FCC, the Citizen Services Group, has further expanded its international operations and landed its first major contract in Colombia. The company will build a new control tower and management centre for Colombia's largest airport, El Dorado, located 15 kilometres west of central Bogotá. The contract, which is worth 45 million euro, has an execution period of 40 months.

The new control tower will be 80 metres tall and allow for future expansion of the airport while also serving as an important landmark for the city. The new building and the management centre, which will span 16,300 square meters, will accommodate the increase in air traffic and airport operations.

El Dorado ranks first in Latin America in terms of cargo volume and third in passenger traffic (20 million per year). This project, one of the most important airport infrastructure works awarded by Colombia's civil aviation authority (Aerocivil), will provide the country with a modern airport which meets the needs and future challenges of providing air travel and traffic control services in Latin America.

FCC Construction has significant experience in highly-complex airport construction projects worldwide. Most notably, it built the T1 passenger terminal at El Prat airport in Barcelona and Terminal 4 (T4) at Madrid-Barajas. The company also recently won a 96 million euro contract to refurbish Riga airport (Latvia).

Presence in Latin America

This contract strengthens FCC's leading position in Latin America, a strategic area in the company's globalisation process. Other important projects currently under way in the region include the construction of Line 1 of Panama Metro, the first in Central America; a hospital complex in Panama City; a new access channel from the Pacific to the Panama Canal; and the Mina de Cobre road. In Costa Rica, the company is expanding the Cañas-Liberia national highway in Guanacaste and holds the concession (through Globalvía) to operate the San José-Caldera toll road.