Opposition MPs criticise cut to road administration funding

Opposition MPs on the parliament’s Environment and Transport Committee have criticised plans to reduce funding for Iceland’s road administration next year, mbl.is reports.

The government’s budget proposal allocates 52.3 billion Icelandic krónur to the area, compared with nearly 56 billion this year. The cut amounts to just over 6 per cent, according to an analysis by the Icelandic Chamber of Commerce reported by Morgunblaðið.

The proposal puts total government expenditure at 1,704 billion krónur next year, an increase of 83 billion from this year.

“There was an announcement of increased taxation, including on the fishing industry and other things, to invest in infrastructure. Now it has become clear that nothing is being done, and we are not satisfied with that,” said Ólafur Adolfsson, parliamentary group leader of the Independence Party and a member of the Environment and Transport Committee.

He said the governing parties appeared to treat savings and postponement of projects as the same thing.

“People should say that projects are being postponed, rather than making it look as though money is being saved,” Ólafur said.

He pointed to a two-year postponement of projects in the Westfjords, including road and bridge construction in Gufudalssveit. The road there would be completed long before a bridge across Djúpafjörður was ready for use.

“That is an investment that is not being used. What is causing the plans not to be met?” Ólafur said.

Þórarinn Ingi Pétursson, a Progressive Party MP and member of the same committee, also criticised the reduction in road funding. He said increased fishing fees had been intended in part to finance road construction.

“I come from a constituency where fishing fees were increased significantly, and I have to say that we have not seen the transport improvements that were supposed to come in return,” said Þórarinn Ingi, who represents the Northeast constituency.

He referred to resolutions adopted at a meeting of the Association of Municipalities in East Iceland held at the end of last week. The region’s contribution to state revenues had exceeded the funding it received in return by 8.7 billion krónur, he said, and the gap was growing.

“Unfortunately, it seems to me that services are being cut back incredibly heavily, and that always affects rural areas first,” Þórarinn Ingi said.

He said he understood the need for restraint in state operations, but that there was no sign of infrastructure development in the Northeast constituency. It was not restraint, he said, when government expenditure was expected to increase by 83 billion krónur next year.