Jose Maria Lopez quietly leaves Cintra USA for OHL Spain (PERSONNEL)

This is a big personnel change we should have picked up months ago even though no one made any announcements. Jose Maria Lopez de Fuentes (Lopez) one of the major figures in PPP/private sector tolling in North America for over a decade quietly departed Cintra late last summer (August we think) and his offices in Austin Texas. In November, again without any announcement, he took up a position as Director of OHL Concesiones (Concessions) head officed in Madrid.

OHL Concessions is a large toll company globally, but has no toll operation in the US or Canada. (see list of their tollroads nearby right)

The group is huge in Brazil having a 60% share in nine tollroads with a length of 3226km or just over 2,000 miles (by our addition).

It also has major holdings in Chile with three tollroads totaling 343km (213mi) and Mexico five concessioned pikes, two in operation, three under constructiion 342km (212mi) total length.

The group has a single 356km long pike in Peru with the sinister name - to an english speaker anyway - Red Vial Number 4. And three tollroads in Spain 73km (45mi).

http://www.ohlconcesiones.com/html/ingles/index_ingles.aspx

A Cintra officer told us Jose Maria Lopez was a big loss to the company but he'd got a "great job offer" from OHL and they could understand him moving. He is now back in Madrid apparently based in the head offices of OHL Concessions.

Lopez has been the single most prominent figure in he private sector/P3 toll business in the US and Canada for the past decade. He was also for several years president and CEO of 407ETR the most successful private toll road project in North America by far.

He has civil engineering and business degrees from University of Madrid Spain and University of Wisconsin US and is thoroughly bilingual. He went from being in charge of Cintra's worldwide concession portfolio in Madrid to managing 407ETR at a critical time and 2003 or 2004 moved to Austin TX to head up Cintra USA.

Not talked to him

We haven't managed to contact him, so what follows is surmise - it must have been dispiriting to have Texas go from very receptive to private sector tollroads just four or five years ago to almost a closed door now.

In Texas there are candidates getting elected to office claiming to be 'libertarians' who denounce tollroads.

Rather than have motorists pay their way and road investments follow customer demand they'd prefer apparently that roads be yet another part of the quasi-corrupt welfare/gravytrain system of tax/lobby/grant from the state capitol.

A leading self-styled "libertarian" Republican congressman from Texas Ron Paul also thinks the Federal Reserve was the sinister hand behind Watergate, and makes speeches about how "Obama is assassinating Americans" with drone attacks.

COMMENT: With nutcases like this getting elected to office in Texas sane people flee. And corporate types do it quietly.

TOLLROADSnews 2010-02-26