The Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility has tendered for 28 million euros (VAT included) a contract for the conservation and exploitation of state roads in the province of Huesca, specifically for the Somport tunnel and its accesses. The duration of the contract is three years, with the possibility of extension of two years and an additional one of a maximum of nine months.
Includes requirements to promote energy efficiency and emission reduction and is part of the program of this ministry to maintain the conditions of circulation, roads and safety on the State Road Network (RCE), ensuring that it is accessible under the conditions appropriate to all citizens. It includes actions such as the surveillance and attention of accidents, the winter road, the tunnel and communications control service or the maintenance of facilities.
This contract is intended for the maintenance and conservation of 9,815 km of the Somport tunnel, located in sector No. 02 of this province, and which includes from km 666 to 672 of the N-330 and km 115 to 118 of the RN-134 which is a total of 3.6 kilometers. Together with these, also, the superficial rehabilitation of firm will be subject to the contract on the French platform of the Somport tunnel and accesses on the RN-134 road, according to the agreement signed between Spain And France, that section is Spanish responsibility.
Reduce emissions
Within the emission reduction strategy and improvement of energy efficiency, the bidding sheets of conservation and exploitation contracts (COEX) of the state road network include mitigation and compensation objectives of the carbon footprint, which implies that companies must include in their offers the calculation of the carbon footprint that they will generate during the execution of the contract in each section of the road.
Already in 2022 energy efficiency measures were incorporated in service facilities such as self -consumption, renewable heating systems, energy savings measures in lighting or implementation of electric cars vehicles. In addition, since 2023, its commitment to be submitted, during the first six months of the contract, a decarbonization plan with the purpose of reaching the neutral carbon balance at 5 years since the beginning of the contract is included as a valuation criterion.
In this way, the winning company undertakes to present this plan in which the compensation can be carried out through the absorption projects registered in the Carbon Footprint Registry, Compensation and Absorption Projects of Carbon Dioxide under the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge or, through other options.
With this, the reduction of 71,640 tons of CO 2 per year is pursued that, according to the calculations made by the General Directorate of Roads, generates the ordinary operation and the maintenance and exploitation of the state road network. Likewise, the orientation towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is reinforced with which this Ministry is committed: 9 (Promotion of reliable, sustainable and quality infrastructure); 11 (access to safe, accessible and sustainable transport systems); 8 (contribution to economic growth and employment) and 7 (energy efficiency).
Conservation model
The mixed contracts model (services and work) for the execution of conservation and exploitation operations seeks to offer a comprehensive mobility service to the user, improve the state of the road and network, and optimize public resources. Through them, work to help the roads and ordinary conservation of the roads are carried out, to allow infrastructure and their functional elements to have the best possible circulation and safety conditions. Actions such as: State and programming information agenda, exploitation and road safety studies, and maintenance of road elements with adequate quality levels are included.
