President Salvador Illa has put on the table 3.3 billion euros in infrastructure investments at the start of the 41st edition of the Annual Meeting of the Cercle d’Economia, which began this afternoon in Barcelona. The investment will be through a public-private collaboration mechanism, the president explained at the inauguration of the traditional sessions that were previously held on the Costa Brava and now in Barcelona. Last February, the Government already said it would survey the market to see if there was interest in recovering concessions for road networks and metro stations.
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Illa specified that 1.8 billion will be mobilized immediately while the remaining 1.5 billion is being finalized through different mechanisms. Of the 1.8 billion for “immediate” execution, the most important part will go to the stations of the central section of Barcelona’s L9 metro line (500 million) or to the improvement of some roads such as the Berga-Bagà section (470 million). “The first contacts have been very positive,” said the president.
Regarding the 1.5 billion still being defined, the widening of the C-55 or the second phase of the Tarragona to Reus tram stands out.
At the presentation of the sessions, the president of the Cercle, Teresa Garcia-Milà, valued that the Government has managed to close a budget agreement because it is a “sign of stability and predictability.” From that pact, the president of the Cercle highlighted the usefulness of creating an investment consortium and also the changes in the governance of the Consorci de la Zona Franca.
Garcia-Milà warned of the need for companies in the community to access the defense business, which worldwide has gained ground in the budgets of the Administrations. “Catalonia cannot be left out,” she warned before recalling that there are more than 100 potential companies to access that business.
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The head of the Cercle referred, as on other occasions, to the need to improve productivity. “Without a leap in productivity and wages, we will not be able to maintain the welfare state,” she said.
Regarding immigration, which was a topic of debate at the Cercle, the president of the institution demanded that only those who can be absorbed arrive. Regarding housing, she asked Illa that “the resolution of the problem cannot be transferred” to the owners. She also called for a new financing model.
Illa assured that on Friday Starlux Airlines CO announced to its shareholders a direct flight from Taipei to Barcelona at the beginning of 2027.
