The Minister of Public Works, Íñigo de la Serna, last December, presented the Internationalisation of Transport and Infrastructure Plan 2018-2020, which comprises activities and initiatives to generate business opportunities for Spanish companies abroad and reinforce their international operations and the technological, innovative and corporate image of Spain.

In coordination with other stakeholders in the sector, Ineco has drafted this plan which identifies the operational and commercial synergies between the companies in the Public Works Group and the private sector, promoting collaboration between the stakeholders involved and the complementarity of jobs and services to improve international competitiveness.

The plan is structured around six lines of action and consists of 110 initiatives focused on 11 priority markets (Saudi Arabia, Australia, Canada, Colombia, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, Mexico, Norway, Peru, Sweden and the United Kingdom) and nine opportunity markets (Argentina, Chile, Denmark, Egypt, India, Israel, Malaysia, Morocco and Singapore). Projects with European institutions are also considered priorities because at the regional level, there are needs to which Spain can offer solutions that stand out above the other alternatives.

The Innovation Plan for Transport and Infrastructure aims to achieve greater economic and social profitability of public and private investments in Spain, as well as attract foreign investment.

Ineco’s recently-created General Management of Transformation, Internationalization and Innovation will be in charge of preparing the document, which aims to promote the digital economy in Spain. In the words of Íñigo de la Serna, minister of Public Works, “this plan will be a fundamental milestone in the government’s commitment to smart technologies.”

Boost for BIM at the 5th meeting of the Commission 

The Innovation Plan is in line with the government of Spain’s support for the development of BIM, a work methodology that manages the entire life cycle of buildings and infrastructure using computer tools.

The Ministry of Public Works hosted the fifth meeting of the BIM Commission, led by Ineco, which aims to promote the use of BIM, increase awareness of public administrations of the establishment of BIM requirements in infrastructure tenders, set a timetable for adapting the regulations for widespread application of the requirements, develop national standards to allow uniform application, and implement an academic training plan for this methodology in Spain, as well as facilitate its incorporation into programmes of study. The minister emphasized that the European Union has urged Spain to incorporate this methodology to try to bring about a regulatory change in procurement and tendering processes.