On 13 and 14 October 2026, Spain’s Council of Ministers approved a tender for eight large motorway service areas combining fuel facilities with ultra-fast chargers. The six-concession package is valued at €611.9 million excluding VAT, with about €78 million allocated to construction.
The larger figure also covers financing costs and payments concessionaires would make to the state for operating rights. It is not a direct government construction budget. The sites would be on publicly owned land, with operators chosen through a public tender.
The Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility is launching the pilot programme to add chargers across Spain’s state road network. The concessions would run for 20 or 25 years, and operators would pay a fee to the administration. Five of the eight service areas would be built as paired facilities, one on each side of the road, so drivers would not have to cross the carriageway.
The plan targets long-distance routes, where charging gaps remain. Sites are planned along the A-2, A-3 and A-4, as well as the A-8 and AP-7.
La Caridad is in Asturias, while Penagos is in Cantabria. Calatayud is in Zaragoza province, and Montoro is in Córdoba. Perales de Tajuña is in Madrid; Saelices is in Cuenca. The other locations are Algemesí in Valencia and La Roca del Vallès in Barcelona. EU rules set requirements for charger spacing and charging speed. They also specify how many units must be available along roads, with a sanctions system for member states that fail to build the required network.
The tender is divided into six lots. The first pairs Asturias at kilometre 490 of the A-8 with La Roca in Barcelona at kilometre 129 of the AP-7. Their stated budgets are €6 million and €16 million, respectively.
The second lot covers Perales de Tajuña on the A-3 at kilometre 35 and Penagos on the A-8 at kilometre 208. Other sites are in Córdoba on the A-4 at kilometre 353 and Valencia on the AP-7 at kilometre 540. Calatayud is on the A-2 at kilometre 234; Saelices is on the A-3 at kilometre 99.
Concessionaires will fund construction before operating the facilities for 20 or 25 years. The charging build-out addresses infrastructure, a different obstacle from the purchase-support concerns discussed in this earlier EV report.
