An audit report on the Real Investments of the Government of the Canary Islands between 2019 and 2023 has revealed that 35 projects, with an accumulated budget of 162.8 million euros, concluded the analyzed period with no execution. The primary identified cause is the lack of "maturity" in the projects when incorporated into the budgets, preventing their contracting or development.
The president of the Court of Accounts, Pedro Pacheco, presented the conclusions in the Parliament of the Canary Islands. The analysis focused on key areas such as Public Works, Transport and Housing; Education, Culture and Sports; Ecological Transition; and Public Administrations, Justice and Security.
During the audited fiscal years, the Government of the Canary Islands left 1,225 million euros in real investments unexecuted. Although execution improved from 36.72% in 2019 to 58.53% in 2023, the Court considers these percentages still low.
The report indicates that budgeting for projects without prior studies, land availability, technical designs, or administrative authorizations is an origin of the problem. The reliance on European funds, which account for 60% to 70% of the investment, also plays a role, necessitating the inclusion of projects to balance income.
Examples cited include the "0 to 3 years" schooling project, funded by Next Generation funds, which lacked studies on territorial demand. Road projects such as the TF-1 (Los Cristianos section), the Vallehermoso Bypass, the LZ-1 Órzola-Guatiza, and the improvement of the Port of Agaete are also mentioned with zero execution.
Delays are significant: road infrastructure projects can take up to 177 months (almost 15 years) from contract formalization to execution, with an average deviation of 83 months. School constructions average 65 months, and justice projects take 61 months.
The Court proposes creating administrative units within each department to prepare mature investments, reinforce contracting services, and increase resources for environmental impact assessments.
