The Chamber of Barcelona has raised to 50,900 million euros the total investment needed until 2040 to correct the deficit in infrastructure that Catalonia is suffering. The entity has analyzed the main needs of the territory, both in the railway, road and airport networks, and calculates that they need a gross expenditure of 2,800 million per year until 2040.
Only in this way would it be possible to reverse the current situation and converge with 19% of the total state stock, following what is established in the third additional provision of the Statute, stressed yesterday Mònica Roca, president of the Chamber, and Alícia Casart, director of infrastructures, at the presentation of the report in Barcelona. “The deficit in infrastructure is chronic, it is urgent to act and also take into account the climate emergency situation to design the projects”, they insisted.
The entity has identified 20 priority projects that should be implemented before 2030 and that would require an investment of around 10,000 million euros. Among these projects, 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 weight loss of Rodalies in interurban mobility, which has gone from 43% to 34% between 1996 and 2019. Meanwhile, the use of private cars to access Barcelona is increasing, they emphasized from the Chamber.
“Ensuring the second phase of the Neighborhood Plan (2020-2030) is vital to curb this trend, an objective that requires coordination between the State and the Generalitat”, the study considers. It also focuses on the planned actions for the Generalitat Railways and the construction of the Interchanges with the aim of creating “a network that will increase the share of public transport in metropolitan mobility”.
The total investment of the Generalitat de Catalunya to make this network possible would be 1,440 million euros, according to the Chamber, and the exchangers would reach 885 million. Strengthening regional rail connections, which are now very deficient, and providing greater capacity to the Mediterranean corridor – it is approaching its capacity limit, the report warns – are also among the most urgent needs.
With regard to the road network, Casart insisted that the fourth belt (B-40) must be built “either yes or no” to promote the productive fabric in the Vallès area and public transport in the region. This is one of the projects agreed between the ERC and the PSC in the budget pact of the Generalitat. In addition, the organization is advocating for a system of pricing and payment for the use of the main roads.
Many of the projects that the Chamber points out as essential are already designed or, at least, thought of and identified. However, for others there is no clear approach. This is the case of Barcelona airport. “His future is an unknown”, lamented Roca and Casart. The initial expansion project, with an expected investment of 1,700 million euros, is parked due to a lack of agreement between the Generalitat and the central government, a situation of deadlock that the chamber body believes must be resolved urgently.
In this sense, they asked the Government to take the initiative on El Prat and present a future plan to increase long-distance flights. “We would like to see a firm proposal from the Generalitat on the Catalan airport system”, added Roca.
From the Chamber they clarified that they are not advocating increasing the number of passengers globally at the airport, but distributing them. The formula, they said, would be to relieve Barcelona of intra-European travelers, whose final destination is Catalonia, and improve the capacity of El Prat for intercontinental flights. This plan would involve strengthening the rail connections between Barcelona and the airports of Girona and Reus and management of the system from Catalonia, they insisted.
The president of the Chamber also corrected the Minister of Transport, Raquel Sánchez, who a few days ago highlighted the increase in investment carried out in Catalonia. “Despite the increase, it does not reach 40% of the budget, it is one breach after another”, he concluded.
The report points out that, at least since 2015, the central government has never executed the item budgeted for infrastructure in Catalonia. A deficit that has worsened during the 2021-2022 period, the analysis indicates. According to the report, real investment figures are lower than in other years, down 36%. If in 2019 the budget for state public sector investments in Catalonia was 1,312 million, the execution remained at 957 million. And in 2021 the proportion was lower, with 740 million executed of the 2,068 million budgeted.
