Spain will not rescue TP Ferro concessionaire
The Spanish Infrastructure Ministry (Fomento) has rejected to inject more money in TP Ferro, the 50/50 joint venture formed by ACS and Eiffage, to develop Perpignan- Figueres high speed rail (HSR) line linking Spain and France.
Both companies had previously requested a rescue package of of €450 million (US$510 million).
The Governments of Spain and France have stated that, if necessary, they will create a new company in order to secure the operations of the project. This would be in case that ACS and Eiffage refuse to maintain their commitment with the HSR line project.
In July 2015 we informed that the concessionaire owned by ACS and Eiffage had filed for insolvency. The concession project was in trouble due to the fact that traffic was much lower than anticipated and the investment was much higher.
The concessionaire also failed to achieve an agreement with the Spanish and French government to get compensation for the low revenues. According to the concessionaire, the governments prioritized domestic rail traffic against the high speed rail link.
Additionally, in February 2015 an European Court rejected a complaint from the consortium claiming an overspending of €350 million in the construction phase due to reasons out of its control.
The 44 km rail line began commercial operations on 1 January 2013. The total project investment was €1,200 million, of which €600 million was provided from public funds.
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