareholder of Iryo, as well as London’s main bus manager and a leader in passenger transport in the United Kingdom through Go-Ahead, among other activities. His CEO advises the UN on infrastructure and is concerned about the sustainability of transportation. Catalonia is, as he says, a market on which the company has its sights set.
What is Globalvia?
An evolving global transportation infrastructure leader. Since 2015 we have been interested in disruptive technologies. We are no longer infrastructure managers, but mobility providers. The new generations no longer want to move like the old ones. We are also dedicated to multimobility, digitalization and enabling autonomous cars to circulate on our highways.
What are Globalvia’s strategic lines for the coming years?
We believe in the sustainability of transportation as our first objective. We have the largest fleet of electric buses in the UK through Go-Ahead and are partners with Australia’s Kinetic. Our subways run on renewable energy and we have just won a prize for the one in Seville, which not only consumes 30% less electricity with twice as many passengers, but has also launched photovoltaic panels that self-generate 15% of the residual consumption. . We work with companies that create applications on how to travel from one end of the city to the other using public transportation. We are a sustainable transportation service provider.
They have about 2,000 million for new operations. What will they use the money for?
Globalvia is a growth platform. We are now in 12 countries, half with Globalvia and half with Go-Ahead. We grow well, we don’t want to grow by believing. Our shareholders are long-term pension funds (Canada, Netherlands and United Kingdom). But before they came in we were already thinking like that. What differentiates us from competitors is that we manage projects that provide the best service. We do not focus so much on today’s problems but rather we look to the long future. We have 99-year concessions. We only invest, therefore, when it makes sense and in what makes sense. We take a good look at where to do it. We continue to invest in highways, railways, high speed and innovation.
What does the entry into the Iryo shareholding mean?
We are delighted with Iryo’s project. We had studied other possibilities, but we found a technical and emotional fit with the other shareholders, with Ilsa and with Treintalia. We are very happy with the result of the investment and with the service we are able to provide. We think that the liberalization of high speed in Spain works better than in other countries. We have a clear vocation for managing railway projects and we think that high speed is the future. We are very determined to invest in high speed in any European and OECD country.
Are you interested in the Mediterranean Corridor?
It is an urgent need. The passenger demand that will be created when it is completed and in service will prove that it is very necessary. We will bet on offering high-speed services through Iryo, without a doubt.
Are they benefiting from public transport aid?
It is a political measure that is good for infrastructure management companies, but not that good either. Economically, for us it does not usually have much impact despite the increase in demand. However, we think it is a fantastic political measure because it encourages public transport. That said, as toll road operators we are convinced that everything is a toll. Either you pay for it with your taxes or you pay for it to use. We are advocates of pay-per-use, letting those who use the infrastructure pay.
What do you think of the Government’s decision not to apply the toll model on the roads?
Ábalos said at the time that Spain has a deficit of 2,000 million in highway maintenance, before the elimination of highway tolls that were expiring. It makes no sense from the point of view of infrastructure companies that, given the deficit, the toll is removed from highways that enjoy exceptional maintenance. The user who wants that road surface in good condition decides to pay that toll for years.
Do you plan to bid for bus lines in Spain?
We always keep our eyes on Spain, it seems to us to be a safe country to invest in. Legal security is the first thing we look at and then financial depth. Spain continues to have legal security for us to invest. Just as we invested in the past, we can continue to do so in the present. The liberalization of the bus business market in Spain has to come, it has not happened. The bus transport market in Spain is very particular. In addition, there are fantastic bus companies that we would have no problem buying or participating in.
Are you interested in Catalonia?
For us Catalonia is an important market. We have had concessions in the past, we have in the present and we will have in the future. Our relationship with the Generalitat is splendid. We are delighted with the Barcelona trams, of which we are the largest shareholders, and we would welcome any opportunity.
Are there business opportunities in the privatization of Renfe merchandise?
Yes, we are interested. But a total liberalization, that does not have dependencies on Renfe.
Globalvia is owned by several pension funds. Is there a possibility of welcoming more shareholders?
An investor who has a different profile will never enter. Our shareholders would only want partners that are investment funds. A fund that has to rotate every five years has to maximize its investment. The entry of partners is very possible because investment funds are suffering from the so-called denominator effect. They have to have a diversification that sometimes they do not achieve. At some point it could happen that one fund wants to leave and another fund wants to enter. Today, despite the uncertainties, there is a need to place capital in the world.
How is mobility going to change in cities?
Mobility is going to be absolutely modal. The buses will increasingly be smaller and more autonomous and we will go to the on-demand service. There are already pilots in the mountains of Madrid for on-demand buses. In the future, to go from the center of Madrid to the Barajas airport there will be a drone. We realized that vertiports are needed for this. We have already won an international vertiport design competition, which is an evolved, digital heliport with recharging capacity. We are working on several pilots, but it is very difficult because air regulations are European and we are more conservative than others. Asia is the least conservative. We are studying to do a 20-minute drone tourist route through Seville.
Are you interested in autonomous cars?
No. But we are working to ensure that autonomous cars have greater connectivity with our infrastructure. In the United States we are going to make roads only for autonomous cars, through Openvia. We have invested in Cavnue, a company where Ford and Google also participate. We are developing projects with the future trend of recharging the car while driving, by induction, while driving on the highway.