The Ministry of Public Works awarded construction contracts totaling 1,872.37 million euros in 2014, which represents double the volume of the previous year and the first increase in at least the last five years, thanks to the momentum generated by the high-speed rail (AVE) project.
More than half (57.8%) of the contracts awarded last year were for AVE high-speed rail corridor projects, which totaled 1.083 million euros—an amount that is double (+110%) that of 2013, according to data from the department headed by Ana Pastor.
The Ministry of Public Works plans to put approximately 1,000 new kilometers of high-speed rail lines into service in 2015 to connect ten new cities, bringing the total length of the AVE network to over 4,000 kilometers. The uptick in highway construction—primarily maintenance projects—also contributed to the surge in public works in 2014. Specifically, last year the Ministry of Public Works awarded road construction contracts totaling 398.14 million euros, a volume that triples (207%) the 129.31 million contracted a year earlier.
In the Ministry of Public Works’ statistics on construction contracts awarded as of the end of 2014, it is noteworthy that the State Land Infrastructure Company (Seittsa) signed its first contracts in more than two years (since June 2012), totaling 11.36 million.
Last fiscal year also saw a 37.9% increase in the volume of construction projects contracted by Aena, which totaled 65.45 million, while Renfe increased its awarded construction contracts by more than six times (+5,52%), although they totaled 19.5 million euros. For its part, Puertos del Estado increased the volume of construction contracts awarded by 39%, bringing the total to 295 million euros at the end of 2014.
