A2 · ElementaryAdapted from Expansión

Aena's Airport Mega-Projects: Why Builders Flock to Madrid but Avoid Tenerife

Los megaproyectos aeroportuarios de Aena: ¿por qué las constructoras acuden a Madrid pero evitan Tenerife?

Sep 18, 20261 min readGraded Spanish · word-by-word audio

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Aena es la empresa que gestiona los aeropuertos de España. Ahora Aena quiere ampliar el aeropuerto de Madrid-Barajas.

Pero hay un problema con otro aeropuerto. Aena también quiere reformar las instalaciones del aeropuerto de Tenerife. Este contrato vale 500 millones de euros. Sin embargo, ninguna constructora presenta una oferta. Es el contrato de obra más grande de España sin ninguna oferta.

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Watch out, English speaker

Spanish uses entre + number + y + number to express an approximate range, as in entre siete y ocho empresas ("between seven and eight companies"). English speakers often try to translate this literally as "between seven and eight," which is fine, but they may mistakenly use o ("or") or a hyphen, producing unnatural phrases like siete u ocho or siete-ocho. Remember: the fixed pattern is entre...y..., and it's the standard way to say "seven or eight" in Spanish. Spanish nouns for things like oferta ("bid, offer") and contrato ("contract") are countable and often appear in the plural when talking about multiple bids or contracts, e.g., presentan ofertas para dos contratos. English speakers may forget to pluralize or may use the wrong preposition: in Spanish you presentar una oferta para un contrato, not presentar una oferta a un contrato. Also, oferta can mean both "offer" and "bid" depending on context, so don't assume it's always a commercial sales offer. Spanish verbs like ampliar, reformar, and gestionar are regular -ar verbs but have specific meanings that don't always map one-to-one with English. For example, ampliar can mean "to expand" or "to enlarge," but not "to amplify" in the everyday sense; reformar means "to renovate" or "to refurbish," not "to reform" (as in politics). Gestionar means "to manage" or "to operate" a service, not "to manage" in the sense of "to handle a situation" (which is often manejar or arreglar). Pay attention to these false friends and context-specific translations.

Key vocabulary

aeropuertom.
airport
“Aena quiere ampliar el aeropuerto de Madrid-Barajas.”— Aena wants to expand Madrid-Barajas Airport.
Pattern aeropuerto internacional international airport
Plural: aeropuertos
💡 aero- means air, puerto means port; together they mean air port
constructoraf.
construction company
“Muchas constructoras quieren trabajar en este proyecto.”— Many construction companies want to work on this project.
Pattern gran constructora large construction company
Compare empresa de construcción construction company
Plural: constructoras
💡 From the verb construir (to build); the -ora suffix indicates an organization that does something
ampliarv.
to expand, enlarge
“Ahora Aena quiere ampliar el aeropuerto de Madrid-Barajas.”— Now Aena wants to expand Madrid-Barajas Airport.
Pattern ampliar el aeropuerto expand the airport
Compare extender extend
Present indicative: amplío, amplías, amplía...
💡 amplio is the adjective wide; ampliar means to make wider
ofertaf.
bid, offer
“Entre siete y ocho empresas presentan ofertas para dos contratos.”— Between seven and eight companies submit bids for two contracts.
Pattern presentar una oferta submit a bid
Compare propuesta proposal
Plural: ofertas
💡 oferta is also often used in commercial promotions, such as ofertas de trabajo (job openings)
contratom.
contract
“Este contrato vale 500 millones de euros.”— This contract is worth 500 million euros.
Pattern firmar un contrato sign a contract
Compare acuerdo agreement
Plural: contratos
💡 From the verb contratar (to hire, to contract); note the difference from contacto (contact)
reformarv.
to renovate, refurbish
“Aena también quiere reformar las instalaciones del aeropuerto de Tenerife.”— Aena also wants to renovate the facilities at Tenerife Airport.
Pattern reformar un edificio renov a building
Compare renovar renew
Present indicative: reformo, reformas, reforma...
💡 re- means again, formar means to form; to form again means to remodel
instalacionesf.
facilities (plural)
“Aena también quiere reformar las instalaciones del aeropuerto de Tenerife.”— Aena also wants to renovate the facilities at Tenerife Airport.
Pattern instalaciones deportivas sports facilities
Compare equipamiento equipment
Singular: instalación
💡 From the verb instalar (to install); commonly used in the plural to refer to the various facilities of a building complex
gestionarv.
to manage, operate
“Aena es la empresa que gestiona los aeropuertos de España.”— Aena is the company that manages Spain's airports.
Pattern gestionar un aeropuerto manage an airport
Compare administrar manage
Present indicative: gestiono, gestionas, gestiona...
💡 gestión is management (noun); gestionar is the verb form

Grammar spotlight

entre...y... for approximate quantity ranges

Use entre + number + y + number to express an approximate range, equivalent to English 'seven or eight' or 'three to five'. This structure is standard in Spanish for giving rough estimates.

“Entre siete y ocho empresas presentan ofertas para dos contratos.”— Between seven and eight companies submit bids for two contracts.

⚠️ Do not use de...a... instead; entre...y... is the standard expression.

Sentence patterns to steal

Entre siete y ocho empresas presentan ofertas para dos contratos.
Between seven and eight companies submit bids for two contracts.
Entre + number + y + number + noun + verbThe numbers and noun can be replaced, e.g. Entre tres y cuatro personas vienen.
Es el contrato de obra más grande de España sin ninguna oferta.
It is the largest public works contract in Spain without any bid.
Es el/la + noun + más + adjective + de + placeThe noun and adjective can be replaced, e.g. Es la ciudad más bonita de España.

Aena and the Spanish Airport System

Aena is one of the world's largest airport operators, managing 46 airports in Spain and several others abroad. Madrid-Barajas Airport is Spain's busiest airport, and its Terminal 4, designed by the famous architect Richard Rogers, opened in 2006. Tenerife, located in the Canary Islands, is a major tourist destination in Spain.

Source: Aena official website and Wikipedia

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