By way of Valoriza, Cafestore, Sacyr's catering services subsidiary, has been awarded the catering services contract for the Domenech i Montaner nursing home in Badalona, which can accommodate up to 80 residents and 24 day centre users.

Earlier this year, Cafestore had already been awarded its first nursing home catering services contract, specifically in Barbastro (Huesca) with a capacity for 100 residents, meaning that the company has now been awarded two contracts in less than six months within the healthcare catering sector, which has been pinpointed as a priority objective for its strategic plan.

Qatar's Ministry of Public Works (ASHGHAL) has awarded the consortium comprising Sacyr Construcción and local firm Combined Group Company the construction of phases 1 and 2 of Group 2, whose launch was brought forward to allow work to begin as early as possible. This is the first contract awarded by Qatar's Ministry of Public Works within the framework of its Local Road and Drainage Programme. The Ministry has invited Sacyr to present bids for two further contracts within this programme.

The president of Chile, Sebastián Piñera, presided over the ceremony to lay the first stone for the La Serena ? Vallenar motorway (Ruta del Algarrobo) with which Sacyr Chile is to begin construction of this motorway and which Sacyr Concesiones will subsequently manage. The event was also attended by the Minister of Public Works, Loreto Silva; the manager of Sacyr Concesiones Chile, Javier Martínez-Cañavate, and the manager of Sacyr Chile, Guillermo García, along with other management and officials.

Sacyr Industrial consolidates its international reach after signing a framework agreement with Scottish Hydro Electric to participate in the construction of 40 power substations in Scotland (United Kingdom) as part of a project valued at 600 million pounds (700 million euros).

The framework agreement has a five-year duration and may be extended for a further four years. 14 power substations will be built during the project's first phase, with 28 additional substations scheduled for construction over the next 9 years.

The multi-tenant office building pertaining to Testa, Sacyr's property management subsidiary, located at 10 Calle Pedro de Valdivia in Madrid has obtained the prestigious international LEED Silver certification in the category of Existing Building Operations & Maintenance (EBOM). The Testa property is the first in Spain to achieve this. The building at 10 Pedro de Valdivia has 6,500 m2 dedicated exclusively to offices, just a few metres from Paseo de la Castellana in Madrid, and is occupied by top multinational companies such as Sony Pictures, Sony Computer and Allen&Overy.

Sacyr takes part in Earth Hour 2013. On 23 March 2013 (at 8.30 pm local time), Sacyr will be turning off its lights for 60 minutes to take part in Earth Hour, the largest global campaign against climate change, which will be marked by symbolically switching off the lights at well-known sites. Join in with the WWF's Earth Hour and help to save the planet.

Sacyr subsidiary specialising in catering services, Cafestore, has obtained the 9001 and 1400 certifications in catering and restaurant services. The certifications, awarded by Aenor, endorse Cafestore's compliance with the legal and regulatory requirements as well as the company's commitment to the continual improvement of environmental conduct. In the course of its activities, Cafestore upholds quality and respect for the environment as key factors for achieving the highest levels of customer satisfaction. For Sacyr, one of its objectives is for all of the group's companies to hold certifications both in quality and the environment within all areas of the group's activities

The Prince of Asturias has today visited the works to extend Line 9 of the Madrid Metro to Mirasierra. The Prince was accompanied by the Minister of Public Works, Ana Pastor; the President of the Regional Government of Madrid, Ignacio González; the Regional Government of Madrid's Councillor for Transport, Infrastructure and Housing, Pablo Cavero; and the Chairman of Sacyr, Manuel Manrique, along with other officials and business leaders.

Sacyr has obtained a gross operating profit (EBITDA) of 506.1 million euros in 2012, similar to the figure for the previous year (523.6 million), tantamount to an increase in gross return (EBITDA margin) of 14% compared with 13.7% in the previous year, thanks to the cost cutting policy and close monitoring of return. This positive operating profit confirms the Group's good business performance in what is a difficult economic setting, above all in Spain, and ratifies the appropriate strategy it is carrying out of focusing on its core businesses (international construction, infrastructure concessions and services) and the new industrial division, opening new markets, cutting costs and debt and improving return.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment has awarded the Maresme Waste Treatment Plant in Barcelona (Centro Integral de Tratamiento de Residuos del Maresme), managed by the joint venture (known as TEM - Maresme Ecological Treatment) led by the Sacyr subsidiary, Valoriza Servicios Medioambientales, two projects aimed at reducing CO2 emissions at the plant by 52,200 tonnes over the next four years.

The centre in Mataró will reduce such emissions by exporting the plant's surplus thermal energy to the district heating network, Tub Verd, which will in turn carry it to consumers, thereby reducing the use of fossil fuels.