They had been waiting for that call for two years. On the other end of the line, there was a dramatic silence. It was that match point moment, in mid-August 2025, when the ball trembles on the edge of the net. And then two words rang out: “We’ve won!” The team embraced in an outburst of joy.
Two years of work, sleepless nights, seemingly impossible deadlines, and the combined energy, creativity and intelligence of engineers, financiers and legal experts had culminated in a milestone that would shape the future of a multinational company: the largest public-private partnership (PPP) bond-financed project in the history of the United States.
We are talking about the SR400 Express Lanes motorway, the concession of a managed lanes project with a total investment of approximately eleven billion dollars, which ACCIONA will manage for the next fifty years.
Very few people are granted access to the engine room of a major company, where the projects that transform and improve our society are conceived. In this interview, Borja Franco Moreu opens that door for us. As Head of Business Development, he gives us a rare glimpse into the world of large-scale infrastructure concessions, where everything operates on a scale that is difficult to grasp from the outside. And to help us understand it, he devotes several hours of his valuable time.
Put simply, the SR400 Express Lanes contract in Atlanta covers the financing, design, construction, operation and maintenance of two dynamically tolled express lanes along a 15.5-mile stretch of the existing SR400 motorway. “For the past two years, since I came back from Australia, I’ve been leading the SR400 Express Lanes project, which was awarded to us a year ago and which we’ve now closed,” he explains from the ACCIONA Campus offices, where he has just arrived after an international assignment.
What does his role involve exactly? “I’m responsible for identifying opportunities, finding partners, analysing markets, structuring projects, managing teams and—what probably takes up most of our time in ACCIONA's Concessions Business Development department—preparing bids.”
“It’s been two extremely intense years, travelling to the United States almost once a month,” he adds, using the same clear, direct language that runs throughout the interview. But before revisiting the nerve-racking days and hours leading up to the SR400 contract award, it’s worth taking a closer look at one of the people behind this milestone. Just days after this interview, Borja will mark seventeen years at ACCIONA—virtually his entire professional life.
As Borja—born in Pontevedra and raised between Rota, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Madrid—begins to unpack his personal background, one thing becomes immediately clear: an international life was part of his DNA. His father, an officer in the Spanish Navy, was posted to several military bases, including Rota and Las Palmas, shaping a life of constant movement from an early age.
“After several years in Las Palmas, we moved to Madrid, where we spent seven years. Then, when I was fourteen, my father was posted to France and we lived there for three years. It was a very enriching experience, but living abroad isn’t always easy. For children and teenagers, it’s a very demanding kind of immersion. But if you manage to come through it, you come out stronger, more mature and better prepared for what lies ahead. You leave your familiar ground, your friends, and face a new country, a new language, new classmates, new customs. Not everyone manages that transition,” he recalls.
During those years, Borja began to consider following in the footsteps of his parents and grandparents and joining the Armed Forces. However, he returned from France bilingual, and his family encouraged him to pursue a degree that would open “more doors”. His father, who served in the Spanish Navy’s Logistics Corps, was responsible for financial management, logistics, administration and resource coordination, representing Spain’s interests wherever he was posted.
Borja would follow a similar path, but in the private sector. His career would also revolve around finance, procurement, administration and coordination, with a comparable sense of purpose. “I’ve always felt that when we’re posted abroad, we take on a responsibility that goes beyond our day-to-day roles: representing ACCIONA, its values and its way of working, and acting as ambassadors for the company in every country and on every project.”
I’ve always felt that when we’re sent abroad, we take on a responsibility that goes beyond our day-to-day roles: representing ACCIONA as ambassadors.
After France, Borja began a degree in Business Administration in Madrid. “I specialised in accounting, which was what interested me most. That allowed me to apply for one of the most competitive scholarships offered by the Complutense University.”
The scholarship was awarded by the Bank of Spain and gave him his first exposure to professional life. “We analysed balance sheets and profit-and-loss accounts of non-financial companies across the Spanish economy—from a local bakery to major utilities—to produce statistics that were later published in a report. I learned a lot about how the real economy works.”
That experience was followed by a course at a business school in Paris. “I went straight to France with some savings, because the course started as soon as my internship ended.” Shortly afterwards, Borja’s family was posted to the United States for three years, a period he made the most of by spending a year studying English after returning from Paris—and, along the way, ticking off another country on his list of international destinations.
My first internship at the Bank of Spain allowed me to learn about the real world.
With his education complete, it was time to enter the labour market. Spain was in the midst of a property crisis, and Borja was looking beyond its borders. “I was very clear that I wanted to work abroad. I knew that experience would help me grow professionally. And I also knew that not many people were keen to go overseas, so in the end there was a relatively small group of us with both the willingness and the language skills.”
That eager, internationally minded graduate soon crossed paths with ACCIONA. “I was told the company had a strong international presence and that I’d most likely be assigned to an overseas project fairly quickly. That perspective was decisive.” Before long, he was heading to the Americas. “When I arrived in Canada, I understood the true scale of ACCIONA and the key role it played as one of the leading companies in that market.”
From that first international role, Borja remembers the exposure above all else. “What struck me most was the level of exposure. I was very young, but because resources were limited, I got involved in everything needed to identify opportunities. That gave me a lot of visibility.”
He highlights one of the defining features of concession bidding. “When you put together a consortium, you work with people from very different backgrounds—technical, financial, legal—and you quickly realise the opportunity that creates. It’s a group of people committed to delivering an infrastructure solution that’s more sustainable, more efficient and better value for money.”
He adds: “The challenge is to build differently, prioritising quality, innovation and sustainability, while responding to the interests of the community. What end users are really looking for is a solution that improves their day-to-day lives. That’s something I’ve felt very strongly at ACCIONA, especially during my time in Australia.” Because Canada, as it turned out, was just the first stop.
Putting together a consortium and submitting a bid for a concessions project allows you to work hand in hand with multidisciplinary teams, all with a shared goal: to develop the infrastructure project that best responds to society’s needs and the long term.
Borja speaks about being in the right place at the right time, echoing Seneca’s definition of luck as the moment when preparation meets opportunity. “I’ve been fortunate to be in the right place at the right time. I arrived in Canada just as the concessions market was taking off. The same thing happened in Australia, where I arrived as the market was gaining momentum. And in the United States, it’s followed a similar pattern.”
He reflects on one of ACCIONA’s key strengths. “Countries like Canada and Australia are vast, with enormous infrastructure needs, but with a limited number of companies capable of delivering complex projects—tunnels, tramways, metro systems.”
And he explains what ACCIONA brought to that context. “It’s a large company, with balance-sheet strength, financial solidity and extensive experience in complex infrastructure. ACCIONA contributed not only financial and concessions expertise, but also innovation and technical know-how.”
He also highlights another major project. “We bid for and were awarded a transmission lines project within the Renewable Energy Zones in New South Wales, supporting large-scale renewable generation developments. For me, it’s a particularly significant project because it was the first transmission line tendered under a concession model in Australia, and it’s enormous—around eight billion dollars.”
ACCIONA entered Canada and Australia at a time when there was a strong need for major infrastructure and complex projects, bringing financial strength, concessions expertise and technical know-how.
What are concession bids really like? we ask him. “They involve a very large number of people from all the companies in the consortium. On one project in Australia, there were nearly 250 people working in the project office.” That intensity and diversity of profiles, he says, have been a major driver of personal and professional growth.
He sums it up like this: “Working in those markets has accelerated my development. You end up interacting week after week with partners and bid teams. There’s intense coordination between the construction arm, the operator, advisors and financiers.” All of that work, he says, ultimately serves one purpose: “To deliver the best possible infrastructure solution—innovative, socially responsible, and offering the best value for money and long-term value for the end client.”
At this point, Borja turns again to Australia, his next destination after Canada. “One of the projects we were awarded there was the Sydney light rail. In simple terms, it’s a new infrastructure made up of tracks, stations, rolling stock and systems. But when we talk about concessions, what we’re really guaranteeing the client is service quality once the infrastructure is operational.”
What does that mean in practice? “It means peace of mind. Knowing that the user will catch the train in the morning and get from point A to point B within a defined timeframe, without disruption. Our focus is on the service we provide to the community—on making life easier and better for users.”
Delivering that requires a complex operational framework, with sustainability playing a central role. “ACCIONA always goes one step further. We offer more sustainable solutions not only from a technical perspective, but also financially. For example, we try to structure financing that includes green loans, so that by exceeding ESG criteria we can secure more competitive financing and deliver additional social benefits.”
We offer more sustainable solutions not only from a technical perspective, but also financially, through instruments such as green loans.
What criteria guide project selection? “We can’t just pursue any project; it has to be aligned with the European taxonomy. In fact, we’ve walked away from some opportunities because they didn’t meet those requirements.” He points to Australia, where clients increasingly require construction energy to come from renewable sources. “In that sense, clients are evolving, and we’re moving ahead of them.”
More innovative and sustainable solutions often originate within ACCIONA itself, rather than in the tender specifications. As an example, Borja refers to the Toowoomba Bypass project. “It’s a city that saw a very high volume of truck traffic every day, much of it carrying hazardous materials from mining areas. What the client wanted was a 26-mile bypass to remove heavy traffic from the city centre.”
The client’s original solution involved a bypass road with a tunnel through the mountainous Toowoomba region. “Our consortium proposed an alternative to the reference design. Instead of a tunnel, we replaced it with an 800-metre-long viaduct, 50 metres high.”
What difference did that make? “The alternative solution not only accommodated regular truck traffic, but also allowed vehicles carrying hazardous materials to bypass the city. Under the original design, those vehicles would have had to pass through the city because they couldn’t use the tunnel, creating significant social risk. It also reduced operation and maintenance requirements. That solution was ultimately selected and played a decisive role in securing the project.”
That culture of ideas, collaboration across teams and joint problem-solving is one of the aspects that most motivates Borja, as becomes clear throughout the interview.
Borja speaks about the structure of his department. “We’re a relatively small team compared with other ACCIONA businesses, but we’re highly talented and growing fast. When you arrive in a foreign market, the responsibility is significant, because you’re effectively ACCIONA’s public face.”
He acknowledges that bids are long, demanding processes, but says the effort is more than worthwhile. Reflecting on his own progression, he notes: “I’ve always said that the defining experience of my career has been working abroad, where I’ve been able to take on major responsibilities and gain exceptional visibility across the entire business.”
The defining experience of my career has been working on international bids: it’s allowed me to take on major responsibilities and gain exceptional visibility across the business.
If concession projects bring together very different professional profiles at each stage of their lifecycle, ACCIONA’s ability to integrate finance, construction and operations is one of its greatest strengths. “As the concessions arm, we develop and structure projects, raise financing and invest equity. Subsequently, our construction business takes charge of the design and build, and once the project enters service, in the vast majority of cases Concessions is responsible for operating and maintaining a large part of our assets, especially in transport. That level of integration gives us a competitive advantage and a clear differentiating angle compared to our competitors.”
We have already seen that preparing a concession bid can take up to two years—months of sustained effort followed by an intense final stretch. For Borja, endurance sport mirrors that experience. “I’ve competed in ten long-distance triathlons, including IRONMAN events.”
We ask him to explain the challenge. “An IRONMAN consists of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a full marathon. I’ve managed to be competitive in something I love, and that allowed me to qualify for the IRONMAN World Championship in Hawaii.”
That is where he draws the parallel. “In concessions, we work under extremely tight timelines and have to coordinate every activity with precision. You aim to optimise everything, make sure nothing falls through the cracks, and arrive at bid submission fully prepared. Sport has taught me discipline and consistency. It’s a sacrifice—you have to juggle a lot to fit in training—but the effort is worth it for what it gives back.”
Sport has taught me consistency in life. It’s a sacrifice—you have to juggle a lot to fit in training—but all that effort is worth it for what it gives back.
If he had to explain why someone should join ACCIONA, what would he say? “It’s a company with strong growth prospects and a clear expansion strategy. It has always known how to identify its niche and diversify intelligently, which has allowed it to invest in fast-growing sectors. We’ve seen it in renewables, water, concessions, industrial projects and mobility. It’s genuinely at the forefront in many areas.”
That translates into opportunities for a wide range of professional profiles. “Whether you’re a financier, an engineer, a commercial professional or a lawyer, I’m convinced that you’re joining a company where you’ll find real opportunities for growth, supported by a very broad strategy for development and internal mobility.”
Because mobility isn’t only geographical. “Human Resources is flexible and genuinely looks after employees. They try to offer the best option at each stage. That happened to me as well. I joined infrastructure initially, but when they identified an opportunity in the Canadian concessions market, they offered me the chance to move.”
We return to the beginning of this story, to the final moments before the landmark award. “It’s many months of intense work, pushing right through to the end. Of course it’s demanding, the days feel endless, but in the end it’s a huge responsibility shared by everyone on the bid team.”
After the triathlon comes that moment when time seems to stand still as you cross the finish line. For the SR400, that moment came on 14 August. “That day, we still didn’t know the outcome. I remember the CEO of Concessions contacting us in the afternoon and saying, ‘They’re announcing the result today.’” And the rest is now part of ACCIONA’s history.