The Community of Madrid is going to put out to tender and award the contract this year for the extension of Metro line 5 to provide Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas International Airport with a new direct connection between the city centre and Spain's main airport infrastructure. The project has a budget of €209 million and will improve passenger mobility and accessibility, linking the Alameda de Osuna station with the future terminal and with T1, T2 and T3 of line 8, which continues to T4.

This was announced today by the Regional Minister of Housing, Transport and Infrastructures, Jorge Rodrigo, during his speech at a breakfast briefing organised by Europa Press in the Spanish capital, where he outlined some of the most important initiatives in his area during this term.

"This extension responds to the need to reinforce a service, that of connectivity with the airport, which is currently provided by line 8 of the underground, one of the most demanded by users with 17.3 million passengers registered in 2023", said Rodrigo.

In this sense, the councillor assured that "we want grandiloquent announcements and empty promises to be replaced by detailed projects, because the people of Madrid don't want power strategies or games of thrones, but transparent mobility and transport planning". He also criticised the proposal to reduce domestic flights put forward last week by the central government as "thoughtless and because it could be lethal for air traffic, airlines, tourism and the employment generated by the industry".

Rodrigo has expressed his concern about the deterioration of some airport services at Barajas, such as the border inspection points for goods, which, "due to their slowness, due to a lack of staff and investment, they are affecting cargo companies, to the point that they are trying to avoid passing through Madrid, with all that this means for our economy".

THE ADMINISTRATION THAT BUILDS THE MOST PUBLIC HOUSING

The councillor recalled that "we are the Administration that builds the most publicly-owned and affordable houses in Spain". To this end, the Community of Madrid has the Plan Vive, an affordable rental programme with 6,500 homes already allocated in 12 municipalities in the region and a further 1,912 under tender in 10 towns. This leaves a balance of almost 8,500 households, to which the 1,200 households of the Plan Solución Joven will also be added.

With this, the regional government wants to reinforce its commitment to offer a housing resource to citizens who, due to their income, personal circumstances or savings capacity, are unable to access a home.

Rodrigo announced that the Madrid government will convene the Regional Housing Pact in the coming days, "to regain the confidence and legal certainty lost with the state law that came into force last May and which is having a negative impact on the real estate industry".

It will be a forum in which the main real estate agents will participate and which aims to be the centre of reference for policy in this area with the goal of increasing the supply of flats, boosting public-private collaboration, promoting the emancipation of young people and making the 100,000 flats for rent that are empty in the region profitable.

With regard to the State Housing Act, Rodrigo recalled that it is currently under appeal before the Constitutional Court, "for being contrary to the current framework of powers, to the free market and to the right to property". He also demanded that Sánchez's government reduce the tax burden in this area and promote a law to evict squatters within 24 hours.

He also announced the creation of the first and largest industrialised construction hub in Spain, a building model that reduces construction times by up to 30% and creates much more efficient homes. "Our ambition is to get construction companies and developers to set up in our territory. Here they have the right technology parks and many synergies in terms of communications, services and universities," he said.

THIRD LANE OF THE M-607 ROAD

On the other hand, the Community of Madrid will build a third lane on the M-607 road between Tres Cantos and Colmenar Viejo, one of the busiest stretches in the region, with an average of 62,000 vehicles per day. To this end, the regional government will allocate around €30 million and the works, which will take 24 months to complete, are scheduled to begin in the second half of the year with the extension of 7.3 kilometres in each direction.

The minister also announced that €221 million will be invested in regional roads and that the first Road Safety Strategy will be approved with a 2030 horizon. Another point is to develop an ambitious Road Plan 2025/32 that will include a basic network of cycle paths.