The arrival of European funds has led to a golden biennium for the construction sector in Spain, according to Julián Núñez, president of the Seopan employers' association. Until November, the tendering of works by public administrations has reached 25,310 million euros, 1.9% above last year, which was already a record year. “December has also been a month with an important tender, so 2023 will remain a year similar to 2022, which was already a very good year,” says Núñez. In 2022, works worth 30,074 million euros were put out to tender, 27.9% more than in 2021, when this extraordinary support from Europe barely existed.
Next Generation EU funds have financed 12.3% of the works tendered this year, compared to 12% in 2022. Until November, works have been tendered for 3,043 million euros charged to European funds, 84% of which correspond to projects of the General State Administration (2,549 million), while the communities have received 238 million and the local administrations, 211 million.
The impact of European funds explains why the General State Administration has led the tenders in 2023: until November it tendered works for 9,389.9 million euros, 40.7% more compared to the same period in 2022, while that of the autonomous communities was 6,969.2 million (18.9% less) and that of local administrations was 8,950.9 million (6.5% less).
In total, Núñez points out, from 2019 to November 2023 these funds have financed works worth 11,111 million (about 8,000 million euros excluding rehabilitations). “It is an important amount but far from that of other countries like Italy, where it has been 50,000 million,” he points out. In this period Adif has been the main investor with European funds, with 63% (6,996 million euros). Consequently, these funds have mostly financed railway infrastructure (49% of the total), terminals (11.2%) and roads (8.2%). The deadline to tender works receiving this aid closed in December, so 2024 will no longer have this stimulus.
“Many of the works tendered in 2023 will be awarded and contracted this year, so activity in the sector will still remain high,” recalled Núñez, who considered that 2024 will therefore be “a transition exercise,” and warned of a change scenario from 2025. "In 2024 there will be no reduction in public investment, but from 2025 European funds will have run out and budgets will begin to notice the EU's demand for greater fiscal discipline."
Seopan, Núñez explained, advocates deepening public-private collaboration formulas, such as concessions, to maintain public investment while increasing social spending, and also fulfill the European commitment to fiscal consolidation.
Along these lines, it also advocates recovering pay-per-use formulas for the highway network. “In 23 EU countries there are pay-per-use formulas on high-capacity roads. In Portugal and Greece 100% of the motorway network is tolled, and in Italy and France 80%,” he recalled. In his opinion, payment per use will have to be applied from 2027, when the EU forces the professional transport sector to join the CO2 emissions market. But in his opinion formulas should be applied that affect all types of users and that allow financing for maintenance of the road network.
The construction industry estimates that there is an investment deficit in maintenance of more than 2,000 million euros per year. According to Núñez, adequate maintenance of highways and highways would require investing 3,600 million euros per year: 1,500 million for the central administration, 1,500 million for the autonomous communities and 600 million for the provincial governments. However, until November, public administrations have only put out to tender road network maintenance works for 1,713 million euros. Furthermore, he recalled, “not only is it necessary to invest in maintenance, but charging stations for electromobility must be built.”
