The Spanish Government allocates €766.47 million for hydraulic investments in 2021

The 2021 National Budget is presumed to be transformative, and driven by European funds, it will be the driver to change the productive model that should guide Spanish society during the next decades, according to Government sources.

Apart from an unprecedented social spending, this budget aims to guide the economy to a green recovery, committing to digitalization, gender equality, sustainable economy and social and territorial cohesion. In this sense, the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO), will have €6.8 billion in 2021, which is 23.9% of the total budget. Because of the national budget and the EU contribution, €11.9 billion will be allocated to green policies that will allow progress to be made in decarbonization, mitigating depopulation and promoting the circular economy.

Putting a bet on a green Spain

This turn towards a green policy was already advanced by PM Sánchez in October 2020, when he presented the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, inspired by the Agenda for Change and the UN SDGs.

This plan is structured around ten main policies, among which the promotion of infrastructure and resilient ecosystems stands out, through projects such as the Ecosystem Conservation and Restoration Plan and the Urban, Energy and Transport Infrastructure Preservation Plan.

Key axes for sustainability

As far as the investment chapter is concerned, the hydraulic infrastructures will have a budget of €673.17 million, to which €93.3 million will be added, which will be invested through public entities and state-owned companies. The total for hydraulic investments amounts to €766.47 million.

MITECO will promote measures in basin hydrological plans, with the intention of increasing water security and promoting an efficient use of resources, and the main objective of meeting demands in a sustainable manner.

This ministry also plans to implement measures for adaptation to climate change. Thus, it will have €159 million to invest in environmental infrastructures, to stop contamination and to fight climate change. To this amount, another €601 million will be added for the conservation and restoration of marine and land ecosystems, and their biodiversity.

In this sense, MITECO keeps open the public consultation period of the draft of the National Plan for Purification, Sanitation, Efficiency, Saving and Reuse (DSEAR Plan), a key axis for sustainability together with the investment in water infrastructure.

Water quality and water management

In relation to water quality, the budget includes actions to improve wastewater treatment, the quality of water bodies and the maintenance, conservation and protection of environmental heritage and improved management.

To this end, in 2021 MITECO will have €673 million for investments, to which will be added the 149 million that are expected to be received from Brussels.

In addition to this, irrigation will have €61 million, of which 57 million will be for investment. Additionally, the State Society for Agricultural Infrastructures (SEIASA) will have €260 million available for investments as well.

In relation to the autonomous organizations, the State Budget contemplates a joint amount of €714 million for the Hydrographic Confederations. Another of the autonomous bodies, National Parks, will increase its budget by 11%, with a forecast of €40 million for 2021.

Finally, the National Meteorological Agency will lose 3.9% of its investment compared to last year, and will have €124 million at its disposal.

Source: iagua.es