Central government offers to provide discounts to Ronda residents on Costa del Sol toll road as long Junta coughs up cost

Ignacio Lillo

Malaga

Monday, 7 April 2025 | Updated 08/04/2025 09:14h.

Spain's central government representative in Malaga province has made an unprecedented offer to Andalucía's regional Junta government, in order to minimise the effects of the closure of the key A-397 road that connects the mountain town of Ronda and San Pedro Alcántara on the Costa del Sol due to a major landslide. Madrid has said that it is ready to negotiate discounts so that Ronda residents can use the alternative AP-7 motorway route at a lower toll charge, as long as the Junta agrees to pay for those discounts.

The socialist-led Spanish government believes that the Junta, headed by the conservative Partido Popular, is responsible for the A-397 that was closed in March due a serious landslide. Therefore, the government's sub-delegate in Malaga, Javier Salas, said that it should be Andalucía's regional government that will cover the costs, if a discount for the alternative and privately operated AP-7 is achieved.

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The closure of the A-397 has caused a lot of challenges for Ronda residents, as it was the main infrastructure that thousands of workers and students used to reach the Costa del Sol every day. Recovery works are expected to last a few months.

Central government has now promised to negotiate with the operators of the AP-7 toll road to set discounts for Ronda residents, but Salas said that "those responsible have to assume the consequences". The sub-delegate invited the Andalusian government to contact them to agree which residents of Ronda and the Serranía would be subsidised.

"We are very concerned about the Ronda situation and that is why I ask the Junta's president Juanma Moreno to provide an agile solution to the A-397. How long will it take the Junta to stop having Ronda isolated and cut off from the coast?" said Salas.

Journalists used the press conference opportunity to ask the government's sub-delegate about the continuous traffic jams on the ring road on the eastern side of Malaga city. Salas said that, while the Ministry of Transport is carrying out the study, it is once again the Junta that should take care of building the metro to El Palo and Rincón de la Victoria and providing better public transport.