ACS joint venture says wins £1.77 billion bid to build terminal at San Diego airport

MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish construction giant ACS <ACS.MC> will build the new terminal of San Diego's international airport after a joint venture owned by ACS subsidiary Hochtief and composed of firms Turner and Flatiron said it had won the 1.93 billion euro (1.77 billion pounds) contract.

Construction work at the California airport will begin in late 2021, pending necessary environmental permits, with the first phase expected to deliver 19 new gates at the start of 2025, Turner and Flatiron said in a joint statement late on Monday.

The second and final phase of expansion works will conclude in early 2027, adding 11 more gates and bringing the airport's total to 62.

The coronavirus pandemic has choked travel worldwide, forcing most airlines and airport operators to pause growth plans, and pushing some to downsize as passenger traffic languishes at less than half pre-pandemic levels.

Flatiron and Turner are both subsidiaries of engineering and infrastructure group Hochtief <HOTG.DE>, itself majority-owned by Spain's ACS, a global constructor and airport operator.

(Reporting by Clara-Laeila Laudette; editing by Ingrid Melander)