Construction of the new euro banknote printing works that Imprenta de Billetes S.A., medio propio del Banco de España (IMBISA), commenced in March 2020, is successfully complete.

The new printing works is distributed across several buildings that will house the production and services areas and office space. It also has a separate area where the Banco de España can conduct some of its cash operations. Dragados S.A. performed the construction works under the supervision and technical management of Técnicas Reunidas S.A., which was also responsible for the technical and architectural designs. The design was devised to satisfy security requirements and be as environmentally friendly as possible, adopting principles of technological innovation and production efficiency. According to news accounts, sustainability criteria were factored into the design via effective use of material and energy resources so as to reduce the facility’s carbon footprint and minimise its environmental impact.

During the construction period, it was necessary to overcome significant challenges, such as the COVID-19 health crisis, heavy snowfall in Madrid in early 2021 and, more recently, the supply bottlenecks affecting delivery times.

Following completion of this phase of the project for the new printing works, the relocation of office staff and the installation of the large bank note printing machines and of ancillary machinery in the production building have begun. Once a complete production line is installed, accreditation of the new printing works by the European Central Bank will begin.

Production of euro bank notes is scheduled to commence in the fourth quarter of 2022. The disassembly, relocation from the Spanish public printing works (FNMT-RCM) and installation at IMBISA’s new printing works of one of the current production lines, in the first quarter of 2023, will mark the project’s conclusion. The project is currently forecast to come in under the initial budget estimate of €185 million (before tax).

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