The Community of Madrid is advancing a plan to build 40 new public-private care homes on municipal land. Private operators will be able to earn additional revenue by offering services to people who do not live in the centers. Public documents reviewed by EL PAÍS show that operators can set different prices for internal and external users, widening their business beyond basic residential and day-care services.
The regional government, led by Isabel Díaz Ayuso, is offering companies free use of valuable municipal plots for up to 75 years. In exchange, firms are expected to invest around €15 million in construction and equipment for each center. The model guarantees annual income of up to €2 million from publicly funded places, while allowing operators to sell private places at market rates and offer unspecified “other services” to the wider community. These could include cafeterias, parking, hairdressing, or podiatry, with separate prices for residents and outsiders.
The new facility planned for Vicálvaro offers one example. Its tender documents specify that operators may charge residents and people from the surrounding area for additional services. The only restriction is that those services must remain secondary and not interfere with the center’s basic care function. The municipal plot is valued at €1.5 million, and the operator can set different prices for residents and external clients.
The regional initiative began in February with the transfer of an 8,000-square-meter plot in San Blas-Canillejas, valued at more than €2 million, for the first center under this model. The approach is now being extended to Vicálvaro and is set to expand across the region, with at least 17 more sites in Madrid city and additional locations in Leganés, Móstoles, San Sebastián de los Reyes, Alcobendas, Rivas Vaciamadrid, and Torrejón de Ardoz. All these projects fall under the “Plan de Residencias y Centros de Día 40-40,” which will include telemedicine equipment and rooms with oxygen supply. Forty percent of places will be reserved for the public network, while the remaining 60% will be accessible through the so-called “cheque servicio” from the national dependency care system.
Data obtained by EL PAÍS under transparency laws show that the 19 plots in Madrid city alone are worth €87.8 million. That figure reflects only their book value, not their higher market price. The scale of the operation has drawn criticism. At its February congress, the PSOE passed a resolution opposing the program, arguing that it represents a major privatization of elderly care services. Some local socialist groups, including one in Leganés, had previously backed joining the scheme in response to demographic aging, but the party’s official stance now favors publicly managed facilities.
Since 2019, the regional government has transferred or plans to transfer 100 public plots for long-term private operation. The projects include care homes, subsidized private schools, and thousands of affordable rental apartments. Concession periods range from 40 to 75 years, after which the buildings revert to public ownership. During that time, private operators can earn money from public funding, private places, rental income, and ancillary services.
This approach to public-private collaboration in Madrid’s social infrastructure has parallels with other recent government strategies, including the centralized management of the Ceuta migrant crisis, detailed in a recent report on national crisis response coordination. In both cases, the debate centers on the balance between public oversight and private involvement in impressive services.
Spain’s aging population has made expanding care-home capacity an urgent concern. The use of public land for private profit remains contentious, with critics warning of long-term effects on the public sector’s ability to provide affordable, high-quality care. Madrid’s 40-40 plan could set a precedent for similar initiatives in other regions as authorities seek solutions to demographic and social care challenges.
