Ana Pastor says Spanish companies have won overseas contracts worth 15.81 billion euros to May

News - 2015.6.1

The Spanish Minister for Public Works, Ana Pastor, highlighted the fact that Spanish companies have been awarded overseas contracts worth 15.81 billion euros to May. In this regard the minister stressed that the Spanish Ministry of Public Works is supporting the overseas operations of Spanish companies with a view to the continued opening of new markets and successfully maintaining expansion by the Spanish foreign trade sector.

During a visit to Colombia, the Minister for Public Works said that the transport infrastructure projects planned in the country look very promising.

She highlighted that the 2011-2018 Colombian Infrastructures Plan provides for an investment of close to 40 billion euros. Furthermore, the 2015 investment budget for the Colombian Transport Ministry amounts to over 2.2 billion euros.

Spanish companies are already involved in many projects in Colombia. Evidence of this interest can be found in their response to the call made by the Colombian authorities to participate in infrastructure development projects by firmly committing to the projects being presented by the Government of Colombia.

Particular mention should be made of the Fourth Generation Highways Concession Plan, in the first phase of which various projects were awarded to Spanish companies.

Another of the Colombian projects in which Spanish companies are most interested is the development of the Bogota Metro system, an infrastructure for which Spanish construction engineering and technology companies can offer extensive experience due to their involvement in various other metro projects in Latin America.

The Spanish minister recalled that Colombia is the fifth-most important economy in Latin America, with GDP growth of over 4% in the last three years. In turn, Spain is the fourth-largest investor in Colombia with accumulated investment of 6.12 billion euros to 2012.

Visit to Colombia and Panama

The Minister for Public Works began a visit to Colombia on Monday, where she was due to meet with the Colombian Transport Minister, Natalia Abello, and the President of the National Infrastructures Agency, Luis Fernando Andrade.

On Tuesday, 2 June, Ana Pastor is due to attend a meeting with the Vice-President of the Republic of Colombia, Germán Vargas, the Deputy Director-General of the National Planning Department, and the manager of Estructuración Metro Bogotá.

Following her trip to Colombia, the Spanish minister will travel to Panama for a meeting with the President of Panama, Juan Carlos Varela. Ana Pastor will also visit the Panama Canal expansion works together with the Canal Affairs Minister, Roberto Roy.

The purpose of this trip is to promote Spanish involvement in this type of project and highlight Spain's experience in transport infrastructure projects.

Ministerio de Fomento