The head of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Óscar Puente, has announced an investment of 1.006 billion euros for the conservation of state roads over the next three years. However, the distribution of these funds has sparked controversy by placing Andalusia at the bottom of the list of beneficiary regions.
According to data released by the Ministry, Andalusia will receive only 20.4 million euros for the upkeep of its roads. This figure starkly contrasts with the 216.3 million allocated to Catalonia, which ranks as the autonomous community with the highest investment, receiving more than ten times the amount designated for the Andalusian region.
Other regions such as Castilla y León will receive 188.4 million, Castilla-La Mancha 183.9 million, and Aragón 148.6 million. The Valencian Community will benefit from 83.7 million, Madrid from 60.7 million, La Rioja from 45.3 million, Galicia from 26.5 million, and Asturias from 32.3 million.
The investment in Andalusia will be concentrated in the province of Huelva, focusing on the A-49 highway and the national roads N-435 and N-435A. These works will cover a total of 146 kilometers, while the other seven Andalusian provinces will not receive state funding for road maintenance.
The plan activated by Óscar Puente's department will only intervene on 165 kilometers out of the 3,451 kilometers of state roads belonging to the State Road Network in Andalusia, representing approximately 4.7% of the total.
Minister Puente has defended the investment as a commitment to the road network and a priority for ensuring mobility and road safety, stating that they are reversing an accumulated conservation deficit of five thousand six hundred million euros since 2011.
The contracts, which include six main lots and 29 sub-lots, will be dedicated to the maintenance and conservation of nearly 3,670 kilometers of state roads in the ten mentioned communities, including 2,261 kilometers of highways. The execution model will be mixed, covering road management, operational assistance, and road safety studies.
