Manel García Alconchel, former director for the southern region at Acciona Construcción, has denied any involvement in the controversial contracts with Servinabar. He stated that the partnership between Acciona and this Navarre-based firm began before he took office. Alconchel emphasized that the initiative to work with Servinabar came from the company’s former construction director, Justo Vicente Pellegrini, who suggested the possibility of joint projects.
During questioning, Alconchel was reminded of his suspension following charges brought by the Supreme Court in November last year. He was also asked about the hiring of Antonio Muñoz, a relative of Santos Cerdán, for work at the Seville site. Alconchel explained that Muñoz was employed by Servinabar and was responsible for safety on the construction of the city’s port access roads.
Restrictive measures
At the request of the anti-corruption prosecutor, the court imposed the same restrictive measures on Alconchel as on the other defendants: mandatory check-ins every two weeks, passport confiscation, and a ban on leaving the country. Investigators believe that Alconchel could have been involved in the scheme along with Pellegrini and his subordinate Tomás Olarte Sanz. Both had previously denied Acciona’s involvement in any contract manipulation and insisted that the company only cooperated with Servinabar on labor safety matters, with the 2% of project value representing only the maximum fee for such services.
Alkonchel confirmed that the memorandum of understanding with Servinabar for the Seville project was similar to the document previously signed for the Logroño facility. He noted that such memorandums are not full-fledged contracts, but merely express the parties’ intentions. According to him, the 2% fee for occupational health and safety services is in line with market standards.
The Role of Servinabar
The former director emphasized that when he joined the company, Servinabar was already involved in Acciona projects. According to him, Pellegrini had suggested collaborating not only with this firm, but also with other companies. The decision to involve Servinabar in the work in Seville was made by Pellegrini. Alkonchel insists that such relationships between companies are standard industry practice.
However, according to Alkonchel, Servinabar ultimately did not participate in the construction of the V Centenario bridge, as the work was delayed by more than two years and Acciona carried it out independently. Servinabar was only brought in for emergency work on the SE-40 access roads to the Port of Seville, for which no separate memorandum was signed. It was for this project that Muñoz was hired—he was originally supposed to work on the bridge construction, but in the end took the position of safety inspector and completed the required training.
Hiring Details
Alkonchel explained that Muñoz was responsible for security matters at the site, which required traffic control and other specialized tasks for which Acciona had no personnel of its own. He emphasized that Muñoz was hired by Servinabar, not Acciona, although from December 2019 to 2022 he was at Acciona’s disposal.
When asked by the prosecutor whether he was aware of the family ties between Muñoz and Serdán, Alkonchel replied that he was not. He also stated that he was not acquainted with Serdán, former minister José Luis Ábalos, or Koldo García.
Questions from the investigation
During the interrogation, the anti-corruption prosecutor inquired about the contents of correspondence between Alkonchel and Servinabar owner, Joseba Anchon Alonso, who had given him Muñoz’s contact information. Alkonchel explained that on that day Muñoz needed to be taken to the office, and since Servinabar had no transport available in Sevilla, one of Acciona’s employees handled it.
The judge expressed surprise that a large company like Acciona had subcontracted a small firm with no infrastructure in Sevilla. Alkonchel explained that this practice is quite common, since small companies often do quality work.
