FCC's internationalisation strategy has brought it most recently to Latvia. FCC, the Citizen Services Group, has landed a 96 million euro contract to refurbish Riga International Airport, in Latvia, in a consortium with German company Hochtief (34%) and Latvia's ACB (32%).

The consortium will renovate the runway pavement and strengthen the runway safety areas, which will enhance the airport's safety. It will also build two new taxiways to increase the runway capacity and rebuild two aprons.

The location of Riga Airport and the adverse weather conditions in winter require the construction of two de-icing areas and two hangars, for vehicle washing and waste collection. The project also includes the renovation of the drainage system and improvements to the lighting system.

The contract, which will be executed in 16 months, has a budget of over 96 million euro. Passenger traffic at Riga Airport totalled 5.1 million in 2011.

Airport experience

FCC's construction subsidiary has notable experience in highly complex airport projects around the world. In Spain, the company has worked on passenger terminal T1 at Barcelona El Prat Airport and the Terminal building and car park at Palma de Mallorca Airport, spanning 250,000 square metres.

At Madrid-Barajas Airport, the company built a third runway, measuring 4,440 metres, in 18 months, as well as the T4 terminal, which won the Bridge of Alcántara International Award.

Outside Spain, FCC Construction built the terminal at SCL Santiago Airport, in Chile, and airport facilities in Kingston, Jamaica.

Apart from the Riga Airport contract, FCC had a backlog of over 2 billion euro in infrastructure projects outside Spain at the end of the third quarter of 2012. Of those projects, the most notable include its participation in a joint venture to design and build a replacement for the Gerald Desmond Bridge in the Port of Long Beach (Los Angeles), for 145 million euro in attributable revenue.

The company's experience in rail construction includes two tunnels and the Highway 407 station of the Toronto Subway, in Canada, for 269 million euro, and the three sections of the Simeria-Braşov railway line in Romania, for 830 million euro. The company also obtained contracts to build a section of Line 5 of the Bucharest Metro in Romania, for 267 million euro; the Olsztyn tramway (north of Warsaw) in Poland, for 62.5 million euro; and a rail-road project awarded to Alpine, for 170 million euro.