Deputies question a new $561,000 economic-model consultancy

The Budget Committee approved $561,000 to design the project's economic model, covering externalities and financing scenarios including public-private partnerships. Some deputies asked why new funds were needed after an $11 million transfer for studies approved in 2025.

Background & context

Legislative pushback on this $561,000 contract is worth reading in full context: it followed an $11 million transfer for studies approved in 2025, and it sits alongside the $4.17M AECOM engineering deal and smaller contracts with Renfe and KPMG, a pattern of sequential, itemized consultancy spending rather than one lump study budget.

The deputies' question, why new funds were needed on top of the earlier transfer , is a reasonable one for any public body to answer clearly. Whether the resulting model, once delivered, actually informs the financing decision is the harder thing to verify from outside government.