The Government of Spain “is the one that has invested the most in the province of Alicante”, said the delegate
The 50% of tender for public works by the Government of Spain so far this year -212M€- has been destined to the province of Alicante
In the province of Alicante, more than 9,500 projects are being implemented for more than €421M of Next Generation funds managed by the Government
Barnabas: “The Government encourages Alicante to be one of the driving provinces of the Spanish economy”
The delegate of the Government in the Valencian Community, Pilar Bernabé, stressed that “the Central Executive has allocated more than 2 billion euros to the province of Alicante in this legislature”. This is a “historical investment that shows the commitment of the Government of Spain to the strategic infrastructures of Alicante in railway, road and water matters”.
Bernabé, who today participated in the Meetings on Infrastructure organized by the Business Confederation of the Valencian Community (CEV) in Alicante, stressed that “the Government of Spain is the one that has invested the most in the province” aware that it is “an indispensable piece in the economic context”. In this line, he said that “the Government has promoted Alicante to be one of the driving provinces of the Spanish economy”. For this, 50% of the tender in public works of the Government of Spain in what we have been of year -212M€- has been destined to Alicante. This amount, according to the delegate, amounts to “€170M more than what the Government tendered last year and almost €200M more than in 2019”.
Bernabé recalled that the Government of Spain has litigated in recent years public works in the province of Alicante for the value of 427M€. “In 2022, the Comunitat Valenciana was the autonomous region with the highest volume of bidding,” he added.
Regarding the Next Generation Funds, said the delegate, in the province of Alicante more than 9,500 projects are being executed with more than 421 M€ of funding through the European funds managed by the Government.
General State Budgets and Autonomous Budgets
Bernabé has reviewed the more than €200M in investments in the province of Alicante that collected the PGE for 2023, €16.5M more than in 2022. Faced with this increase, he said, is the amount that Alicante will receive from the regional budgets for 2024 “which now suffers a cut of more than €124M compared to what it received from the Consell del Botànic”. This first budget of the new government of the Generalitat “is a ploy and a mockery for the people of Alicante: it has been cut in the main economic engines of the province, such as tourism, innovation and industry”.
Road, rail and airport infrastructures
In terms of roads, the delegate, has highlighted, among other investments of the Government of Spain, the € 105M for the creation of a third lane of the AP7 between Crevillent and the link of Orihuela/Benferri; the € 57M for the implementation and improvement of the variant of Benissa or the € 30M in 2023 to connect the AP-7 with the N-332 road.
With regard to railway investments, Bernabé has highlighted the investments made by the Government for the Mediterranean Corridor “a fundamental infrastructure for Alicante”. In the last legislature, as he said, “more than 5,500M€ have been awarded, 4,123 M€ have been awarded and actions worth 2,513 M€ have been executed”. In addition, he pointed out that “in these 5 years of government we have put the province of Alicante at the head of the Spanish high speed”. Thus, he said that “it is the only Spanish province with 4 high-speed stations: Alicante, Elche, Orihuela and Villena”. To this he added, the €505 million destined for the new route in conventional width between Xàtiva and the Knot of the Encina, inaugurated a few months ago and “fundamental for the development of the Mediterranean Corridor”. In addition, the drafting of the basic project and works of the Torrellano Variant is already underway, which will allow the connection of Alicante and Elche with the airport of El Altet and which is an alternative to the tracks of the maritime façade, with an approximate investment of more than 100 M€.
In relation to investments in State ports, the investment collected in the PGE 2023 amounts to € 5.38M, which is joined by € 1.5M in 2023 for the “Port-city Actions” that have a total investment of almost € 5M.
Water infrastructure
Bernabé also referred to the approval of the “historic” Trasvase Júcar-Vinalopó “a milestone, since it guarantees water to 22,000 farmers in Alicante, over the next 10 years at 0.24 cents”. According to the delegate, the works of the 8 driving sections have involved an investment of €328M and the planned investment in the installation of photovoltaic panels, which solve the problem of the high price for energy costs, is €97.6M. In addition, there is €542 million in investments for the period 2022-2027 in the province of Alicante to increase the production of water from desalination plants and for the installation of photovoltaic energy. To this is added the investments for the Desalination Plant of Torrevieja: the 155 M€ for the Photovoltaic Self-Generation Park or the 70 M€ for its expansion.