Transportes licita for 28.3 million euros a contract for the conservation of roads in the province of Salamanca

• The duration of the contract is three years, with the possibility of extension for another two years, and is part of the program of conservation and exploitation of the State Road Network. • It includes actions such as accident monitoring and attention, winter road, tunnel control and communications service or the maintenance of facilities. • The specifications include conditions to promote the improvement of energy efficiency and the reduction of emissions of the activity of the General Directorate of Roads, which currently emits 71,640 tons of CO2 annually.

April 1, 2024.- The Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility has signed a service contract for the conservation and operation of state roads in the province of Salamanca, with a base tender budget of 28.3 million euros (VAT included). Soon, the corresponding announcement will be published in the Official State Gazette (BOE).

The duration of the contract is three years, with the possibility of an extension of two years and an additional one of a maximum of nine months. It includes requirements to promote energy efficiency and emission reduction and is part of the program of this Ministry to maintain the conditions of circulation, road and safety in the State Road Network (RCE), ensuring that it is accessible in the appropriate conditions to all citizens.

The works will be used for the maintenance and maintenance of 315,156 km of roads in Sector No. 3 (including 164,440 km of motorway), and covers several sections of the A-66 motorways and their service roads, A-50, A-62, and the N-630, N-630A, N-501, N-501A and N-620 roads.

Together with the related roads, the execution of the works of:

• Superficial rehabilitation of the firm. Service route of the A-66 motorway, between the kilometer points 393,130 and 397,770. Stretch: Link Guijuelo Sur – Nava Link of Béjar Norte.
• Conversion of two intersections into closed roundabouts. Road N-630, kilometric points 371,450 and 409,050.

Reduce emissions

Within the strategy of reducing emissions and improving energy efficiency, the tender documents of the conservation and exploitation contracts (COEX) of the State Road Network include objectives of mitigation and compensation of the carbon footprint, which means that companies must include in their offers the calculation of the carbon footprint that they will generate during the execution of the contract in each stretch of the road.

They will also commit to presenting a decarbonization plan in the first six months of the contract with emission reduction and compensation measures to achieve a carbon neutral balance within five years of the contract’s inception. The compensation can be done through the absorption projects registered in the Carbon Footprint, Compensation and Carbon Dioxide Absorption Projects, under the Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, or through other options. This plan will also be included within the valuation criteria.

The aim is to reduce CO2 by 71,640 tons per year, which, according to calculations made by the General Directorate of Roads, generates the regular operation and maintenance and operation of the State Road Network and reinforces the orientation towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to which this Ministry is committed.

Characteristics of the conservation model

The model of mixed contracts (services and works) for the execution of conservation and exploitation operations in the State Road Network aims to offer a comprehensive service of mobility to the user, improve the state of the road and network and optimize public resources.

Through them, works are carried out to help the roads and ordinary conservation of the roads, to allow the infrastructure and its functional elements to have the best possible conditions of circulation and safety. It includes actions such as: schedule of status information and programming, operating aid and road safety studies and maintenance of road elements with adequate levels of quality.

In 2022, energy efficiency measures were incorporated into service facilities, such as self-consumption, renewable heating systems, energy saving measures in lighting or the implementation of electric vehicles.