Overview of the planned toll reform for Spain’s roads
The government has initiated a review of several options to introduce a new toll system for the country’s roads by 2024, backed by substantial grant funding amounting to 70 billion euros. The proposal is part of ongoing evaluations aimed at reshaping how road usage is charged and funded in the post pandemic and post conflict economic environment.
Under the supervision of the General Directorate of Highways, which answers to the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, public consultancy firm Ineco has been tasked with preparing nine reports to assess a new financing framework for road networks. This assignment, as disclosed on the ministry’s tender portal, reflects a strategic move to explore revenue models for roads that could accompany broader transport reforms.
The contract for these services is valued at 1.4 million euros, with a projected duration of ten months. As part of this engagement, Ineco has already engaged the services of KPMG Abogados for 89,000 euros to provide legal, financial, and tax advisory support focused on road sector matters.
In mid last year, minister Raquel Sánchez indicated caution about rushing industry discussions on the plan, noting the fragile economic context created by the pandemic and the ongoing impacts of the war in Ukraine. Despite this pause, she confirmed that the measure would proceed and suggested that an initial feasibility study was already underway. The core idea remains to advance a pay per use system as the preferred model for road pricing, subject to further industry input and validation.
On 10 June, the formal contract between the General Directorate of Highways and Ineco became official. By 10 August, the consultancy services were publicly tendered, signaling progress toward a policy that could see tolls become active in 2024. All indicators point to a timeline that aligns with this anticipated milestone.
Harmonization with European Union expectations
The government has signaled alignment with the European Semester recommendations for Spain in the 2019-2020 framework, recognizing that tolls are already in use in most EU countries such as Italy, France, and Portugal. This alignment supports the staged rollout of the pricing measure, which is expected to unfold over three phases.
The first stage involves consolidating the policy approach and agreeing on necessary regulatory steps. The second phase focuses on the design and engineering of the chosen solution. The third stage encompasses the procurement and deployment of services needed to implement the new billing system on road networks.
A key area of analysis in the nine reports is the potential use of vignette-style models that grant annual access for a fixed fee, alongside distance-based tolls that charge users according to travel patterns and time of day. The scope will also determine which parts of the road network would be priced, weighing the use of state highways alone against the inclusion of autonomous communities’ roads, and even considering other transport modes if relevant. The plan will also address financial implications to protect vulnerable road users from undue burden.
The assessment will explore the breadth of the pricing network to be charged, clarifying whether pricing would cover only major arteries or extend to regional and local routes, with the ultimate goal of avoiding territorial disparities while ensuring that funding mechanisms support essential maintenance and sustainable mobility.