highways

On the 5th of December, the Catalan Executive allocated the tender to privatise the public companies Tabasa and Túnels del Cadí to the joint venture formed by Invicat (owned by Abertis) and the investment bank BTG Pactual. On Friday, the deal was completed and the Catalan Government earned €309.6 million, representing 72% of the total of the €430 million operation. In addition, the two public companies will effectively disappear. The concession will last for the next 25 years and the Catalan Government will continue to own the infrastructures but it will transfer the management and exploitation. The operation includes the tolls at the Vallvidrera highway tunnels accessing Barcelona and the Cadí tunnel, at Cerdanya County, in the Pyrenees.

The Catalan highway, transport and telecommunication management company Abertis has accepted Tagus’ takeover of its shares in Brisa, which represent 15.02% of the Portuguese highway company. Abertis now wants to focus on projects that represent added value for its global strategic action. In addition, two days ago, Abertis’ board ratified last April’s agreement to acquire 9 highway concessions from OHL in Brazil. With this operation, the Catalan company becomes the largest group in the world managing highways, with more than 7,000 kilometres worldwide.

Catalan political parties, business associations, and many citizens are outraged by the decision to increase toll prices in Catalonia, while in the rest of Spain there are many toll-free highways. The Catalan Transport Minister asked the Spanish Government to implement a “soft toll” throughout Spain, instead of increasing toll prices in Catalonia. He reminded that for some journeys within Catalonia, there are no free of charge alternatives to the tolled highways. Catalan nationalists see this measure as a new proof of Catalonia’s high fiscal deficit, paying much more to the rest of Spain than what it gets in return. The People’s Party (PP), running the Spanish Executive, asked the Catalan Government to reduce the price of its tolls.

The Barcelona-based multinational will manage more than 7,500 kilometres of toll highways worldwide and will increase the company’s annual turnover by €1 billion. The Catalan company Abertis will become the world’s leader in the highway management sector after adding OHL’s concessions in Brazil and Chile. In exchange, OHL would buy ACS’s shares in Abertis, which represent 10% of the Catalan company. The operation is not fully closed yet, pending to be approved by the respective boards, but it has already been officially announced.

The Catalan company Áreas will manage two service areas in the United States until 2047, including the largest in the entire country, located on the I-95 in Maryland, the busiest motorway in the US. The Catalan company will invest $56 million in their renovation, which will produce a turnover of about $1.8 billion in 35 years. With this operation, Áreas becomes the second largest operator in the US. The Catalan multinational ended the 2011 financial year with a turnover of €649 million, which represents 4% more than in 2010. This growth has been possible due to the company’s expansion in international markets.

The Catalan transport and telecommunication company ended 2011 with a net profit of €720 million. The profit increase is due to a growth in returns from Abertis’ airport business and the increase in traffic on its motorways in France and the United States. However, the Barcelona-based multinational experienced a drop in its telecommunication revenues.

The group dedicated to robbing cars and possessions from unsuspecting drivers at the AP-7 highway has been disbanded by the Catalan police. 13 stolen cars have been recovered and more than 90 people responsible for these crimes arrested.

The Catalan company, which manages transport infrastructures, increased its net profit by 6.1% in comparison to 2009. Abertis announced yesterday it would split its business in two different companies.

The Catalan transport infrastructure service company received a net profit of 561 million euros during the first 9 months of 2010. This figure is a 4.2% higher than the same period in 2009.

The highway management company Acesa has already begun construction works on highway rest stops in Montseny and next to Barcelona. The new services for lorries and their drivers will have a fee of 10 to 20 euros. They include 24h surveillance, showers, laundry, resting facilities and entertainment zones.

The two largest Abertis shareholders study the possibility of a leveraged buy-out through the investing firm CVC. The operation is worthy 25 billion euros, according to the Financial Times. La Caixa and ACS own 55% of Abertis.

This summer, cameras and patrolling guards will be emplaced in rest areas of the Barcelona metropolitan region?s highways to prevent robberies.