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The new minister of development
One of the objectives of José Luís Ábalos, the new development minister, is to transform more than 1,000 km of freeways into freeways. The first decision affects the AP-1, between Burgo and Armiñón. It joins the AP-7, between Alicante and Tarragona, the AP-4, between Seville and Cádiz, the AP-2, between Zaragoza and the Mediterranean and the stretches of the AP-7 Tarragona-La Jonquera and Montmeló-El Papiol, which ends on August 31, 2021. On the other hand, the groups that supported Pedro Sanchez in the motion of censure, hope that the new Government will fulfill the promises of freeing these roads from tolls.
The Catalan independence groups consider that the investments made in the AP-7 have already been paid and define as a comparative offense the current situation in Catalonia to other communities that have free highways. On the other hand, the regional governments of Susana Díaz or of Ximo Puig in the Valencian Community, and that of Franco Lambán in Aragón, also demand the gratuity of the highways in their respective territories.
However, the employers of large construction companies and concessionaires, Seopan has asked the Ministry of Public Works to maintain the toll since its liberalization “would cause chaos”, with the traffic of trucks going up to 8,000 daily. “It would be unacceptable to maintain a minimum level of service on the highway,” explains Julián Núñez, president of the employer’s association. According to Seopan, the maintenance of the toll can save taxpayers about 300 million euros, since the highway has pending investments to implement the third lane in the entire infrastructure.
