Government reaffirms its commitment to underground arrival of AVE in Murcia by the year 2020

Moncloa Palace, Madrid

The Minister for Public Works is actively working on a great number of actions in this region, such as the start-up in January 2019 of the International Airport of the Region of Murcia and compliance with the commitment to ensure the arrival of the underground high-speed line (Spanish acronym: AVE) to Murcia in the second half of the year 2020.

Mediterranean Corridor and AVE

During these first 100 days of government, contracts have been put out to tender for the sum of 971 million euros on the Mediterranean Corridor, a figure that will be increased in the coming months. At the next meeting of the Board of Directors of Adif Alta Velocidad, new investments will be firmed up on other stretches of railway in the Region of Murcia.

In relation to the deadlines committed to previously, the government ratified its commitment to finalising the underground arrival of the AVE to Murcia in the second half of 2020 and the deadlines set for the implementation of the works on the secondary line to Camarillas will be maintained.

The commitment of the Government of Spain to the Region of Murcia can clearly be seen in improved connections between Madrid and Murcia-Cartagena via new hybrid Alvia trains, which began operating on Monday and have reduced travel times by 30 minutes compared with the previous Altaria service. This improvement will be further enhanced when the secondary line to Camarillas enters into service. When this happens, travel times will be reduced on that stretch to around three hours.

Investments in suburban lines and highways

Another commitment is the prioritisation of investments in suburban and inter-city trains. In this case, the improvement in services between Murcia and Cartagena was highlighted, which also came into force on Monday, a measure that will particularly benefit university students in the region.

The President of the Government announced that the Ministry of Public Works has decided to bring forward the tender for the Northwest Arc of Murcia contained in the Budget. This action amounts to 177.94 million euros and will be put out to tender before the end of this year.

Pedro Sánchez and Fernando López Miras also addressed the situation of several highways, such as the RM-1 motorway from Zeneta to Santomera, which is being processed at this time, the stretch of the A33 between Yecla and Caudete, which will shortly be put out to tender with an investment of 126.5 million euros, the finalisation of this corridor, and the works on the Reguerón motorway, which the Ministry of Public Works is working on at this time in order to finalise the project as soon as possible.

Water transfer

Pool Moncloa/Fernando CalvoPresident of the Government Sánchez conveyed the government's commitment to guarantee the necessary water supply to the Region of Murcia, to which end the provisions of prevailing legislation on the Tajo-Segura water transfer will continue to be complied with. He stressed that the decisions on this will always be backed by technical criteria, as has been the case in the recent authorised water transfers.

Similarly, the President of the Government reiterated that the Govenrment is working to improve the autonomy and guarantee of supply from the water catchment areas of the Tajo-Segura water transfer. To achieve this, the sources for obtaining the resource will be made more flexible and a greater role will be given to desalination, which must now become a conventional source. The President of the Govenrment reiterated his commitment to the need for new hydraulic infrastructures for connections with desalination plants and the storage of water resources.

Payments on account of 3.33 billion euros

As regards fiscal issues and financing, they spoke at the meeting about addressing the regional financing system through the Regional Fiscal and Financial Policy Council, the granting of payments on account from the Convergence Fund and the modification of its regulation to increase contributions to regions with lower per capita financing.

In this case, Murcia will receive 3.33 billion euros in 2019 by way of payments on account, 128 million euros more than in the previous year. If certain conditions are met, there is also a commitment for a possible refinancing of short-term loan operations of a structural nature through long-term debt.

Aid for earthquake in Lorca

Aid for victims of the earthquake in Lorca was also discussed by the two leaders, since in addition to executing the aid already scheduled, a new agreement is due to be signed with a State contribution of 5 million euros and the extension of the deadlines set in the current agreements.

Navantia

They also spoke about maintaining the construction programme for the S80 submarine and the maintenance of the contract with Saudi Arabia for the construction of five frigates worth 1.8 billion euros, which will provide jobs for ship-builders in Cartagena to build their engines.

Other affairs

Other projects that were addressed at the meeting were related to the declaration of Public Interest of the First Order of the port of Gorguel, conditional upon compliance with successive procedures, including environmental evaluation. As regards the regeneration of Portmán Bay, the commitment is maintained to implementing the works and work is underway on resolving the unforeseen events that occurred during their implementation. They also discussed such issues as the National Irrigation Strategy and the Common Agricultural Policy.

To end, the President of the Government declared to Fernando López Miras the commitment that the construction of the new headquarters of the Special Delegation of the Tax Agency in Murcia will be completed by May 2019. This new building will replace, over the course of next year, the three current headquarters at which 420 civil servants work.

Non official translation