As the end of 2019 approaches, VINCI Concessions and its subsidiaries are in the process of delivering three major concession infrastructure projects in three continents. Clearly, this is a moment of real significance for our Group and all our teams. Delivering these installations, each with its own unique set of challenges, is the culmination of many years’ work and investment.

In Canada, we have just opened the new motorway bypass around Regina, capital of Saskatchewan province. The bypass is a major investment and is the largest infrastructure project in Saskatchewan. Over the past four years it has demanded considerable efforts from VINCI and our local partners, often working 24/7 even during the harsh Canadian winters where temperatures regularly fall below -30°C. This new section of motorway will be operated by
VINCI Concessions, via its VINCI Highways subsidiary, and Carmacks, the Eurovia subsidiary in Canada.

In Brazil, barely two years after signing the concession contract for Salvador Bahia airport, the upgrade and expansion work is already nearing completion. It represents a major investment in preparing the airport’s future and ensuring it meets the need for sustainable and responsible development. And this is another big-ticket project run in synergy between VINCI Airports and  VINCI Energies.

Lastly, in Russia we are currently delivering the final sections of the motorway between Moscow and St Petersburg. The two largest cities in the world’s largest country will now be linked by a safe motorway of excellent quality.

We are naturally very proud of these achievements. They illustrate the breadth of our expertise and our ability to adapt to the most demanding technical landscapes. They showcase the effectiveness of our integrated model, which serves to support projects by deploying the vast spread of skills needed to design, finance, build and operate transport infrastructure.

However, perhaps most importantly, these projects also stand as evidence of the purpose of our activity as constructor and concession operator: to serve regions and the people who live and work in them.

In Salvador, reinforcing the territory’s attractiveness and opening up new air transport routes went hand in hand with a far-ranging commitment to the ecology, diversity and local identity. The young and forward-looking local team steering the airport project delivered ACA Level 1 environmental certification in record time and rolled out an innovative policy to combat discrimination and promote local culture.

In Russia, the new Moscow to St Petersburg motorway is a concrete response to the authorities’ determination to ramp up road safety in an area that has seen major traffic growth since the 1990s. Our excellence-led model allows us to support this drive with infrastructure built and maintained to the highest standards, and backed by highway services from our specialist local subsidiary now deploying the country’s first safety patrols. The same imperatives to improve road connections and safety apply in Canada. The Saskatchewan economy is based on exports and it now benefits from faster and more reliable access to major road routes. The Regina bypass also improves daily driving conditions for motorists, and the more free-moving traffic has resulted in a significant fall in accidents and collisions recorded since the first section was delivered in 2017.

In their different ways, all three major projects deliver positive mobility to the regions where they are located. They each help to boost trade, competitiveness and, ultimately, sustainable and responsible development. They thus embody the purpose of VINCI Concessions, echoing that of the VINCI Group: to be a force for good in the daily lives of the women and men who use our infrastructure every day.

Nicolas Notebaert, CEO of VINCI Concessions