Catalonia President Salvador Illa Announces €4.8 bn Infrastructure Plan

Catalan President Salvador Illa presented a €4.8 billion infrastructure programme at the Cercle d’Economia, combining public funds with private capital over the next six years. The first block of €3.3 bn will fund the central section of Barcelona’s L9 metro line, upgrades to 366 km of highways, and the partial duplication of the Berga‑Bagà rail line. A second block of €1.5 bn will finance the C‑55 highway extension, the second phase of the Tarragona‑Reus tram, a network of bus interchanges and a new train terminal in Lleida. Illa said public‑private partnerships could cut completion times from 20‑25 years to about six.

During the same forum, Illa criticised any alternative to Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez as “involutionary”, warning that Catalonia would not forgive parties that “play” with the political situation. He joined talks with the Basque lehendakari Imanol Pradales and Galicia’s president Alfonso Rueda on the relationship between the autonomous communities and the Spanish state, urging concrete financing proposals and a unified approach to bilateral talks.