“For Limak, building the Camp Nou is the gateway to Western Europe. They will do it well because their reputation and their future are at stake. And we save time and money,” an authorized FC Barcelona voice told La Vanguardia about the election. of the Turkish construction company, which will make its debut in the European Union executing the project with which the Japanese architecture studio Nikken-Sekkei previously won the competition for the complete remodeling of the blaugrana stadium.The election was closed after Limak contracted to that in 18 months from next summer the public will be able to return to the new Spotify Camp Nou and that the entire work will be a reality in the summer of 2026 for a maximum price of 990 million euros.The other two alternatives in a better position, both Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas like Ferrovial, companies of great prestige in the field, doubled the deadlines and expenses, according to the same sources.
The FC Barcelona board decided to award him the works after Limak signed and accepted a maximum price of 900 million, to which must be added a game of another 90 million to deal with possible extras. In this contract, as Rac 1 advanced and confirmed by this newspaper, there is a clause in which Limak agrees to pay one million euros for each day that the completion of the first part of the works is delayed, which, as agreed and sealed, it should be possible as of November 29, 2024, the date on which the club will celebrate 125 years of history and on which it is expected that the public will be able to return. “Every day outside the Camp Nou penalizes us because it means that Barcelona loses income. You have to be in Montjuïc the essential time ”, report the same sources.
The delivery of the final work is scheduled for the month of July 2026. “None of the other two construction companies that aspired to take over the project guaranteed such speed and therefore the cost was much higher,” they add. In this sense, they reveal that the Temporary Business Union (UTE) led by Ferrovial together with Acciona, Copcisa, Copisa and Rubau i Sorigué undertook to finish the first part of the works 12 months later than Limak. Specifically in November 2025. The total cost amounted to 1,290 million euros, 300 more than the Turkish construction company. The second joint venture, formed by Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas and Comsa, allowed the return to the Blaugrana stronghold in May 2026 for 1,390 million euros. 18 months later and for 400 million more than the winning construction company, which will work together with Ghesa and Vopi 4.
In order to complete the works on time, Limak intends to follow a continuous construction plan. To avoid problems with the neighborhood in the face of a work classified as “intense and constant”, part of the process will be carried out outside of Barcelona to finish off the work in the city afterwards. “This type of construction by pieces is a very American way of building,” they point out at the club. A version that coincides with that of several experts consulted by this newspaper.
The awarding of the works to Limak was a decision taken unanimously, although the abstention of Jordi Llauradó, founder and partner of the MET construction company and director responsible for Espai Barça, surprised. Two days later, Llauradó, who claimed personal reasons, decided to step aside. He continues as a member and is focused on issues specific to the Barça Foundation. Before Llauradó, Ramón Ramírez Llorente, the first executive head of heritage and works of the Laporta era, resigned in March 2022.
After leaving the club, he began working as general manager precisely at the Llauradó construction company. Before, President Joan Laporta, when he became president in March 2021, fired Bill Mannarelli, the person in charge of managing the project for alleged irregularities. Mannarelli currently works at the Dutch construction company BAM international, in charge of building, among others, the Mercedes Arena in Berlin. At the Camp Nou, Barça’s social vice president, Elena Fort, has become the visible face of the new project. “It is a very prominent company in civil works,” defended Fort the day that Barcelona announced the hiring of Limak.
The Turkish company, founded in 1976, has stood out to date for the construction of airports, hotels, highways and bridges. His most recognized work to date is the new Istanbul airport, finished in October 2018 and which is considered the eighth best in the world by the World Airport Awards, the awards given every year by Skytrax. However, in the sports field, it has only built the Mersin Arena, a stadium with a capacity for 25,000 spectators that hosted the Mediterranean Games in 2013. The cost for the 3-star UEFA category venue was 100 million euros.
Despite the lack of experience in stadiums, Laporta’s board insists that the commission of technicians appointed by Goldman Sachs to control the works gave its approval. “They know them and they know how they work,” they say. Once the business plan has been established and the construction company awarded, now it is time to agree on the financing. In it are the economic managers who have traveled several times to Miami to present the project to interested investors and tracked by Goldman Sachs. They hope to announce the new investor in the first half of February.
