MADRID – The Spanish government organisation for railway infrastructure, Adif, is the largest recipient of EU funds related to the recovery plan in Spain.
Of the €5.1 billion paid out to the 100 largest beneficiaries so far, Adif is the leader with €2,555 million. The amount received by Adif represents 14% of the total amount received by Spain. This is evident from the list provided by the Spanish government to the European Commission. The list was recently published on the official European portal.
Recipients are mainly government companies
What is striking about the list, according to Infobae, is that the lion’s share of the funds went to public institutions, ministries, municipalities, and public companies, namely 87.1% (€4.45 billion), while only 12.9% (€659 million) went to private companies, cooperatives and some foundations. There is more balance among the recipients: 61 public versus 39 private recipients.
Investments in sustainable mobility and digital transformation
The investments mainly focus on sustainable mobility and digital transformation. Adif’s share is mainly intended for modernising conventional and high-speed rail infrastructure. In addition, 30 municipalities have received €423 million for urban mobility projects and the creation of low-emission zones. Also notable are the funds for companies involved in the strategic electric vehicle project (Perte VEC. These include Power Holdco, Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis, Seat and Volkswagen Navarra.
Digital sector also benefits
In the digital sector, investments of almost €500 million are aimed at strengthening cybersecurity, improving digitalisation and the growth of SMEs, connectivity, modernising public administrations and strengthening the digital industry. In this segment, Red.es, the National Institute for Cybersecurity-INCIBE and the Chamber of Commerce of Spain stand out for supporting SME digitalisation.
Major companies in public works
In addition to the list of 100 recipients, the government has also published an additional list of the top 50 companies that have won public works and services. This includes public works companies, public transport companies that incorporate electric vehicles and digitalisation entities.
Also read: Spain received far more money from Europe than it contributed in 2022
