Adif participated in a major construction tender on the Cantabrian-Mediterranean High Speed Corridor, covering the segment between Tafalla and Campanas in Navarra. Ten prominent construction players submitted bids for this substantial project, valued at approximately 281.6 million euros according to the Spanish rail infrastructure manager.
ADIF launched the tender in August with a base budget of 232.7 million euros before tax and an estimated contract value of 270.9 million. Ten bids were received, nine of them represented by a temporary union of companies (UTE) and one submitted by Vías y Construcciones, a subsidiary of ACS. The other nine joint ventures consisted of alliances such as Sacyr with OHLA; Acciona with Sando; FCC with CYCASA Quarries and Constructions; Rubau with ASCH, Altuna and Uria and Contratas Vilor; ACS with Screening, Special Affairs and TECSA; Azvi with River Infrastructures and GEOTUNEL; Ferrovial with COMSA and Nortunel; Copisa with Lantania and Aldesa; and COPASA with Grupo Puentes, Grupo San José and Lurpelan.
During the initial envelope opening, all ten bids met the solvency criteria. In the second envelope, the evaluated formulas were applied. The groups COPASA, Grupo Puentes, Grupo San José and Lurpelan achieved the highest score, totaling 46.76 points. Acciona-Sando followed with 44.65 points, and Sacyr-OHLA registered 44.14 points, according to documents published by Adif on the Government Contracting Portal.
The lowest bid came from Azvi, River Infrastructures and GEOTUNEL, with 45 percent of the bid attributed to the first two firms and 10 percent to the third, totaling 192.57 million euros. Vías y Construcciones submitted 193.4 million euros, while the Acciona-Sando joint venture, 60 percent controlled by the Entrecanales family business, offered 194.1 million. The highest bid originated from the Ferrovial, COMSA and Nortunel consortium at 198.2 million euros.
The project carries a planned execution window of 30 months and includes the construction of three tunnels measuring 474, 658 and 506 meters respectively, along with a 546-meter viaduct and several overpasses and underpasses. Adif’s note emphasizes that the project will create a new rail link enhancing passenger and freight mobility within Navarra. The route will traverse seven municipalities: Tafalla, Pueyo, Garínoain, Barásoain, Tirapu, Biurrún-Olcoz, and Tiebas-Muruarte de Reta.
Cantabria-Mediterranean Corridor project
The Cantabrian-Mediterranean Corridor stands as a central axis of Spain’s railway network, linking the Basque Country and Cantabria with Valencia. The plan was publicly announced in 2004 by the former Minister of Development, and by 2005 the corridor was incorporated into the Strategic Infrastructure and Transportation Plan for 2005-2020, aiming to boost freight capacity and deliver faster passenger travel times. When fully operational, the Valencia-Santander route was projected to reduce travel times to just over four hours, with overall journey times improving for both people and goods.
Investments along the Zaragoza-to-Cantabrian Sea corridor surpass 12 billion euros. In particular, the Tafalla-to-Campanas segment represents a crucial phase of Navarra’s high-speed connection. Navarra’s Government had previously initiated studies on the Castejón-Villafranca and Peralta-Olite segments, while the Villafranca-Peralta and Olite-Tafalla studies continued. The Campanas-to-Esquíroz stretch remains a site for future development, with a broader railway network study needed for Pamplona’s hinterland to outline the project. An informative analysis is essential to map the overall network and ensure coordinated progress across regions.
One of the latest Adif contracts within the Cantabrian-Mediterranean Corridor involves the construction of a 700-meter viaduct over the Ebro River, supported by 58.8 million euros funded through the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan under Next Generation EU. This milestone underscores the ongoing emphasis on modernizing Spain’s railway backbone and expanding cross-country connectivity.