AMT considers it urgent to prepare road concessions (and gives suggestion)

Nthe strategic study on the financing of the road network, presented today, AMT warns that the procurement procedures for future contracts may require between two and four years between the opening decision and the respective celebration, defending therefore a timely planning.

The first concession to be completed will be that of the West, operated by the Atlantic Motorways in 2028, followed by the North Ascendi North concession in 2029. In 2030 four further concessions will be concluded: Algarve, currently in charge of the Algarve motorway – Via do Infante (AAVI), Silver Coast, Ascendi Costa de Prata, Interior Norte, Norscut, and Travesias do Tejo in Lisbon, Lusoponte.

The review also appears in a context in which, according to AMT, the current financing model has “signs of vulnerability”, due to the expected decrease in revenues associated with fossil fuels, the dependence of a reduced number of revenue sources and the need for investment.

For the regulator led by Ana Paula Vitorino, the end of the current concessions and sub-concessions is an opportunity to redefine the contractual model of road network management and start a “new cycle of partnerships, more adjusted to infrastructure maturity and future challenges of the sector”.

AMT also admits a reorganisation of the concession network, by adding sections to “balanced lots”, combining infrastructures with different levels of demand, conservation costs and operational characteristics, taking advantage of the close end of several contracts to reconfigure the map of future partnerships.

The proximity to the end of several contracts may also justify, according to the regulator, the adoption of transitional management solutions, allowing the network to be analyzed in an integrated manner before a possible reorganization of future concessional perimeters.

The study recalls that the current contracts provide for the possibility of redemption by the recipient in the last five years of validity, “whenever reasons of public interest justify it, a faculty that may provide greater flexibility in defining the future contractual framework”.

Given that the network is largely completed from the point of view of expansion, AMT considers that future contracts should focus mainly on operation, maintenance, conservation and rehabilitation, without excluding new investments when necessary.

In view of the operational capacity of infrastructure entities, the human resources available, the dependence on external procurement, the ability to execute investment and the experience of current dealers and sub-concessionaires, AMT considers that, for now, the coexistence between direct management and partnerships with private individuals should be considered.

Direct management by the Infrastructures of Portugal (IP) may, according to the study, be more appropriate in segments of the network with greater heterogeneity, lower profitability or greater integration with the urban fabric.

For sections with higher traffic intensity and more homogeneous characteristics, the regulator admits Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) of “second generation”, through more flexible contracts, of shorter duration and centered on operation, maintenance and rehabilitation.

In parallel, it suggests that the introduction of a “base payment” of the infrastructure be assessed, “through public service contracts or stable transfers from the State Budget, allowing the coverage of operating, maintenance and investment costs”.

According to AMT, this solution would imply a “partial redefinition” of the relationship between the State and the infrastructure manager, with the State no longer assuming only a residual funder function to become a “client” of the road system.

As a “customer”, the State would ensure a basic remuneration associated with the availability, operation and maintenance of the infrastructure, reinforcing financial predictability and reducing the exposure of the manager to short-term public policy decisions.

AMT notes that the study does not intend to identify a single solution or formulate political options, considering that the definition of the future road infrastructure financing model is a public policy decision with economic, social, environmental and territorial implications.