Spain eyes new standard contract for long-term road development

Spain is looking to revamp its contractual formulae for large infrastructure work following moves to limit profits from long-term concession deals. The Ministry of Works is putting together a hybrid contract template for use with the Extraordinary Investment Plan for Roads. The previous government had tried to launch the investment plan on the back of around 20 concession contracts of over 20 years. The hybrid contract would aim to save road investments worth around €5 billion. It would be a mixed con
November 7, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
Spain is looking to revamp its contractual formulae for large infrastructure work following moves to limit profits from long-term concession deals.


The Ministry of Works is putting together a hybrid contract template for use with the Extraordinary Investment Plan for Roads. The previous government had tried to launch the investment plan on the back of around 20 concession contracts of over 20 years.

The hybrid contract would aim to save road investments worth around €5 billion. It would be a mixed contract, with two years of construction and five years of concession including maintenance.

The Spanish concession sector has been in turmoil since lower-than-predicted traffic volumes forced several large concessionaires into bankruptcy. Earlier this year, the Spanish government calculated the cost of rescuing the nine bankrupt motorways at €1.8 billion. This is about 10% less than previously estimated, according to a report in the Spanish financial newspaper Expansión.

The government has been trying for the past several years to facilitate a deal with banks to get the motorways out of debt and so to not add to the state’s own debt.

In 2017,  the government agreed that the state-owned transport infrastructure firm Seittsa would manage the nine bankrupt motorways.

Finance & Funding

Related Content

  • Papua New Guinea mends its bridges
    February 28, 2022
    Under the latest tranche of the Sustainable Highlands Highway Investment Programme, 45 of the estimated 71 bridges will be completely replaced.
    Read More
  • Astec Industries CEO and president Ben Brock says stay focused and true to win
    July 8, 2016
    Core values, constant innovation and looking after the customer are the key drivers for Ben Brock, chief executive officer and president of Astec Industries. How does he keep his company ahead of the pack and what does he think that the future holds? if you ask Ben Brock to explain how his Astec Industries group has managed to do so well for so long, he doesn’t even pause for breath. “That’s easy, I thank the good doctor. He always told me: do good work and take care of the customer ... which is exactl
    Read More
  • More countries look to warm mix
    November 21, 2019
    Though warm mix technology has been around for decades, take-up has been patchy - will renewed environmental pressure change that? asks Kristina Smith
    Read More
  • Balanced Mix Design in the US could revolutionise pavement design and testing
    April 30, 2018
    Roads in the US keep failing so the Federal Highways Authority is proposing a new approach to mix design, but what does this mean for tests and testing? - Kristina Smith reports How do you test an asphalt mix for rutting? In the US, the answer could be any one of several tests, depending on which State you are in: Asphalt Pavement Analyser, Flow Number, Hamburg Wheel Tracking Test, Superpave Shear Test or Triaxial Stress Sweep Test. But that could all change. The Federal Highways Agency (FHWA), part of
    Read More

Highlighted Content