The company Fomento Construcciones y Contratas (FCC) has publicly denied that it has "any link" with the businessman from Lanzarote, Francisco Armas, arrested this Monday in the third phase of Operation "Unión", known as Operation "Jable", which investigates crimes of bribery and influence peddling. Armas, who among other things is president and CEO of Horinsa (Hormigones Insulares), remains arrested and incommunicado, awaiting to be brought to justice.
FCC's disassociation arises after this Monday, some media referred to Armas as an attorney of Fomento Construcciones y Contratas in Lanzarote. "There is nothing that links the company with this man. He is neither an attorney, nor does he belong to the organization," FCC sources told La Voz de Lanzarote.
However, they have had a relationship with the company chaired by Francisco Armas. Among other things, Fomento Construcciones y Contratas and Horinsa were part of the UTE that was in charge of the construction of the Zonzamas biomethanization plant, together with a third company. The work was intended to complement the existing classification plant, and obtain energy through organic waste.
"This UTE was formed by Sufi, which is part of the Sacyr Group and had 50 percent, FCC which had 30 percent, and the company to which this man belonged, Horinsa, had only 20 percent. But he was not the manager of the UTE, the management was carried out by Sufi, so he cannot be related here either. He was there with a 20 percent stake, but nothing more," they add from Fomento Construcciones y Contratas.
From FCC they explain that they have "delegates within the Canary Islands, who are responsible for all the works that are carried out", and confirm that they have worked with Horinsa in some works carried out in Lanzarote, just as they could have carried out projects with other companies linked to Francisco Armas, but simply "as contracts to a company that brings you cement". In addition, they maintain that they have not participated together in any work on the island for five years.
Complex under suspicion
The Zonzamas environmental complex has caused rivers of ink to flow since its origin, since in recent decades millionaire figures have been invested, without seeing the results. Specifically, the biomethanization plant was built between 2002 and 2003, with an investment of more than 10 million euros, and although it was delivered to the Cabildo that year, it is still not working today.
Already in 2006, the need to carry out new works in that plant was raised and, although its start-up was announced again in 2008, the Cabildo pointed out more than a year later that its performance was still almost nil.
Now, with the arrest of the former Councilor for Waste of the Cabildo, Miguel Ángel Leal, and the Classified Activities engineer of the Corporation, Manuel Spínola, shadows are once again looming over the Zonzamas landfill. Spínola's arrest could also be related to two other arrests: that of the head of the Technical Office of Arrecife, Rafael Arrocha, and that of the member of the PP's steering committee in Lanzarote, Julio Romero. The three had an engineering and consulting company called Gamma 3.
