Leader of sustainable construction

1952-1999: In 1952, at a time when France was still rebuilding in the aftermath of the War, Francis Bouygues, a young graduate of the École Centrale engineering school, started up a business in the construction sector, founding Entreprise Francis Bouygues, later to become the Bouygues Group. Initially specialising in building and industrial works in the Paris region, the company expanded in the 1960s and 1970s with projects in civil works and electricity/maintenance. Its operations spread through France and other countries with a series of prestigious projects. In 1999, a subsidiary was created for all the building, civil works, operation and maintenance businesses: the Bouygues Construction Group.

2003: Bouygues Construction put a new organisation in place. The Group was made up of 8 major operating entities: Bouygues Bâtiment Ile-de-France, Bouygues Entreprises France-Europe, Bouygues Bâtiment International, Bouygues Travaux Publics, VSL, DTP Terrassement, the Concessions division and ETDE (now known as Bouygues Energies & Services).

2004: The Group created a Specialist Civil Works division consisting of VSL and DTP Terrassement. In the same year, Bouygues Construction signed a flagship contract for the construction of the Masan Bay bridge in South Korea. Meanwhile, the Groene Hart tunnel in the Netherlands was handed over. This remarkable 7-kilometre infrastructure, bored under the water table through sand and silt soil, allows 2 trains to pass each other at 300 kph.

2005: Bouygues Energies & Services continued its external growth policy with the acquisition of David Webster, the UK’s third-largest public lighting installation and maintenance company. Also in the United Kingdom, Bouygues Construction delivered the new headquarters of the Home Office in London. In Singapore, meanwhile, the Group signed a contract to build the city’s two tallest residential towers, The Sail@Marina Bay.

2006: Bouygues SA opened its new headquarters, and HQE building at 32 avenue Hoche in Paris. In Cyprus, Bouygues Construction won a public-private partnership contract to reconstruct Larnaka and Paphos airports, with a 25-year concession contract. In Thailand, the Group was awarded a contract to build the 3 tallest residential towers in Bangkok.

2007: The Group’s continuing external growth policy saw it acquire Warings, a British company, and Karmar, a Polish contractor. In Hong Kong, Bouygues Construction used the world’s largest tunnel-boring machines to bore through hard rock on the construction of the western drainage tunnel. Bouygues Construction and Vinci signed a contract to build the confinement shelter for the Chernobyl sarcophagus.

2008: Bouygues Construction won its first public-private partnership contract in Canada, for the construction of the Jim Pattison Outpatient Care and Surgery Centre in Surrey, British Columbia, along with operation for 30 years. In France, the Group handed over the A41 motorway, linking Annecy and Geneva.

2009: Bouygues Construction won a contract worth €950 million in Qatar, for the construction of the QP District, a vast property development consisting of nine towers. Several projects were completed, including a teaching hospital in Clermont-Ferrand, the Rolex Learning Centre in Lausanne, and the Tangiers Med 1 port in Morocco.

2010: Bouygues Construction and the Leadbitter management team acquired a majority stake in the British group, Leadbitter. In Singapore, Bouygues Construction signed a contract to build the Sports Hub, a world record public-private partnership contract for a sports facility. In France, through Arema, Bouygues Construction signed a partnership with the city of Marseille for the reconfiguration and operation of the Stade Vélodrome football stadium for 35 years.

2011: Alstom, Bouygues Immobilier and Bouygues Energies & Services created Embix, a company that provides energy management services for eco-neighbourhoods. At la Défense, Bouygues Bâtiment Ile-de-France handed over the First Tower, the largest HQE renovation operation in France, which won an award at the International Real Estate Fair at Cannes. In the same year, Bouygues Construction won a contract to finance, design and build the Ministry of Defence in Paris, along with operation and maintenance of the complex for 30 years.

2012: VSL, a Bouygues Construction subsidiary specialising in post-tensioning systems, completed the installation of the cable-stayed segments of the world’s tallest cable-stay bridge. Located at Baluarte, Mexico, the bridge crosses a deep canyon, and at its highest point reaches approximately 403 metres. VSL’s contribution to this exploit has been acknowledged by the Guinness Book of Records.

2013: On February 1, 2013, ETDE and its subsidiaries combined together under the new banner of Bouygues Energies & Services. This new identity enhanced the companies position as a global player in the energies and services sectors and stresses the complementary nature of its connection with Bouygues Construction’s core businesses.

2014: Alongside Vinci, Bouygues Construction was awarded a contract to construct the Nouvelle Route du Littoral on Reunion Island. The Group handed over 2 flagship projects in Asia: the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal Building in Hong Kong and the Sports Hub in Singapore, a temple of sports and leisure.

2015 : Bouygues Bâtiment Ile-de-France delivered the new Ministry of Defence building in November. The new general district on the unique Balard site comprises the ministerial office, the military high command, the general staff of the three armies and most of the central administration departments, i.e. almost 9,300 people. This unusual project is more than just a building, it is a complete "turnkey contract" system. Bouygues Energies & Services will operate and maintain the entire complex for a period of 30 years.

2016: Bouygues Construction changes its signature. “Shared innovation” becomes the new Group’s commitment. The new signature reiterates the desire to innovate together and approach sharing with an open mind to create new ideas. It reflects the Group’s intention to reinvent itself to be even more reliable, committed, and innovative for the benefit of clients, employees and partners.

2017: Bouygues Construction makes occupational health and safety a key priority. To demonstrate this commitment and boost group efforts to reach ‘Zero accidents,’ they put business on hold to carry out an operation on an unprecedented scale for World Health and Safety Day. The aim of this move is to encourage and empower everyone involved through various activities. Including information sessions, sharing best practices, ‘hazard hunts,’ and theme-based workshops covering addiction, conduct, working at height, and so on.

En 2018, Bouygues Construction a conclu 3 acquisitions qui s'inscrivent dans sa stratégie de développement en Europe et en Australie et qui élargissent son portefeuille d'offres : Bouygues Energies & Services InTec, Kraftanlagen Group et AW Edwards

2019 : Bouygues Construction and Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies have signed a technical and commercial collaboration contract, with the aim of devising and testing concrete formulas using a new cement manufactured with a new technology (known as H-EVA). In the face of the climate emergency, the partnership constitutes a strategic alliance, the results of which will contribute to making the construction sector more responsible and more sustainable, considering the fact that cement currently accounts for 6% of greenhouse gas emissions in France.