Motorway concessionaires called upon to invest 10 billion euros to restore them to good condition

The condition of concessioned motorways “is objectively good”, specifies the Transport Regulatory Authority in a report published on Saturday.

Motorway concession companies will have to put their hands in their pockets. The Transport Regulatory Authority (ART) estimates the amount of investment needed to make the highways in good condition at more than 10 billion euros by the end of the concessions, which takes place between 2031 and 2036. It's a “unprecedented and complex project”announces the ART in a report published Saturday November 30. Note that the regulator makes recommendations, but thatin fineit will be up to the State to decide.

How can we ensure that companies do not slow down their investments as contracts approach expiration, leaving their successors to deal with the problems? “The end-of-contract obligations must be specified to allow their completion under good conditions”insists ART. Because contracts are “incomplete”. They do not offer an objective definition of “good condition of the highway upon its return”and they are “ambiguous” leaving room for interpretation “as for the investment obligations remaining the responsibility of the concessionaire”.

The state of the concessioned highways “is objectively good”underlines the ART, with structures, such as tunnels and bridges, in better condition than on the non-concession network. This economic model is not called into question because it is “an efficient system, where the user is the payer”allowing investments and quality maintenance, notes the ART.

According to his calculations, highway companies “are now spending 800 million euros per year to maintain the infrastructure”. They would therefore have to devote 4 billion over the last five years of their contracts. Furthermore, the ART recommends “an additional maintenance effort” estimated at 1.2 billion euros “on the sole perimeter of roadways and structures”. They are not dangerous today, but could “present a risk in the long term and (…) require costly work after the concessions expire”explains the president of the ART, Thierry Guimbaud, in an interview with Monde. This assessment was also revised downwards after comments made by the motorway companies, he specifies.

Finally, and this is where the dispute could emerge, the ART notes that the concession contracts provide for investments, such as for example track widening (change from 2×2 to 2×3 tracks), which have never been made. These “are no longer relevant, especially when traffic has not reached the expected level”recognizes Thierry Guimbaud. But “the toll price includes their financing. The ART therefore believes that the money collected can be used for another investment, for example by creating carpooling areas”he continues. This represents an additional 5.1 billion euros to be paid by motorway companies.

Asked about the future of the motorway model and a possible drop in toll prices at the end of the contracts, Thierry Guimbaud calls for caution. “If we lower it, it could create a draw towards the road, to the detriment of the rail”he warns. This is why he suggests that part of the revenues from tolls contribute to financing the rail.