WORK IS expected to get under way this month on further sections of the Madrid - Barcelona high-speed line. Infrastructure authority GIF awarded eight contracts totalling Pts77·5bn on July 30, having selected contractors on May 22 for 124·4 km of route between Chiloeches and Calatayud (RG 4.98 p253).
One contract has gone to a consortium of FCC and Comsa, and another to Altec, Ploder and Azvi; the ACS group has won two sections. The other four will be built by Dragados, Nesco, Ferrovial and a joint venture of Sacyr, Lai Obrascón and Huarte.
GIF expects to award further contracts totalling Pts90bn during September and October. These cover the 68 km between Madrid and Chiloeches and 70 km from Ricla to Zaragoza. By the end of this year work will be under way on over 400 route-km of the 796 km line between the capital and the French frontier. o
