atll

In March of this year the Catalan Supreme Court (TSJC) cancelled the Catalan Government’s allocation of the publicly-owned Aigües Ter-Llobregat (ATLL) – which supplies water to the 5 million people of Greater Barcelona – to the joint venture led by Acciona and including the Brazilian investment bank BTG Pactual. The Government presented an appeal but the TSJC confirmed on the 19^th July its previous decision. Now, the Catalan Government has decided to take the issue to Spain’s highest court to defend the allocation. The Government is convinced the tender process was done correctly, but the other main contender, Agbar, states the opposite. In addition, a Catalan Government’s internal body overlooking public tenders stated that Acciona’s offer should not have won.

In early November, the Catalan Government decided to allocate the public tender privatising the service of the publicly-owned Aigües Ter-Llobregat – which supplies water to the 5 million people of Greater Barcelona – to a joint venture led by Acciona. This meant that the Catalan Executive cashed in €300 million in 2012 and €700 million was to be split over the next 50 years. The operation was aiming to reduce public deficit. However, Agbar appealed the tender because it thought that Acciona was not fully respecting the terms of reference. Now the Court have backed Agbar’s view and cancelled the tender. Acciona has already announced that it will appeal to the Spanish Supreme Court and, in the case that it loses the concession, it will sue the Catalan Government for damages, since the contract came in to effect on the 1st of January.

On the 5th of December, the Catalan Executive allocated the tender to privatise the public companies Tabasa and Túnels del Cadí to the joint venture formed by Invicat (owned by Abertis) and the investment bank BTG Pactual. On Friday, the deal was completed and the Catalan Government earned €309.6 million, representing 72% of the total of the €430 million operation. In addition, the two public companies will effectively disappear. The concession will last for the next 25 years and the Catalan Government will continue to own the infrastructures but it will transfer the management and exploitation. The operation includes the tolls at the Vallvidrera highway tunnels accessing Barcelona and the Cadí tunnel, at Cerdanya County, in the Pyrenees.

The Catalan Government awarded Acciona’s joint venture the contract to manage Aigües Ter Llobregat (ATLL), the public company supplying drinkable water to an area of 5 million people. Acciona, a Brazilian investment bank, and other companies will pay €300 million in 2012 and €700 million within the next 50 years to run the concession. Privatising ATLL was a measure announced months ago, as part of the Catalan Government’s austerity plan to reduce its deficit in order to meet the imposed deficit targets. According to the press release, Acciona’s joint venture has been awarded the 50 year contract because “it offers a better price for the water” than the rival group of companies lead by the Catalan Agbar.