In a touching ceremony held last Wednesday, 8 June, in the Professional Association of Civil Engineers' Augustín de Betancourt Auditorium, the Spanish Road Association pinned its Medal of Honour with Special Mention on Fernando Martín Barrios, civil engineer, in recognition of his brilliant career in roads.

Fernando Martín has spent a good part of his professional life in the FCC Group, first at the Madrid Civil Engineering Bureau, and later as General Manager of Mantenimiento de Infraestructuras, S.A. (MATINSA), a leading firm in its branch of business and a member of the FCC Group.

The ceremony was presided over by the president of the Spanish Road Association, Miguel María Muñoz, accompanied by the host, the president of the Professional Association of Civil Engineers, Edelmiro Rúa, the director-general of Roads at the Ministry of Development, José María Pertierra, and other dignitaries from the world of roads.

This year's distinguished recipient of the Gold Medal for Roads was José María Pertierra de la Uz, director-general of Roads at the Ministry of Development, for his determined, unflagging commitment to regional road progress and for an entire career devoted to developing and improving road infrastructure in Spain.

Panama's minister of Public Works, Federico José Suárez, received the Medal of International Merit for the important political and planning reforms he is carrying out in his country in road safety and road infrastructure improvement.