According to a report
published on Thursday by Barcelona's Chamber of Commerce, the Spanish
Government's investment in infrastructure in Catalonia has dropped by
50% in the last 10 years, while it has been reduced by 25% throughout
Spain in the same period.
The President of the
business association, Miquel Valls, stated that this reduction
represents "a break" in the Catalan economy's growth and
competitiveness. This political decision harms Spain's and Catalonia's
economy, since now Catalonia could be in a better position to speed up
the overall economic recovery as Spain's main engine.
The Chamber's report
takes into account the executed investment made by the Spanish
Government and its public companies in areas such as airports,
high-speed railway and harbours. In 2006, the Spanish Parliament
recognised "a historical" lack of investment in Catalonia when it
approved the Catalan Statute of Autonomy and set a minimum investment
percentage share to be made in Catalonia to compensate this in the next 7
years.
This investment share,
which had to be equivalent to at least Catalonia's share within Spain's
GDP (19.8%), was never respected by the Spanish Government, allocating
to Catalonia 11% or 13% of the total infrastructure investment made
throughout Spain in those years. Now, with the Chamber of Commerce's
report, it is stressed that this investment has been reduced to an even
greater extent than the country's average.
The president of
Barcelona's Chamber of Commerce emphasised that infrastructure
investment in Catalonia made by the Spanish Government "plummeted"
between 2004 and 2014. The Spanish Executive decided to reduce spending
in Catalonia by 50%; in Valencia by 33%; and in the Balearic Islands by
31%, while the Spanish average was a 25% reduction. Aragon,
Castille-la-Mancha and the region of Madrid registered a higher drop of
between 60% and 80%. However, the Chamber explained that many
infrastructure investments made in Castille and León and
Castille-la-Mancha were for roads or railways heading to Madrid, which
is a very small and urban region, and therefore have a direct benefit
for Spain's capital. In fact, Castille and León has had an investment
increase of 100% and Galicia a growth of around 200% with the
construction of the high-speed train railway, among other projects.
The Chamber's report
takes into account the executed investment made by the Spanish Public
Works and Transportation Ministry and associated companies and agencies,
although for the two last years (2013 and 2014) it only considers the
planned budget, as budget execution figures are not available yet.
Regarding Catalonia, 2009 was a clear inflection point. While in the
first five years infrastructure investment grew by 61% throughout Spain
and by 76% in Catalonia, in the 5 last years, infrastructure investment
has dropped by 53% throughout Spain and by 71% in Catalonia. The entire
10-year period posts an overall drop of 25% for the whole of Spain and
50% for Catalonia.
The Chamber of Commerce
explained that these figures were because of political decisions adopted
by the Spanish Government. However, it also emphasised the effects of
the economic crisis and how the works of Barcelona El Prat Airport's
Terminal 1 ended, as well as most of the works of the high-speed
railway. In fact, in the last few years the main infrastructure work in
Catalonia made by the Spanish Government has been the enlargement of
Barcelona's harbor.
Barcelona (ACN)
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