Who will pay for the highway?
The debate agitates Spain, where the government wants to overhaul the financing of 12,000 km of expressways, after having provisionally made several sections free at the end of the concession.
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With the expiry of the concession contracts held by subsidiaries of the Abertis group, the government of Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez de facto took over the portions concerned in the bosom of the State. This decision, which covers four sections and nearly 500 km of motorway, "
will allow savings of 750 million euros
" per year "
for users
", welcomed the Minister of Transport, Raquel Sánchez.
In the country - where, in total, nearly 85% of expressways are currently free of tolls - two sections had already been made free in 2020, preceded by three others in 2018. In three years, 1,029 kilometers of expressways have been made. thus passed from private to public, for an estimated gain of 1.4 billion euros for motorists.
These decisions correspond to a commitment from the government: when he came to power in 2018, Pedro Sánchez promised not to extend the expiring concessions, in order to overhaul the Spanish motorway model, marked by strong disparities.
Sensitive subject
The gratuity should not last, however.
“
What we want is a pay-per-use pricing system
”, assured Raquel Sánchez, promising a “
fair, balanced and sustainable
” system, “
territorially homogeneous
” and “
which does not arouse resentment
”.
Public or private, national or regional highways ... In recent decades, the Spanish State has multiplied the formulas to "
improve its road network
", despite "
limited financial resources
", explains to AFP María Ángeles Baeza, professor at the University of Granada (south).
The "
concession system
", favored in the periods 1967-1975 and 1996-2006, favored "
economic development
" but also "
generated incomprehension among citizens, from one end of the country to the other. Spain
”, insists this specialist in the Spanish motorway system.
For this reason, the overhaul desired by Madrid is a sensitive subject.
The maintenance of motorways has a high cost, in the order of 80,000 euros per km and per year.
A cost difficult for the State to assume, given the level of Spanish public debt (122.1% of GDP).
In its recovery plan sent to the European Commission, the Spanish government has undertaken to review “
the expressway financing model
” by establishing a
dedicated
“
income
”
source
.
"
It does not make sense that their maintenance depends on the state budget
", supplied "
by all citizens, even those who do not use these roads
", argues the Minister of Transport.
Consultation
Several options on the nature of this funding are on the table.
Among them, the establishment of a “
sticker
” on the Swiss model, allowing motorists to use the entire motorway network against a fixed fee.
Another possibility: payment by the kilometer via an automated portal system allowing the invoice to be debited directly from the user's bank card.
With, again, an undifferentiated price regardless of the region.
According to the Spanish media, the balance would then tip in favor of a “
generalized but symbolic
”
toll
of 1 to 1.5 cents per km for cars and five cents for trucks.
Figures subject to change.
Whichever model is chosen, the solution will involve making many sections that have hitherto been free, chargeable.
A prospect that arouses tensions among many motorists.
Faced with reluctance, the government has committed to a consultation that should last several months.