{"id":4302,"date":"2013-04-23T10:09:52","date_gmt":"2013-04-23T08:09:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ferrovial.com\/blog\/?p=4302"},"modified":"2025-12-12T11:55:33","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T10:55:33","slug":"the-century-of-cities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ferrovial.com\/blog\/en\/2013\/04\/the-century-of-cities\/","title":{"rendered":"The century of cities"},"content":{"rendered":"

The transformation of cities represents a major opportunity for Ferrovial. We have our own and differentiated model for the efficient provision of services, one that meets the greatest challenge of local administrations: to generate savings, to improve the quality of public services and to foster citizens\u2019 participation.<\/p>\n

On this sixtieth anniversary<\/a>, Ferrovial Servicios<\/a> celebrates 20 years since it began its activities. In 2003, Ferrovial decided to emphatically and very bravely commit to internationalisation and diversification in this sector. In April of that year we launched a takeover bid on the entirety of Amey<\/a>, one of UK\u2019s largest operators. A few months later we acquired Cespa<\/a>, a leading company in the environmental sector in Spain.<\/p>\n

In this decade, Ferrovial Servicios has multiplied its size by 10 and operates in more than half of the principal Spanish cities and in 130 major European cities. It maintains more than 19,000 kilometres of roads, a million lights and 48 million square metres of green spaces, at the service of more than 22 million citizens.<\/p>\n

Looking to the future, no-one can doubt that cities will be acquiring growing prominence worldwide. For the first time in history, more than half the population (around 3.5 billion) lives in urban areas. While they occupy barely 1% of the entire territory, cities consume 75% of the energy and emit 80% of the greenhouse gases. If the 20th<\/sup> was the century of nations, the 21st<\/sup> will undoubtedly be the century of cities.<\/p>\n

Ferrovial has gained a privileged position thanks to its differentiated portfolio and its capacity to meet the needs of cities. Of the annual budget of cities (50 B\u20ac in Spain; 68 B\u20ac in UK), more than a third is accounted for by the services we are currently providing.<\/p>\n

Ferrovial Servicios has developed a model to address this challenge. We are a young and dynamic company that is capable of optimising energy operations and consumption, or of maximising recycling and transforming waste into energy. Our value proposal is eminently practical and is underpinned by the following four pillars:<\/p>\n