In Alicante, the national government has awarded public contracts at nearly three times the rate of the regional government over the ten-month period from July 2023 through the latest published data in April, as recorded by Seopan, the Association of Construction and Infrastructure Companies. This comparison covers the first ten months of the new administration formed by the PP and Vox, which took office following the regional elections held on May 28 of the previous year.
According to Seopan’s figures, national government tenders in Alicante reached 306 million euros during this ten-month window, equating to 153.41 euros per resident when divided by the local population. By contrast, the regional government’s public-works tenders totaled 114 million euros, or 57.46 euros per inhabitant. In the other two provinces of the Valencian Community, Valencia received 949 million euros from the central government and 293 million euros from the regional government, translating to 348.95 and 107.79 euros per resident respectively. In Castellón, central government tenders stood at 43 million euros and regional tenders at 13 million, which equals 70.49 and 21.30 euros per inhabitant respectively.
For projects spanning more than one province within the Valencian Community, central government tenders amounted to 101 million euros, while regional tenders totaled 48 million euros. In most of these figures, state investment is approximately three times the regional investment. This pattern also appears when looking at the totals for the Valencian Community as a whole. Central government tendering for construction within the autonomous community reached 1,401 million euros, compared with 469 million euros from the regional government formed by the PP and Vox.
When examining per-province public-works tendering by the central government, Alicante ranked fifth with 306 million euros. Earlier data published between July 2023 and March had positioned Alicante as the third province, a point highlighted by Minister Diana Morant, a leader of the PSPV-PSOE, during her remarks at the Alicante Forum on May 31. Valencia, by comparison, topped the provincial rankings. Castellón sits in a much lower position, at number 35. The national average for central-government tenders across Spain stands at 130 million euros; Alicante exceeds this by 176 million, and Valencia by 819 million.
Turning to regional government allocations, the 114 million euros designated to Alicante place the province at twelfth among Spain’s 52 provinces, just three million euros below the national average of 117 million. Valencia ranks sixth, with regional tenders totaling 176 million euros above the average. Castellón occupies the bottom end of the table at position 50, with Málaga and Albacete trailing behind.
Looking at per-province totals for a region-wide basis, the central government’s total tendering across the Valencian Community surpasses that of many larger regions. The overall figure for the Community of Valencia is substantial, with 1,401 million euros allocated by the central government, compared to 469 million euros from the autonomous regional government led by PP and Vox.
In the broader national context of total tenders by the central government, Alicante’s share places it in the top tier on the per-province scale. The data illustrate how funding priorities diverge between the national and regional levels, with Alicante receiving a higher per-capita allocation from the central government in several categories, and Valencia showing a consistently larger total and per-capita response.
Overall, the Valencian Community’s central-government tenders outpace the regional government’s in most multi-province projects, underscoring the central government’s larger-scale investment footprint in the area. The patterns revealed by Seopan’s figures reflect the ongoing policy and political dynamics shaping infrastructure spending across the region and the country as a whole.