One of the most efficient ways to respond to the social and environmental needs of our society is to design transport infrastructure and urban spaces that incorporate all of the variables that contribute to inclusive and sustainable mobility; mobility, moreover, that not only corrects existing imbalances but also creates spaces that are more integrated and humane.

We begin this edition with a clear example of this approach: namely, the improvements being made to Avenida Alfonso Molina in A Coruña. The works form part of an action proposal drawn up by the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, in line with the urban development policies of the EU, the 2030 Agenda and the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan.

All of these advances are made possible thanks to Ineco’s specialist teams and their outstanding technical and technological qualifications

2021 is the European Year of Rail, which celebrates a mode of transport that is sustainable, smart and safe. In a number of articles in this new edition, we highlight the benefits that railways bring for people, the economy and the climate. Cutting-edge satellite technology in pioneering innovation projects for railways in Europe, the modernisation of the Zaragoza-Teruel-Sagunto line (a key part of the Cantabrian-Mediterranean Corridor), the link between Sol and Gran Vía stations in Madrid serving 22,000 users per day, and the use of clean energy in level-crossing protection systems: all of these developments exemplify the tremendous technical and digital progress being made by a mode of transport that is on track for a bright future.

This drive to develop infrastructure that will help to bring about social and environmental improvements is also evident in the work carried out in the airport sector. The updating of the Master Plan for Simón Bolívar Airport in Santa Marta (Colombia) paves the way for a future expansion that will give a major boost to tourism and the economy in the north-eastern region of the country, while LEED Gold certification will make Kuwait International Airport a global benchmark for sustainability with regard to this type of transport infrastructure.

All of these advances are made possible thanks to Ineco’s specialist teams and their outstanding technical and technological qualifications. One such example is the group of cyber-security experts, whose continuous support plays a vital role in responding to the challenges of the digital environment. You can meet our cyber-security experts in this edition of ITRANSPORTE. These teams also represent an enormous social and human commitment. Ineco’s 2030 Agenda Commission, for example, focuses all of its talent on helping the company achieve the Sustainable Development Goals

Within the context of the ongoing global health crisis, we must all play our part in the search for innovative, solidarity-based solutions that will enable us to lay the foundations for a solid and sustainable recovery. To help meet this critical challenge, at the national level, Ineco is firmly committed to aiding the efforts of the Ministry of  Transport, Mobility and the Urban Agenda by providing technical support to help implement the Spanish Government’s Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan.

The main aims of this Plan are to modernise the economy, restore economic growth and create jobs, and as such, it will play a key role in consolidating and boosting the activities of the engineering and consultancy sector, which will have to offer a sound and technologically innovative response to the challenges that are looming in the short and medium term.

These are challenges that our company is tackling head-on, following a positive end to the 2020 financial year and prospects for 2021 that allow us to remain fairly optimistic, based on most solid guarantee of all: the enormous talent of our professionals. The award that one of our team recently received from the Madrid Association of Civil Engineers, along with the development of the innovative EOS project to help make flight procedures safer, are clear examples of Ineco’s entrepreneurial and forward-looking response capacity.

At Ineco we are firmly committed to aiding the efforts of the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and the Urban Agenda by providing technical support to help implement the Spanish Government’s Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan

At the international level, the contracts we have recently signed – such as the one for the Tren Maya, in Mexico, not only boost Ineco’s economic outlook for the coming years, but also reinforce the leading role played by Spanish engineering around the world.

Further examples of our strength and competitiveness include the commission to produce the Master Plan and design for what will become the second-largest airport in Greece, at Kasteli on the island of Crete; and the extension of the renovation works on the rail link between Samsun and Kalin, in Turkey.

This work is the result of the knowledge we have acquired through the projects we have implemented in Spain over recent decades. Among them, the addition of gauge changeovers to the high-speed rail network: a highly successful experience, particularly useful in terms of helping us export our know-how to other countries. At the international level, examples include highly specialised projects such as the development of new rail regulations for the Empresa de Ferrocarriles del Estado de Chile (EFE).

We have also made progress in fulfilling our commitment to the 2030 Agenda and the 17 SDGs: a commitment that continues to encourage us to promote actions and initiatives designed to improve quality of life for society as a whole. This has led us to continue supporting solidarity-based projects such as IngenioSOS which has helped to improve essential services in Kenya, Ethiopia, Guatemala, South Sudan, India and Haiti over the course of its two editions.

This is the motto for the second edition of the company’s Equality Week, which is one of the actions provided for in the most recent version of the Equality Plan, presented in 2019. The programme of activities for 8-12 March includes the launch of the third edition of the Women IN mentoring programme, the first children’s competition titled The Future of Equality Between Women and Men for the families of Ineco employees, and the launch of a corporate volunteering initiative to promote labour integration among female victims of gender-based violence, as part of the programme Horizon.

The company has made equality of opportunity and treatment between women and men one of the aims of its Strategic Plan, which also incorporates a commitment to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda. SDG 5 corresponds to gender equality. For the first time in its 50-plus years of history, Ineco has a female president: Carmen Librero, an aeronautical engineer. Moreover, a significant proportion of the company’s workforce is female. Ineco employs more than 3,000 professionals, nearly 40% of whom are women; a higher than average proportion for technical fields.

By planting a forest with a total of 1,600 native tree species in Calahorra de Boedo (Province of Palencia), Ineco will offset 573 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent, which represents 6.12% of its carbon footprint for 2019. The initiative was carried out in January in collaboration with the company Reforestum and enabled Ineco to reaffirm its commitment to the fight against climate change and to Sustainable Development Goals 13 and 15 in the 2030 Agenda.

The United Nations Economic Committee for Europe (UNECE) published its case study on Line 1 of Tenerife Light Metro in September. The studies are provided to Governments as models of best public-private collaboration practices to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

The case study was prepared by IESE PPP for Cities (Specialist Center on PPP in Smart and Sustainable Cities), with the collaboration of Ineco, and it highlights where the project met the SDGs such as: use of clean energy, improvements to public infrastructure, commitment to sustainable cities, the fight against climate change and collaboration between the public and private sectors.

Ineco was a shareholder and was involved from the beginning in the planning and construction of the two lines of Tenerife Light Metro, opened in 2007 and 2009.