In 1975, Mota & Companhia expanded its activity to other African territories and started in Namibia with the construction of the Dreihuk dam. In South Africa, it was responsible for the infrastructures of the Sun City Resort and of the Matooster – Bierkraal road. Later, in Swaziland the company built the Lonhlupheko – Lomahasha road. All these constructions led Mota & Companhia into a process of progressive internationalization of its operations and businesses.
1976 was marked by an upturn of Mota & Companhia in Portugal through the award of a small dam (Lucefecit, Alentejo). Shortly afterwards, Mota & Companhia was awarded the contract for the regularization works of the Lower Mondego River. This allowed the company to launch itself as one of the top construction companies for large national building projects and soon became the third-largest Portuguese company within this sector.
In 1978, together with Retosa based in Caracas, Venezuela, Engil participated for two years in the construction of factories and the Guri Dam. As of 1980, Mota & Companhia expanded its operations within the People's Republic of Angola. In this same year, in a partnership with the Angolan government, it set up the company Construção de Terraplenagens Paviterra, UEM. Mota & Companhia and Paviterra were for many years the only corporate structures involved in the construction of public works in Angola.
In August 1987, Mota & Companhia, a limited company, became a public limited liability company, following which it floated 12% of its equity capital on the stock market and requested admission to the Lisbon Stock Exchange. That year Engil SGPS was incorporated endeavoring to meet the evolving public and private works market and the need to diversify its activities. In the following years the company acquired Sociedade de Empreitadas Adriano (1988), Gerco - Sociedade de Engenharia Electrotécnica, SA (1990) and Ferrovias e Construções (1991). The year 1987 became associated with the major public work - the construction of the Lindoso Dam. The size and technical features of this project make it a landmark example amongst the major works developed by Engil.
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By entering the Angolan market in 1989, Engil's internationalization process was relaunched. In 1993, 1994 and 1996, a new boost was given to the internationalization process when the company entered Mozambique, Germany and Peru. As of 1990, Mota & Companhia gave a push to the diversification of its activities. It went into business in real estate development, road signs, prefabrication of structural elements, ceramics, asphalt masses, commercialization of vehicles and equipment, maritime transport and the paint industry.
In 1994 Mota & Companhia comprised the construction consortium of the Vasco da Gama Bridge, in Lisbon connecting the north and south banks of the Tagus River. The year was further marked by more diversification of businesses by venturing into the area of Transport Concessions together with other reference companies. Hence, Lusoponte, a concessionary company of the Tagus road crossing downstream of Vila Franca de Xira, was incorporated.
On 23 July 1999, the companies of the Mota family launched a take-over bid for the whole of the equity capital of Engil SGPS; this led to the constitution of the Mota-Engil Group in 2000. In 2002 the merger of Mota & Companhia, SA, Engil – Sociedade de Construção Civil, SA and Mota-Engil Internacional, led to the creation of the largest Portuguese construction company. Simultaneously, the diversification strategy was intensified, with a special focus on the transport concessions and environment and service sectors. In 2003 four autonomous business areas were established. The holding company Mota-Engil SGPS aggregates Mota-Engil, Engenharia e Construção, SA, Mota-Engil, Ambiente e Serviços, SGPS, SA, MEITS – Mota-Engil, Imobiliário e Turismo, SA, Mota-Engil, Concessões de Transportes, SGPS, SA, and holds the capital of Mota-Engil Serviços Partilhados Administrativos e de Gestão, SA. In 2012 the Group's organization model changed, defined by regions (Portugal/Africa/Central Europe and Latin America).
In 2014 the Mota-Engil Group acquired Empresa Geral de Fomento (EGF) in a public tender, began operations in Uganda, and was awarded a contract in Cameroon worth $3.5 billion, the largest in its history.
The Lobito Atlantic Railway joint venture was formed between Mota-Engil, Trafigura and Vecturis, and received a 30-year concession to operate the Lobito rail corridor in 2022. The concession spans 1,300 kilometres across Angola, with an extension of 400 kilometres into the Democratic Republic of the Congo, plus possible service into Zambia. The concession was formalized at a ceremony on 4 July 2023, and attended by the Presidents of Angola, Congo, and Zambia.
