IBERDROLA Ingeniería y Construcción (IBERINCO), in a consortium with Finland’s Teollisuuden Voima Oy (TVO) and TVO Nuclear Services, has won a contract under the European Commission’s TACIS programme to supply technical assistance in safety matters to the Novovoronezh nuclear power plant in Russia.

The Spanish utility’s engineering unit and its partners outbid another European consortium led by Germany’s RWE utility for the contract, worth nearly €3 million.

IBERINCO’s task will be to transfer the “culture of safety” to the Russian plant.

It is the third such project awarded to the Spanish firm. In 2004 IBERINCO won a similar contract to assist the Khmelnitsky nuclear plant in the Ukraine, and another in 2005 for the Kola nuclear power station in Russia.

IBERINCO is offering central and east European nations access to its experience and expertise in building nuclear plants in Spain and abroad.

In keeping with the IBERDROLA group’s strategy, the engineering unit is now actively seeking contracts from clients outside the group. In addition, this contract marks a new step forward the company’s commitment to work more closely with the Rosenergoatom company, owner of the Russian nuclear plants.

IBERINCO is Spain's largest engineering firm, and in 2006 it posted net earnings of €33.3 million, a gain of 22.4% from the previous year. Its turnover climbed by 35.3% to €648.8 million.

At the end of 2006 IBERINCO’s orderbooks reached €2.5 billion, from €755 million a year earlier. In 2006 it refocused its business on plant engineering and construction, particularly electric power generation plants, and resolved to diversify its client portfolio.

Of the €890 million in new contracts won in 2006, 62% (€549.4 million) came from clients outside the parent group, which represented 53.5% more than in 2005. Outside clients accounted for 96% of the contracts signed in 25 countries outside Spain last year.