The Alicante province faces another year of tight public spending as the General Government Budgets, prepared by Finance Minister Maria Jesus Monteror, were presented to the Congress of Deputies this Thursday. The figures show only 160.8 million euros allocated to investments in the province, the lowest level in history and well below a third of what population size would justify.
Although the government emphasizes that the main focus for the coming year is social measures to cushion inflation’s impact on families, and acknowledges that overall investment may not grow as quickly as other expenditure, regional investments are set to rise by 3.3 percent. The current project increases the regionalized investment from 13,007 million euros in last year’s Budget Project to 13,443 million euros. This marks a real increase for the province.
In Alicante specifically, however, the accounts presented by María Jesús Montero to Congress president Meritxell Batet show a 12.3 percent cut from last year’s project, where 183.5 million euros were expected. The final approved project stands at approximately 195 million after adjustments made during processing. It should be noted that last year’s figure already represented a 38 percent reduction from the previous exercise.
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Thus, it seems destined to be the worst year for state investments in the province, with figures falling below those seen in 2017 and 2018 under the prior administrations. The government’s budget allocates less than a third of what Alicante’s population would justify, totaling 537 million euros.
3,539 million in complaints
Execution delays persist. The province continues to face limited government investments, a persistent grievance voiced by Alicante businessmen and civic groups. Calculations from the Alicante Institute of Economic Research indicate that between 2008 and 2022, the central government allocated 3.162 million euros less to the province than what its population weight would suggest. This gap widened to 3,539 million euros after recent revisions.
The Alicante think tank attributes the investment gap to a broader decline in the state’s relative income across regions, with other areas benefiting more from public money in recent years.
The 2023 Budgets also show that baby-check style measures expand in January, while complaints persist about direct investments from various ministries—yet these are consistently below population weights. Public companies and foundations contribute a relatively small share, totaling 9.303 million euros, or 0.58 percent of the national total. The province accounts for about 4 percent of the country’s residents, according to INE data.
Regional comparisons reveal that planned regionalized investments rose from 1,208 to 1,269 million euros. Still, this constitutes only 9.4 percent of the total, while the Community of Valencia holds 10.7 percent of Spain’s population. The difference is explained by Valencia receiving the largest public sector investment in the province’s history, with up to 786 million euros planned for next year to support projects in Alicante.