The six major Spanish construction companies continue to increase their exposure to the North American market with big prices, despite the uncertainty still surrounding the coronavirus, in their eagerness to get the most out of the 2 billion pie of the new infrastructure plan. euro. dollars announced by the new president of the United States, Joe Biden.
The Spaniard best positioned to participate in this plan in recent years is ACS, which received $ 17,300 million in North America alone last year, more than half of what it is getting worldwide.
In addition, 44% of the current global portfolio of EUR 70,000 million corresponds to this region. In 2020 alone, prices in the United States reached 4,000 million euros. “The North American region remains stable thanks to the resilience of the US and Canadian markets,” the company emphasizes in its accounts.
In 2021, ACS, already under Biden’s administration, will acquire California’s water and transportation treatment works for $ 100 million, with the renovation of the Dallas airport for an additional $ 100 million and the construction of a Washington hospital for $ 320. million euros. at the same time as it has joined the New York project to develop an offshore wind farm off its coast.
The company has a complex structure of subsidiaries around the world and is now trying to simplify that network of businesses, but only in the United States does it have EE Cruz, JF WHITE, John Picone, Prince, Pulice or Schiavone, although the most active are Flatiron, Turner and Dragados USA.
Its concessionaire Iridium also has a presence in the country, with 10 highways and 6 rail projects in the region, as well as Abertis, which completed the acquisition of 100% of Elizabeth River Crossings, a number of tunnels in Virginia, in 2020 for approximately $ 1,000 million. euro.
DISCREET PRESENCE OF ACCIONA
The second largest construction company in terms of revenue, Acciona, although far behind ACS – 6.472 million compared to 35,000 million – has a smaller presence in the United States, mostly reduced to sustainable projects: 1,064 megawatts (MW), 10% of its total portfolio, in 10 wind farms, as well as 64 MW of thermoelectric.
Its Infrastructure division has a portfolio of EUR 1,536 million in North America, 10% of its total portfolio, mainly in Canada, a lower figure than its presence in Australia and Latin America, which represent 23% in each area. In Agua, it has a desalination plant supplying 333,000 Florida residents.
KEY MARKET FOR RAIL
Ferrovial, for its part, which received $ 6,158 million in 2020 – excluding its Services division’s $ 5,000 million, which is currently for sale – sees the United States as the market with the greatest potential, developing projects in Texas, Virginia. and North Carolina.
The company operates six major highways in the country. Of the 405 million that entered this division, 301 million belong to the United States, 74% of the total. In Construction, North America concentrates 38% of sales, while subsidiary Webber is currently breaking into advanced execution projects.
So far, under the chairmanship of Rafael del Pino, the firm has received 192 million euros for the improvement of a section of a highway in Georgia and, together with Lilium, a company developing a future flying taxi, has built 20 ‘vertiports. ‘in Florida, and has won the construction and maintenance work on the I-35 highway in Texas for $ 1,273 million.
FCC EXPANDING TRUST
Already outside the Ibex 35, FCC posted 6,158 million euros last year, of which only 85 million corresponded to the United States – especially in terms of the environment – although the company maintains that it will continue to consolidate its presence through growth in the coming years of more residential contracts and the strengthening of the commercial collection activity “.
In this sense, FCC has recently begun to provide the solid waste collection, pruning and management service in the city of Omaha, Nebraska, a new contract worth more than $ 400 million over 20 years.
In construction, it registered just 9 million euros, while its Water subsidiary Aqualia confirms that it will continue to explore opportunities in markets such as the United States. It also owns a 44.6% minority stake in Giant Cement, which operates several plants on the East Coast of the US.
BUY 7% OF SACYR’S ACTIVITY
For its part, Sacyr began its construction activities in the country in 2018 and has since secured seven contracts in the states of Florida and Texas, with a total construction portfolio of more than 575 million euros.
This year, it has completed funding for its first concession project in the country to operate the University of Idaho’s services for 50 years, a contract that will generate revenue of $ 1,200 million. Of the 4,548 million that arrived in 2020, the United States represents about 7%.
THE MAIN MARKET OF OHL
Finally, OHL has also focused its efforts on the United States, a country where it has been present since 2006 through its subsidiaries OHL USA or Judlau Contracting, among others, and operates in California, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Illinois, Texas and Florida in road, bridge, rail infrastructure, tunnel, hydraulic works and building projects.
In 2020, 42% of the 2,830.7 million that entered the world came from this country, where the portfolio amounts to 1,354 million euros. This market stood out above the others in which it operates, effectively compensating for the decline it recorded in Europe and Latin America, which represent 37.3% and 19% of its sales respectively.
In January, OHL was commissioned in the country to design and build 17 elevators on the New York Subway over a 31-month period for a total cost of $ 122 million.