The Spanish National Heritage Authority has awarded FCC the contract for phase III of the new Museum of Royal Collections in Madrid. The job is worth 25 million euros and will be completed in 20 months' time.

FCC has already handled phases I and II. Phase I covered the construction of retaining walls and the excavation of the necessary space to house the museum with as little change to the environment as possible. Phase II called for the construction of the museum's structure.

The third phase of the project involves the construction of the building envelope, which means walls, roofs, windows and doors, plus site development. At all times the utmost respect will be shown for the most demanding environmental and quality standards that can be set on what is destined to become one of the most important museums built in the 21st century.

The Capital's New Exhibition Space

Designed by Emilio Tuñón and Luis Moreno Mansilla, this impressive 46,000-square-metre building will be an authentic sanctuary of art. It is already beginning to fit in with the cityscape it shares with its fellow monuments and historic buildings.

The museum will exhibit 155,000 items of great artistic and historic value, all part of the Spanish national heritage and all linked to the Spanish Crown. More than half the pieces have never before been put on display.

The impressive collection, the only one of its kind in the world, is made up of innumerable tapestries, paintings, luxury items, carriages and household goods. The collection of paintings alone is ranked as Madrid's second finest, after the Prado. In short, because of its splendid contents, the museum is a project of real national importance. Political forces of all stripes have been calling for the construction of such a museum since the days of the Second Republic. Today, thanks to the Spanish National Heritage Authority's efforts, it is becoming an obvious reality.

The new facility will make even more exhibition space available in the capital, and it will become a fundamental part of one of Madrid's unique neighbourhoods, where it will join other sightseers' musts such as the gardens at Campo del Moro, the Sabatini Gardens, the Royal Palace, La Almudena Cathedral, the Royal Theatre, the quaint Las Vistillas district, the buildings of Hapsburg Madrid and the Church of San Francisco el Grande.