During the trip that we will make through
the following paragraphs we will visit the destinations chosen by construction
companies for
managed travel, the origin and the reasons that drove their
internationalization, the difficulties and the results obtained. These
companies manage projects in a comprehensive way -including design, execution,
financing, operation and maintenance-, in over 80 countries, allowing them to
successfully solve the challenges posed by extra-budgetary infrastructure
financing systems. Challenges from the
right pick of car hire to strategies and luggage requirements.

Additionally, they have demonstrated ease
in managing and adapting to local production factors, establishing alliances
and agreements with partners from different countries, and dragging a wide base
of competitive subcontractors and suppliers.

Finally, these are highly diversified
groups towards other sectors such as environmental services, comprehensive
building management, the airport sector, the integral water cycle or renewable
energy, reaching high figures in their portfolio of businesses that in many
cases exceed construction activity. This feature allows them to more
efficiently manage the entire life cycle of the infrastructure, generating the
necessary confidence in financial investors and public authorities to raise
funds from capital markets and finance projects.

As a result of technical development,
internationalization, diversification and business concentration, the
associated companies have established themselves as world leaders in
infrastructure, both in the field of construction of all types of projects and
in the management of transport infrastructure.

In general terms, we can indicate that the
main motivations of companies to boost their construction activity in the
international arena are the maintenance of turnover and productive capacity,
participation in major projects in which they contribute their extensive
experience and knowledge or the geographical diversification of their activity
to minimize risks.

On the other hand, the foreign presence has
evolved according to the different approaches to the different countries,
responding to the strategies of the companies themselves or according to the
requirements set by local markets. In this sense, the entrances to the
countries where they operate today have been able to start in very different
ways, which could be through a specific tender, a subcontracting contract, a
joint venture agreement for a specific project, the creation of a branch or a
subsidiary, the formation of an international consortium, or the acquisition or
merger with a local company. Recently we are witnessing movements within the
latter form of exit, which intensify the creation of large international groups
made up of companies of multiple nationalities and with very diverse activities
not necessarily related to construction.

Likewise, the infrastructure companies to
which we have been referring have acquired significant experience in toll motorway
concessions and business travel, and subsequently expanded their concession
activity to other types of infrastructure and services. As is well known,
knowledge in infrastructure management also moved abroad. The geographical
distribution of international activity has evolved with the experience of
companies, with the development of countries and with the interests of both. In
general terms, we can point out as main current destinations to countries that
offer certainty, that guarantee physical security of displaced persons and
legal certainty for companies, which have medium and long-term development
plans, and offer credit capacity with a developed financial market. These
requirements are even more demanding in the case of concession projects, since
the very long term of them requires it. Therefore, without being a
generalization, it is observed how the activity is greater in North America
(30%), Europe (20%), South and Central America (13%), and a growing interest in
Oceania. However, the first destinations of these companies were Latin American
countries, North Africa
and some European neighbors.

Undoubtedly, we can question the
advisability of continuing to speak of the internationalization of these
companies or the sector, since, as we have seen, they have been
internationalized for several decades, and even more so when the environment in
which we operate is increasingly globalized. However, it is a process in
evolution and constant revision for which there are still many destinations to
discover.

We can end this enriching journey through
internationalization with the feeling of having carried light luggage, on a
simple path, of having found facilities at each stop and even of returning home
without any scratches on the heels. However, the trip that we have counted for
several paragraphs has no return ticket, it is a walk into the future in which
our ‘house’ will get bigger and bigger and the distances will get shorter.

Undoubtedly, companies will continue to
encounter challenges, those that come with their own projects and those that
will bring destinations with their different languages, laws, cultures, tax
systems, currencies, local business fabric etc. New frontiers to explore in an
increasingly competitive world will also have to be added, with relevant
demographic changes, with new technologies at hand, setting Sustainable
Development Goals, bridging the differences for project financing in those
countries where there is more need of infrastructures and finding new formulas
to continue in excellence.