In Barcelona, Catalan Economy and Finance Minister Alícia Romero and ERC Director General Lluís Salvadó today presented the future Investment Consortium to economic stakeholders. This new body is described as a "long-term" initiative designed to shift "from complaint to proposal" regarding state investments in Catalonia.
The creation of the Investment Consortium will be debated in the Spanish Congress on 28 April, pending the acceptance of ERC's proposed bill. The proposal, agreed upon by the Catalan government and ERC, envisages the consortium operating a mercantile society capable of tendering and awarding works. It would also draft multi-year plans and establish corrective measures if less than 95% of budgeted projects are executed.
The presentation took place at the Cercle d'Economia headquarters in Barcelona, attended by officials from the Catalan government, ERC, the PSC, and representatives from the economic sector. This initiative fulfils a commitment from the investiture agreement between the PSC and ERC, which stipulated the creation of a parity body involving the state and the Generalitat to manage and execute state investments in Catalonia.
Addressing Infrastructure Deficits
Mr Salvadó highlighted the current infrastructure deficit, citing the low execution rate of Rodalia (commuter rail network) investment plans, which stood at under 10% between 2000 and 2020. He also pointed to the failure to construct "strategic projects" such as the transversal railway axis and the orbital railway line, despite urban plans for these having been approved since 2010.
To reverse this trend, the Investment Consortium plans to establish a mercantile society responsible for developing multi-year investment plans that will determine project priorities. Once the Spanish government allocates a budget for Catalonia, the intention is for this corporate entity to manage the funds, tendering and awarding the necessary works.
The project requires a "legal reserve" for state participation, a prerequisite needing validation by a plenary session of the Spanish Congress. Without guarantees that the measure will succeed, ERC plans to present the proposal to other political forces this week to facilitate the start of its parliamentary processing. Mr Salvadó explained that if the bill passes the initial debate on 28 April, it will enter an amendment period for other groups to provide input before receiving definitive approval. The consortium could then be operational within "three or four months".
