Partido Popular collects signatures along the Costa del Sol to demand state subsidies for AP-7 toll road
After launching the campaign in Mijas on Sunday, the ruling political party in the province will take it to Manilva, Casares, Estepona, Marbella, Istán, Benalmádena, Fuengirola, Torremolinos and Malaga city
The ruling Partido Popular (PP) political party in Malaga province, has started to collect signatures to demand that Spain's central government should subsidise the AP-7 toll motorway on the Costa del Sol.
On Sunday, head of the PP in Malaga Patricia Navarro said that this request, which dates back to two years ago, would improve the flow of traffic along the coast. As the population of Malaga keeps growing, traffic is one of its main challenges and Navarro believes that having a subsidised toll road would contribute to the province's positive development.
According to Navarro, toll discounts on the AP-7 would help relieve traffic density on the main coastal road - the A-7. She stated that the PP had consulted experts, engineers and economists prior to launching the signature campaign in order to guarantee the feasibility of the discounts and the benefits that they would bring.
As Navarro explained, the PP is seeking a toll reduction to make the motorway more accessible for everybody travelling along the western Costa del Sol. At the same time, she criticised central government for subsidising roads in other provinces in Spain. Malaga, for example, is the only province in Andalucía with tolls, of which it has two. One of those two roads is "the most expensive in Spain".
Unfair treatment
Navarro also denounced that the AP-7, for example, is partially subsidised as it passes through Alicante, but not through Malaga. She gave the AP-9 in Galicia as an example, where, "more than two years ago, a discount plan was approved with the excuse of it being the central's government compensation" for Galicia's loyalty during PM Pedro Sánchez's election campaign. In addition, Navarro pointed out that regular users of the AP-9 who make more than 20 trips through it per month receive a 50% discount.
Navarro criticised the unfair treatment of Malaga province, its roads and residents. She demanded a package of subsidies for the AP-7, which her party will campaign for by collecting signatures in Mijas, Manilva, Casares, Estepona, Marbella, Istán, Benalmádena, Fuengirola, Torremolinos and Malaga city.
