Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas the Spain based environmental services and infrastructure group has been awarded the contract to build Line 1 of Panama City's metro adding to FCC’s global track record of railway infrastructure projects which include Algeria, India and Singapore. The announcement was made by Roberto Roy, Head of the Panama Metro Secretariat at an event attended by Ricardo Martinelli, President of the Republic of Panama.

FCC in a consortium with Brazilian construction company Odebrecht, with trainsets from Alstom, won the contract over an Italian-led consortium: Impregilo, Ghella and Astaldi, with trainsets from AnsaldoBreda. The contract for Line 1 was awarded on 27 October to the consortium led by FCC, which valued the project at USD 1.45 billion. Panama's metro will be 14 kilometres long and include 11 stations, some of which will be above ground. Work is scheduled on begin in January 2011.

Mr Baldomero Falcones chairman and CEO of FCC said that “This contract is a milestone in the history of FCC's railway infrastructure business and strengthens our international footprint. We currently have over 100 kilometres of tunnels under construction in diverse cities such as Athens, Singapore and New Delhi. Panama is important for us as we have an extensive track record there, which is why we have made it a hub for our business development efforts in Central America.”