Spanish construction companies face the great assault in 2026 in the battle to grow in the US
The spearheads of Spanish infrastructure are entering a key year to define their position in the increasingly competitive US market. After a 2025 of relative success, construction companies are looking to convert new opportunities into the large contracts in contention that will be resolved in 2026. With increasingly differentiated strategies to consolidate themselves on a board redefined by Donald Trump, the paths of the Ibex groups converge in the coveted dynamic toll highways (managed lanes). Spanish firms are closely following this market and have taken a position in the main tenders that mobilize billions of investment and will be settled in the coming months.
In Georgia, Ferrovial, ACS, Acciona and Sacyr will compete with the French company Vinci for one of the jewels in the crown: the I-285 East Express Lanes. After being preselected by the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT), along with various partners, they will present their proposals, expected in spring, in order to be awarded the construction and operation of this highway under a contract budgeted, in the first phase, at more than 3,000 million euros. In the same state, the Spanish companies are studying their entry into the ambitious expansion of the I-285 West Express Laneswhich is in a preliminary phase with an investment close to 4,000 million.
The highway is in a similar phase to the first I-77 Southern North Carolinawhere the aforementioned Spanish groups and FCC finalize their alliances – according to what was announced elEconomista- to present its credentials in the coming months for the expansion and exploitation of this road project, budgeted around 3,000 million euros, in which Ferrovial already has experience in another of its sections. As a reference to the managed lanesthe group chaired by Rafael del Pino has also knocked on the door of the Pennsylvania Highway I-76 to take a position in a contract worth more than 4,000 million. They will also face their Spanish counterparts in the battle for the corridor Tennessee’s I-24 Southeast Choice Lanes. A concession, for about 50 years, that brings under its arm an investment of more than 2.5 billion euros. The resolution of the project, which is the subject of interest of the five large Spanish infrastructure groups, is scheduled for the second quarter.
‘Golden’ opportunity to diversify portfolio
The breadth of the US market, however, provides Spanish groups with opportunities in important projects of a different nature such as water, railway, port or military infrastructure. And, faced with a scenario in which actors like ACS rely their growth on the diversification of their portfolio, the new year will put on the table of the Spanish companies a strategic bouquet of contracts to expand their ‘made in USA’ businesses.
Due to their magnitude, Spanish companies pay special attention to the multimillion-dollar programs promoted by the armed forces of the renewed War Department. From ACS and Acciona they hope to profit from their positions in different investment programs of the Navy (US Navy) and the Air Force (US Air Force) which, together, make up an investment of more than 25,000 million. Also from Ferrovial, preferred contractor, through its Texas subsidiary Webber, to carry out military buildings in different parts of the country under a program budgeted at 6,000 million in which he lives with ACS.
In terms of railways, FCC places its hopes in Texas to win the design and construction contract for the first phase of Austin light railvalued at around 2.8 billion. The resolution of the tender in which it is participating in a consortium with Aecon, Jacobs and the Basque company Sener is scheduled to start in 2026. Special mention in this section deserves the expected high-speed line between Toronto and Quebec (Canada) which will later unleash million-dollar opportunities for Spanish references. Also in Canada, expected during next summer, the port authority of Vancouver will examine the proposals, among which is ACS, to award the development of a new container terminal in the busiest port in the country with a budget close to 2.5 billion.
In parallel, the water infrastructure market is gaining special prominence in the United States with state initiatives aimed at ensuring long-term supply in regions affected by drought. In this area, Acciona is emerging as one of the actors best positioned to capitalize on this new investment cycle with projects such as the Arizona private water planvalued at around 1,000 million, in which it is looking for space with the help of the Fengate fund.
