The Catalonia Regional Government has awarded CEDINSA, a company headed by FCC and Caixa Catalunya, a 35-year contract to expand and operate, under a shadow toll system, the Eix Transversal road, which will connect the cities of Lleida and Girona, bypassing Barcelona.
The project involves doubling the number of lanes on the C-25, a road measuring 150.6 kilometres that links the A-2 highway at Cervera (Lleida) with the same A-2 highway in Caldes de Malavella (Girona).
The bid to build the new lanes and refurbish the existing road surface amounts to 708.3 million euro (this figure refers solely to construction and does not include operating costs).
The ownership structure of CEDINSA is as follows:
FCC 27.2%
COPCISA 17.6%
COMSA 17.6%
COPISA 17.6%
CAIXA DE CATALUNYA 20.0%
The project for the Catalonia Eix Transversal road is in the form of a public concession, and the contract covers the following:
. Project design
. Construction of the new road
. Refurbishment of the existing road and adaptation of the route to current regulations
. Operation of the road for 35 years
The work is expected to be completed in 36 months.
The work to convert the C-25 into a dual carriageway can be divided into three separate sections:
Section 1: Cervera - Manresa:
A 49.5 km stretch of road, 5.0 km of which is already dual carriageway (Cervera - Les Oluges 4.4 km, and Manresa bypass 0.6 km). This section has three interchanges, one rest area and one service area.
Section 2: Cervera - Vic:
A 46.0 km section of road, of which 3.0 km are already dual carriageway (Manresa bypass). This section has sixteen interchanges, one rest area and one service area.
Section 3: Vic - Caldes de Malavella:
A 55.0 km section, of which 1.5 km are already dual carriageway (connecting the C-25 with the A-2 highway in Caldes de Malavella). This section has fourteen interchanges and one service area.
Because of the relief, this section is the most complicated part of the project and contains most of the viaducts and tunnels that need to be built. The Vic - Caldes de Malavella section will account for 51.2% of the total construction budget.
