Mexico's National Water Commission has awarded FCC the contract to design and build the 'El Zapotillo' reservoir dam on the Verde River in the state of Jalisco; investment will total 128 million euro.
The infrastructure will supply drinking water to the Los Altos de Jalisco region and to the city of León in the state of Guanajuato.
The project includes the construction of a compacted concrete gravity dam with a 320-metre long curved crown 132 metres high (from foundation). The reservoir's capacity will be 910 hm3. The foundation of the dam will be 25 m below the current riverbed.
Construction will require more than 2 million m3 of excavation and use over 1.1 million m3 of concrete and 8.5 million kg of steel.
FCC in Mexico
FCC subsidiary Aqualia is working on the Aqueduct II project in Querétaro, which includes providing water mains and drinking water treatment services to 700,000 people.
Aqualia was also awarded the contract, in consortium with Mexican company ICA, to design, build and finance a drinking water treatment plant with a 90,000 m3/day capacity, pumping water to a height of 1000 metres, and a 132-km aqueduct. The 25-year concession is valued at almost 750 million euro; it will transport treated water from the Santa María River to the states of San Luis Potosí and Guanajuato, supplying 850,000 people.
The project is expected to begin in January 2010, and the first two years will focus on the construction of water infrastructure. FCC Construcción, Aqualia Infraestructuras and Proactiva Mexico (owned 25% by FCC) will build and operate the infrastructure.
Global Vía Infraestructuras, a 50:50 joint venture of FCC and Caja Madrid, has been awarded the concession for the 85-km toll road between Nuevo Necaxa and Tihuatlán. The project will require over 400 million euro in investment.
The contract is to build, operate and maintain a new 37-km section of road between Nueva Necaxa and Avila Camacho, and to operate and maintain the 48-km section of road between Avila Camacho and Tihuatlán.
FCC is also building a tunnel in Veracruz, which it will operate for 30 years.
The tunnel will measure 1600 m, of which 700 will run under the Coatzacoalcos River; this project is extremely challenging from an engineering and construction standpoint, as it will be built using prestressed concrete caissons which must be anchored to the riverbed and then interconnected.
FCC provides water and waste management services to more than 11 million people nationwide via Proactiva Medio Ambiente México.
In Aguascalientes, the company manages and maintains 181 deep wells and 22 oxidation ponds and is committed to the ongoing improvement of the pipe network through large investments in drinking water treatment infrastructure, supply sources and leak reduction.
Proactiva México also manages plants for drinking water treatment and supply, drainage and waste water treatment. The company also has a number of waste collection and treatment contracts, including a sanitary landfill in the city of Querétaro
