The brutal cost of the Basque High Speed Train

The Basque High Speed Train (known as AHT-TAV by its Basque and Spanish language name) is already an old project that has been forged and imposed slowly by the Western Basque and Navarrese autonomous administrations in the name of modernity and progress, bypassing the nearly total rejection of rural inhabitants (the main losers: the train will not stop in their towns and will severely disrupt their enviroment and local communications) and many concerned urban ones.

Now is the time when this pharaonic project actually begins to be built and the platform AHT Gelditu! (High Speed Train Stop!) has distributed by some 800,000 homes a fake mail by the Basque and Navarrese governments in which it was explained the immense cost (6.34 billion euros) and the fact that the authorities have no budgetary capability to pay for it. The prank claimed that it would be paid instead by increasing the income tax by 30% and similar draconian measures for all. This last extreme is not clear but the question on how we Basque citizens are going to pay for this elitist pharaonic bullet train is at the moment unanswered.

Surely some will make a lot of profit from it: all those construction companies with many a corrupt link within the power circles will make good money. The corrupt officers in charge, no matter of what party, will also fill their pockets secretly and we will have to pay the bill. How? That is not really clear.

Sources: Gara and AHT Gelditu!
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