The Chamber of Barcelona has raised to 50,900 million euros the total investment necessary until 2040 to correct the deficit in infrastructure that Catalonia is dragging. The entity has analyzed the main needs of the territory both in the rail, road and airport networks, and calculates that these require a gross expenditure of 2,800 million per year until the aforementioned year. Only in this way would it be possible to reverse the current situation and converge with 19% of the total state stock, following the provisions of the third additional provision of the Statute, underlined this Tuesday Mònica Roca, president of the Chamber, and Alícia Casart, director of infrastructures, during the presentation of the report in Barcelona.
“The deficit in infrastructures is becoming chronic, it is urgent to act and also take into account the climate emergency situation to design the projects”, they have insisted. The entity has identified twenty priority projects that should be executed before 2030 and that would require an investment of around 10,000 million euros. Among them, those related to Rodalies stand out. The passenger transport network in Catalonia accumulates incidents and the images of hundreds of passengers waiting on the platform due to delays or breakdowns are already recurring. A malfunction that could be behind the gradual loss of weight of Rodalies in interurban mobility, which has gone from 43% to 34% between 1996 and 2019. Meanwhile, the use of private cars in the accesses to Barcelona is increasing.
“Ensuring the second phase of the Rodalies Plan (2020-2030) is vital to stop this trend, something that requires agreement between the State and the Generalitat,” the study considers. It also focuses on the actions planned for the Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat and the construction of the Interchanges with the aim of creating “a network that allows increasing the share of public transport in metropolitan mobility”. The total investment by the Generalitat de Catalunya to make this network possible would be 1,440 million euros, according to the Chamber, while the interchanges would reach 885 million. Reinforcing regional rail connections, now very deficient, and providing greater capacity for the Mediterranean corridor – it is approaching its capacity limit, they have warned – is also among the most pressing needs.
Regarding the road network, Casart has insisted that the fourth ring road (B-40) must be carried out “yes or yes” to boost the productive fabric in the Vallès area and public transport in the region. This is one of the projects agreed between ERC and the PSC in the budget pact. The entity also advocates for a system of pricing and payment for use of the main roads.
Many of the projects that the Chamber identifies as essential are already designed or, at least, thought out and identified. However, for others there is no clear approach. This is the case of Barcelona airport. “His future is unknown,” Roca and Casart lamented. The initial expansion project is on hold due to a lack of agreement between the Generalitat and the central government, a deadlock situation that the chamber entity considers urgent to resolve. In this sense, they have asked the Catalan Government to take the initiative on El Prat and present a plan for the future to increase long-haul flights. “We would like to see a firm proposal from the Generalitat on the Catalan airport system,” added Roca.
The president of the Chamber has also amended the Minister of Transport, Raquel Sánchez, who highlighted the increase in investment carried out in Catalonia a few days ago. “Despite the increase, it does not reach 40% of what was budgeted, it is a breach on another,” she has settled.
