Vinci Autoroutes is “not in discussion with anyone” about a possible shortening of the duration of motorway concessions in France, said Thursday its president Pierre Coppey, in response to this hypothesis that the government said to study .
This subject inspires me with a feeling of repetition, which we never tire of, replied Mr. Coppey to the press on the occasion of the presentation of the very good results for 2022 of the Vinci group, the leading motorway concessionaire in France with Cofiroute or the Highways in the South of France.
We are not in discussion with anyone about shortening the duration of the concessions, he said, adding that a shortening was provided for in the contracts if their assumptions were significantly exceeded, which is not the case.
Asked about the increase in motorway pages and the profitability of concession companies after the publication, revealed by Le Canard Enchan, of a report by the General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF), the Minister of the Economy replied on Tuesday that he was studying the possibility of shortening the duration of the concessions.
For Vinci, we can recall that since 2006 (year of allocation of concessions, editor’s note), Vinci Autoroutes has invested 15 billion euros in network improvement programs, said Thursday Pierre Coppey.
This model is regularly the subject of controversy linked to its lack of understanding, he adds, referring to the importance of the capital to be repaid, and also referring to a report by the Transport Regulatory Authority (ART) on the economy of these companies: for him, since ART has said that there was no subject, that should close the debate.
ART, on the other hand, proposed in January to the State to favor shorter contracts, to leave it greater leeway, while the main concessions, in particular Vinci, Eiffage and Sanef, will expire between 2031 and 2036.