AM angered by burden of 'shadow tolls'

Jul 19 2004

Rhodri Clark, The Western Mail

TAXPAYERS in Wales have paid back nearly half the cost of a PFI road in just the first three years of a 30-year concession.

"Shadow tolls" - a fee for each vehicle - for the A5 on Anglesey, totalled £15.8m last year.

In the first three years of the road's operation, the private consortium which built the dual carriageway was paid £45.8m from public funds.

The 21-mile road between Llanfairpwll and Holyhead cost £100m to build.

The deal between the Labour Government and UK Highways - a consortium of Carillion, Laing and Hyder - covers a 30-year period, after which the road will pass into the WAG's ownership.

Until then, however, WAG must pay UK Highways a traffic-related shadow toll.

The scale of the annual toll in relation to the road's construction cost has angered AMs from several parties.

Dr John Marek, the National Assembly's Deputy Presiding Officer, said the PFI (Private Finance Initiative) deal was "outrageous" and demanded that First Minister Rhodri Morgan renegotiate the terms.

"Why should Welsh taxpayers be paying through the nose for this road?

"Rhodri Morgan has a duty now to renegotiate terms. If he can't, he should tell us why.

"Any competent administration would have had some clause included that would enable a fair rate to be paid to the company. This should be the first and last PFI road scheme in Wales."

The shadow toll covers the cost of maintaining and operating the road, as well as its construction. But Dr Marek said the major maintenance costs were on the publicly-owned section of the A55 road, which passes through several tunnels between Bangor and Llandudno Junction.

"I suspect the maintenance costs for the A5 on Anglesey are very straightforward."

Dr Marek, now in the Forward Wales party, was a Labour MP when the Welsh Office signed the A5 PFI contract. But he now distances himself from the decision.

"I was a Labour MP at that time, but I wouldn't have been in favour of this."

The Wrexham AM said the situation should be a warning to organisations suggesting the PFI could be used for a new £350m section of the M4 around Newport.

"I don't think anybody would want this type of scheme for that area."

A WAG spokesman said, "The response smacks more of political prejudice than a rational and calculated understanding of the issue.

"The WAG delivers value for money in every area of public spending."

Plaid Cymru is also critical of the PFI in major public projects in Wales. North Wales AM Janet Ryder said the latest Anglesey A5 figures justified Plaid's opposition to the PFI.

"I'm not surprised the Assembly Government tried to keep these figures hidden.

"We will have to look very carefully to see if there's any way this contract can be renegotiated," she said.

"It's up to Andrew Davies [Welsh transport minister] to get this sorted out - or to say he's quite happy to pay what could be hundreds of millions of pounds of public money for a road that's already built."

Caerphilly council, when controlled by Plaid Cymru, signed the deal for Wales' second PFI road, the Sirhowy Enterprise Way. But Mrs Ryder denied that Plaid Cymru was facing both ways on PFI schemes and said the Government was not giving councils the option of undertaking major infrastructure projects without using the PFI.