- More than €2 million will be used to buy equipment for donation to the health services in Spain and the United Kingdom
- Over €1 million will go to social assistance for vulnerable groups in Spain, the United States and the United Kingdom
- €400,000 will fund research projects in Spain and the United States
- The fund, which is still open for donations, will be endowed with up to €10 million by Ferrovial
Ferrovial has announced the distribution of the first tranche of the “Ferrovial Juntos COVID-19” fund, amounting to €3.47 million, to institutions fighting the pandemic in the social, healthcare and research fields in Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.
In the area of healthcare, the company has allocated €2 million to buy 700,000 FFP2 masks and 70 ventilators for donation to the Spanish regions of Madrid, Valencia, Andalusia, Castilla-La Mancha, Galicia and Cantabria. It has also donated 20 ventilators, worth €60,000, to the UK’s National Health Service (NHS).
This pandemic is having a considerable impact on vulnerable families in need of immediate support to cover basic needs such as food, hygiene products and medicines, so the company has decided to allocate €1 million of this first tranche to support prestigious institutions working in this area. The beneficiaries are Cáritas, in Spain; eight Food Banks in the United States; and SSAFA Emergency Response Fund, The Lighthouse Club Construction Charity, and The Trussell Trust, in the United Kingdom. Additionally, it has donated €10,000 to Fundación del Colegio de Ingenieros de Caminos to support professionals directly affected by the pandemic.
The final part of this first tranche, amounting to €400,000, will support research to develop a vaccine for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, which is the cause of the COVID-19 pandemic. Spain’s National Center for Biotechnology, which is part of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), will receive €250,000 for two vaccine development projects. One is based on reconstructing the virus genome from chemically synthesized DNA fragments. The second seeks to develop a vaccine based on the S protein. Another center that will also benefit from these funds, with a contribution of 150,000 euros, is Baylor College of Medicine, in Texas, which is currently working on a vaccine to modify the virus proteins.
The distribution of funds by countries to date is as follows: Spain, €2,510,000; United States, €650,000; and the United Kingdom, €310,000.
Ferrovial set up the “Ferrovial Juntos COVID-19” fund with an initial endowment of €5 million from the company. At the same time, it launched a drive to raise funds among employees, directors, shareholders, contractors, suppliers and anyone wishing to make a donation. The company will double any contributions up to a total contribution of €10 million.
To date, the “Ferrovial Juntos COVID-19” has raised €1,245,675, to which Ferrovial will contribute double that amount, i.e. €2,491,349, raising the total amount contributed to the fund, including Ferrovial’s initial €5 million endowment, to €8,737,024.
When it announced the creation of the fund, Ferrovial undertook to be totally transparent in its decisions. To date, considering the first tranche, the company has distributed a total of €3,470,000, with the result that, as of today, €5,267,024 remain to be distributed. In the coming weeks, Ferrovial will provide updates on how its Juntos COVID-19 fund is used.
A commitment to fighting COVID-19
The company is strongly committed to combating the pandemic, having participated in a number of initiatives, such as setting up a 5,500-bed temporary hospital at the Madrid convention center, and developing the “CoronaMadrid” website and app, along with other companies, in partnership with the Madrid Regional Government, to facilitate patient diagnosis and monitoring so as to avoid saturating the healthcare facilities and reduce the numbers requiring emergency care. It also installed drive-in testing centers in the Balearic Islands. In Madrid and Santander, it has made 830 parking spaces available free of charge to healthcare workers.
DONATIONS “FERROVIAL JUNTOS COVID-19”: First Tranche. 8/05/2020
Healthcare Equipment
| Organization | Amount (Euros) | Equipment |
| Salud Madrid
(Spain) |
1.000.000 | 300.000 FFP2 masks
70 respirators |
| Servicio Andaluz de Salud (Spain) | 375.000 | 150.000 FFP2 masks |
| Servicio Gallego de Salud (Spain) | 200.000 | 80.000 FFP2 masks |
| Agencia Valenciana de Salud (España) | 200.000 | 80.000 FFP2 masks |
| Servicio de Salud de Castilla-La Mancha (Spain) | 125.000 | 50.000 FFP2 masks |
| Servicio Cántabro de Salud (Spain) | 100.000 | 40.000 FFP2 masks |
| National Health Service (United Kingdom) | 60.000 | 20 respirators |
Research
| Organization | Amount (Euros) | Project |
| Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CSIC) (Spain) | 250.000 | Research for two vaccine development projects |
| Baylor University (Houston. USA) | 150.000 | Research for vaccine development project |
Social
| Organization | Amount (Euros) | Project |
| Cáritas (España) | 250.000 | Aid for families, elderly and homeless in Alcalá de Henares, Getafe, Huelva, Madrid, Málaga, Santander, Santiago de Compostela, Sevilla, Valencia |
| Fundación Colegio de Caminos (Spain) | 10.000 | Aid of member affected COVID-19 |
| The Trussell Trust (UK) | 150.000 | Food Bank of Vauxhall, Glasgow, Sheffield, South Liverpool, Cardiff. |
| SSAFA Emergency Response Fund (UK) | 50.000 | Aid to vulnerable personnel of the British Armed Forces |
| Lighthouse Construction Charity (UK) | 50.000 | Aid to Construction workers |
| Food Bank (USA) | 500.000 | Foundation for Fairfax Public Schools (VA); Houston Food Bank, Tarrant Area Food Bank, North Texas Food Bank, Central Texas Food Bank (TX); Atlanta Food Bank (GA); Kern County Food Bank (CA); Second Harvest (NC) |
