Cant changes in infrastructure investment plans announced for Alicante have been proposed by the PP- Vox-led Consell. The alteration refers to the extra 200 million euros the central government approved to allocate to the province in 2022, following a grievance in the General State Budgets. On December 5, 2022, the then-ministries of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda and the Generalitat’s Department of Territorial Policy, Public Works and Mobility signed an agreement in which the State Administration would fund Valencian infrastructure projects selected by the Consell. (Source: governmental records, 2022).
Enshrined in that agreement, which remains valid until December 31, 2025, with potential extension at the government’s discretion, are the projects defined and approved by both parties, though modifications could occur during the contract period. On June 6, the current Department of Environment, Water, Infrastructure and Territory formally proposed to the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility the elimination of projects amounting to 25.7 million euros, of which 21.6 million pertain to Alicante, 2.3 million to Valencia and 1.8 million to Castellón. In their place, the department led by Salomé Pradas conveyed another proposal to the ministry headed by Óscar Puente, where Alicante would receive 6.1 million euros for different projects. (Source: department correspondence, 2024).
From the Consell’s perspective, the proposed modification is justified by the fact that the original Botànic list of works for the province is now deemed unrealizable by the 2025 deadline because many projects lack a mature design or prior planning. Therefore, at the start of June, the change was proposed to prioritize Valencia’s infrastructures, which reportedly have a higher level of readiness. The Infrastructure department emphasizes that this shift does not cancel Alicante projects but aims to optimize resources for the entire Community to ensure funds are not left unused. (Source: infrastructure briefings, 2024).
Beneficiada
In the updated scenario proposed by the Conselleria, the principal beneficiary becomes the Valencia province, which loses 2.3 million euros for works initially slated to rise to 34.4 million. In other words, Valencia absorbs the 15 million Alicante loses, plus absorbing 1.8 million from Castellón and an additional 15 million due to the overall increase in the Community’s total from 25.7 to 40.5 million. (Source: official modification notes, 2024).
Among the initial projects that were cancelled in the revised plan for the entire autonomous region, 20.3 million euros relate to road safety and maintenance, concentrated in Alicante and inland Castellón. Also cut are cycle-pedestrian initiatives, notably those tied to the Salinero rail line and the Rojales–Guardamar connection in Alicante. (Source: program adjustments, 2024).
The Conselleria led by Pradas has requested the cancellation of 23 projects, 16 in Alicante, six in Castellón and one in Valencia. Alicante’s cancelled works include strengthening of the CV-70, CV-715, CV-804, CV-83, CV-830, CV-913, CV-915, CV-941 and CV-950 roads totaling 7.6 million euros, the safety improvements on the CV-95 to CV-941 connection and access to Villa Martín in San Miguel de Salinas for 3 million, drainage improvements along the Derramador stream in Jacarilla for 600,000 euros, the cycle-pedestrian works on former greenways of the Salinero railway and the CV-895 between Rojales and Guardamar for 3.8 million, the underpass railway project between Alcoy and Xàtiva for 1.1 million, and safety enhancements on the CV-820 and CV-865 between Elche and Santa Pola for 5.3 million. (Source: council records, 2024).
In the new framework presented by the Conselleria of Environment to the Ministry in early June, 16 Alicante projects are slated for removal in favor of advancing two new ones. Valencia, meanwhile, will gain nine additional works, with the two new Alicante projects being the doubling of the line and electrification between the Vila station stop and Benidorm station and an automatic protection system on line 9 of the Generalitat Valenciana rail network, valued at 5.3 million and 700,000 euros respectively. Valencia’s nine new projects total 34.4 million, including the modernization of signaling and automatic protection in the single-track segments of Metrovalencia lines 1 and 2 for 14.6 million and the installation of signaling, automatic protection and SAE-CT for the Metrovalencia tram network for 9.9 million. Altogether, three provinces will share a total funding of 200 million from the national government. (Source: ministry briefs, 2024).
Un convenio de compensación
The agreement between the Government and the Generalitat, under which modifications to the works were proposed, was disclosed in late 2022. It consists of an additional 300 million euros for the region, with two-thirds originally planned for Alicante. The accord was signed after Alicante faced a new grievance in the General State Budgets. Among the works that remain for Alicante is the central tram station project. The Consell asserts that none of the projects are abandoned and that they will be completed later, either through a new agreement with the central government or via its own funds. (Source: historical agreement records, 2022).