Roig: “The Mediterranean corridor would be one of the best investments that could be made with European funds”

More than a thousand entrepreneurs have met this Wednesday in Madrid to ask haste to the Executive in the execution of the works of the mediterranean corridor. The objective is that the high speed connect Algeciras with the French border, joining cities like Barcelona, ​​Valencia, Alicante and Murcia, in the year 2025; although the delays in the works keep this possibility away. “The Mediterranean corridor would be one of the best investments that could be made with European funds,” said Juan Roig, president of Mercadona and member of the Valencian Association of Entrepreneurs (AVE), the main promoter of this initiative, before the the act will begin, in Ifema.

Roig has warned that if the objective is to have “a supportive Spain in which everyone has the same chances of having a healthy economy” it is good to have “a radial Spain, but the Circular spain It is very important, and within that radio Spain, the Corridor is very important. “” We have seven presidents of government from different parties and the Corridor has not been made. We think it is very good that Madrid is connected to 22 cities, but there are many others, such as Alicante, Murcia, Valencia (…) that we are not communicating. And that is discriminatory for 50% of the population that lives in Spain “, has warned the president of Mercadona.

The event was led by the president of the Valencian Association of Entrepreneurs (AVE), Vicente Boluda, and has had the participation of the Minister of Transport, Rachel Sanchez. Boluda has been much more explicit than Roig, even warning that the target date of 2025 will not be met. “The 2025 horizon with which we have always worked will not be fulfilled, Boluda has indicated, surrounded by a score of businessmen.

More than a thousand businessmen participated in the event, including the president of Foment del Treball, Josep Sánchez Llibre; the president of Caixabank, Jose Ignacio Goirigolzarri; the CEO of Vectalia, Antonio Arias placeholder image; the president of BP Spain, Carlos Barrasa; the president of the Chamber of Spain, José Luis Bonet, the president of the Consentino group, Francisco Martínez-Cosentino, and the president of Prensa Ibérica, Javier Moll.

“Today is a very important day for the ‘Quiero Corredor’ movement, after five years of existence we have no nothing to celebrate, what we want is the Corridor. With today’s act we want to say that without the finished infrastructure we are missing many opportunities for the whole of Spain “, said Boluda.

The ‘We Want Corridor’ initiative was born in 2016 before the fed up of entrepreneurs, fundamentally the Valencians, to “give themselves long and evasive permanently”. The international width on railways it is the most widespread gauge, however, the presence in Spain of Iberian gauge in most of the railway network makes connection with Europe difficult. The lobi, therefore, calls for the construction of a double railway platform (to separate infrastructure trains from passenger trains) and of international gauge (allowing the connection with France).

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The mediterranean arch it concentrates, according to Boluda, 50% of the Spanish population, 51% of exports or 50% of tourism. “It is not an issue of whim nor does it concern only one area of ​​Spain, but rather has economic, environmental and cohesion benefits for the territory “, he added.

For its part, Antonio GaramendiHe added that “all infrastructures are key for a country. The development of infrastructures must be present in Spain’s objectives, especially now with the arrival of European funds.” The CEOE president claimed the need to advance in the construction of the Mediterranean Corridor to boost the country’s competitiveness “, but also claimed the Atlantic corridor, the improvement of the Extremadura railway connection or the expansion of the Barcelona-El Prat airport. “All infrastructures are important. And you have to be demanding” with the Government to develop them.