Technology procurement in long concessions5 min read
A road concession outlives every system installed on it
Long infrastructure contracts tempt owners to buy technology for the life of the asset. I argue for separating systems by their real lifetimes, owning the interfaces between them and planning the final replacement around handback.
A motorway concession lasts longer than any controller, camera or software licence installed on it. I treat the second and third replacement of each system as part of the first purchase: we own the interfaces and the data model, we keep operational technology apart from the business network, and we tell the board which figures were measured and which were modelled.
Six direct reports; 74 contractors recorded separately
2026 technology budget
€96m
€58m capital and €38m operating expenditure
Tolled motorway served
1,140 km
Six concessions in Portugal, Poland and Spain
A road concession outlives every system installed on it, so each purchase must be planned around its replacement.
The civil works on a motorway are designed for sixty years or more. The tunnel controllers that start its ventilation fans last perhaps fifteen, the toll-lane software rarely ten, and the cloud contract behind the customer portal may be renegotiated every three. A concessionaire that buys technology as though it shared the life of the asphalt eventually discovers that it owns a supplier's roadmap rather than its own road. My work is to keep those different lifetimes visible in every decision, from a tunnel cutover to the condition in which we hand assets back to the grantor.
I am chief technology officer of Elvaran Infrastructure, a listed concession group based in Lisbon that operates 1,140 kilometres of tolled motorway across three Portuguese, two Polish and one Spanish concession. Since September 2019 I have led 310 employees through six direct reports, with 74 contractors recorded separately, and my 2026 budget is €96 million, of which €58 million is capital. The remit covers tolling, tunnel and traffic control, operational-technology security, asset data and IT infrastructure.
I arrived from the other side of the table. For thirteen years before 2014 I designed and commissioned control systems as a supplier in Sweden, including the tunnel control system on Elvaran's northern Portuguese concession, which I later had to replace as the asset owner. That history makes me sceptical of any integrated system sold as if it will look after itself. I report to chief executive Leonor Avelreira and present quarterly to the board's audit and risk committee.
Four tunnels moved to a new control system without a full closure
Between 2021 and 2023 we replaced the obsolete control system in four tunnels on the northern concession by running old and new systems in parallel. The method cost €34.2 million, about €4.5 million more than the closure-based alternative, and needed 58 nights of single-lane running. No tunnel was fully closed for the migration.
Tolling kept running while the business network was rebuilt
When ransomware encrypted part of our corporate network in February 2022, toll lanes and tunnel systems continued operating. I kept every link between the business network and operational systems disconnected for eleven days, which delayed €2.7 million of billing; €0.31 million was eventually written off. A €14.5 million segmentation programme followed.
A handback estimate narrowed seven years ahead
A register of 2,340 structures and their inspection history refined our estimate of the works due before the coastal concession returns to the grantor in December 2031, from €118 million plus or minus €45 million to €104 million plus or minus €14 million.
Current focus
The tolling back office for both Polish concessions reaches the end of its supported life in 2028, and I want its replacement contract to separate lane equipment, the transaction engine and customer systems. National laws implementing the EU's NIS2 directive are changing how we evidence operational-technology risk to supervisors. And a defect-detection pilot on 310 kilometres of pavement now needs a decision on what the model may influence.
Conversations I welcome
I would consider one independent non-executive seat at an infrastructure company outside road concessions, such as a water, port, district-energy or logistics-property business, joining its audit and risk committee or chairing a technology and resilience committee. I can propose twenty-eight days a year, subject to Elvaran's consent. I am also open to a broader group technology role, advisory work and speaking, but not to work for bidders competing with Elvaran.
Beyond the page
The record behind the perspective.
In the boardroom
Arvelo Road ServicesNon-executive director (Elvaran nominee, not independent) · 2021–present
Formation
MSc in electrical engineering, automation and controlTorsvik Institute of Technology · 2000
Executive programme in infrastructure finance (part-time)Calderwood School of Management · 2016
Non-executive director programmeAlbarra Governance Institute · 2024
On the third day of the 2022 incident Felix told me he would not reconnect the networks until he could explain why it was safe, and he set out exactly what we were giving up by waiting. That combination of a firm position and a clear account of its cost is why the board trusts his papers.
Leonor AvelreiraChief executive, Elvaran Infrastructure · fictional colleagueThe full record ↗
Contact
I would consider one independent non-executive seat at an infrastructure company outside road concessions, such as a water, port, district-energy or logistics-property business, joining its audit and risk committee or chairing a technology and resilience committee. I can propose twenty-eight days a year, subject to Elvaran's consent. I am also open to a broader group technology role, advisory work and speaking, but not to work for bidders competing with Elvaran.
