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ARCHIVED - Ministry of Transport backpedals and insists there will be tolls on Alicante roads
The EU has demanded that Alicante charge tolls on its high-capacity motorways and dual carriageways
At the beginning of 2020, drivers up and down the country rejoiced with the scrapping of the last stretch of toll road between Alicante and Tarragona after 48 years. At the time, the move was questioned by several authorities, whose main argument was that the maintenance and upkeep of the road would now have to come out of the annual budget rather than employing the “polluter pays” principle adopted by the EU.
Fast-forward to August of 2022 and the decision to do away with the tolls looks set to be reversed. A couple of weeks ago, the Ministry of Transport hired a consulting firm to help develop its plan to implement the “payment for use of Spanish high-capacity roads,” despite the fact that the government recently promised that tolls for dual carriageways and highways wouldn’t be considered in the current financial climate.
However, it would appear that there really is little choice, since Spain committed to introducing tolls in order to receive its Next Generation Funds from the European Union, explained the manager of the Chamber of Contractors of the Valencian Community, Manuel Mines, who believes “it is logical” that Spain will have to implement the ‘Eurovignette’ so that drivers pay to use the country’s main roads.
It seems contradictory, therefore, that the government would repeatedly deny that it plans to implement tolls, according to Mr Mines, especially considering that 23 EU countries charge on 100% of their high-capacity roads.
In this matter, Spain has just one year and four months left to comply with the EU and introduce tolls on highways and dual carriageways.
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