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Speeding towards the future
Building communications and travel infrastructure

Andorra is located at the heart of the Pyrenees, landlocked between France and Spain. Its geography has endowed it with breathtaking beauty and enriched its economy with tourism revenues; but it has also presented an array of communication and transportation challenges. Infrastructure has been a main priority for the country's government.

Due to its isolation, a national transport network is intrinsic to the country's prosperity -even its survival. Until a few decades ago, its geography restricted the low of both travelers and merchandise into the country. In 1993 a group of experts comprising politicians and business people came together to nip the problem, producing a "Strategic Plan" that would provide a framework for action. Measures outlined in the plan include opening natural parks, protecting the environment, improving telecommunications and improving road networks.

In essence, the plan is based on Andorra's objective to become a service center supplying quality products and services with added value.

According to Minister of Economy Enric Casadevall, the role of infrastructure is to ensure the free movement of people and services. "All the telephone, electricity and road and public transport networks must function at optimum levels if we are to provide such services," he said. "The same applies if we are to attract tourists demanding special, high quality services. We must be able to offer a healthy environment, modern and convenient facilities and easy access to the country."

Focussing on air transport
Head of Government Marc Forne is acutely aware of the country's lack of physical connections and emphasized the need for an international airport. "It is fundamental," he says. "We have to create facilities to enable people to travel from far afield to Andorra." Minister of Economy Enric Casadevall also believes that the heart of this political move is the desire to leverage the potential of air transportation. "Air transport is indispensable in a country of services and tourism like Andorra." Without direct access to the international tourism market, he fears the country will not be able to fulfill its potential as an internationally renowned travel destination.

Casadevall believes Andorra is in need of assistance in this area. The government is currently studying, with Spanish, Catalan and local authorities, the economic and logistical feasibility of converting either the airport of La Seu D'Urgell or La Cerdanya - both in Spanish territory - into Andorra's international airport. He says the government wants the airport to be able to accommodate planes of at least 70 seats.

The results of the collaborative studies will determine the individual level of involvement of Andorra, the regional government of Catalonia and the private sector. "Although it will be in Spanish territory, Andorra wants the airport to have an international character that will be associated with Andorra's own name and development," Casadevall said.

For additional international travel and domestic travel, the government is looking into the possibility of opening a national heliport, three kilometers from the capital. Unlike the international airport, the government wants to see the heliport constructed on Andorran territory to supplement airplane flights with international flights in 25-seat helicopters. In the first phase, flights would be offered between Barcelona, Spain and Toulouse, France. In the second phase, routes would be added to Madrid and Geneva, among other destinations.

"We are studying the possibility of a national heliport that would serve as a connection with long distance international flights, stopping in cities in France and Spain," Casadevall explained.

Combating congestion
The Andorra government has also risen to the infrastructure challenge by improving both inter-and intra-urban road networks as well as highways leading out into neighboring countries. Its most ambitious project is the Envalira Tunnel, which will enhance communications links with France. Andorra encourages private sector participation in large infrastructure projects like the development of road networks. Subsequently, 6.5 billion pesetas ($43 million) of the 10 billion-peseta project will come from the state, with the remainder from a private company that will hold a toll concession for 50 years.

To combat congestion in the urban areas, the government has proposed an elevated cable metro system that would glide above the city's river. Many Andorrans have traveled up one of the country's world-renowned ski slopes in a tram, Casadevall says, meaning that "cable transportation is already a very popular technology well entrenched in the country's culture."

Several foreign companies have already proposed an array of alternative cable and elevation technologies that could be used in the Andorran urban environment. "This will allow the urban centers to grow without creating physical barriers while making most efficient use of the public space," Casadevall said. Three companies - from Italy, Austria and France - have already submitted preliminary proposals for the "air metro" project. The government estimates the project will require a 1.5 billion ($10 million) pesetas-per-kilometer investment for a total capital outlay of roughly 10 billion pesetas ($66.6 million).

With such an elevated metro, passengers will have a panoramic view as they travel through the city and 5 to 6 meters above the river that runs along it. When completed, Casadevall hopes travel aboard the "air metro" will become a tourist attraction in itself and an integral part of people's tourism itinerary.

Table of Contents

(1) A young country with an ancient history

(2) Finding Andorra's place in the world

(3) Andorran-US Relations: common hopes, common ties

(4) Andorra At A Glance

(5) Useful Contacts

(6) A pillar of prosperity and security

(7) Shaping a fiscal paradise to fit the times

(8) Voices of Andorra's Future

(9) The pleasure of shopping

(10) Giving Andorra power to develop

(11) Speeding towards the future

(12) A country of contrasts