Ayesa Engineering has completed the BIM digitalisation of 15 dams managed by the Duero Hydrographic Basin Public Administration

The project boosts the digital transformation of Spain’s strategic water infrastructure and lays the foundations for the future implementation of digital twins.

14 Sept 2026. Ayesa Engineering has completed the implementation of the Building Information Modelling (BIM) methodology and the development of digital models for 15 state-owned dams managed by the Duero Hydrographic Basin Public Administration. The project is part of an initiative led by the Spanish Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge’s (MITECO) Directorate-General for Water to accelerate the digital transformation of the country’s main water infrastructure.

The dams included in the project are some of the most iconic structures in the Duero catchment area, such as Riaño, Barrios de Luna, Juan Benet and La Cuerda del Pozo. These complex hydraulic structures play a strategic role in the regulation of water resources, water supply, irrigation and flood control.

The diversity of the dams, their different types and sizes, as well as the extensive network of associated facilities, presented a significant technical challenge. The project required the integration of advanced reality-capture technologies with existing technical documentation to create accurate, structured and georeferenced digital representations of each asset.

From reality capture to digital models of the assets

During the project, different reality capture technologies were used, including ground-based laser scanning, drone-mounted LiDAR sensors and GNSS systems. These technologies enabled the generation of high-precision, georeferenced point clouds of the assets and facilities associated with each dam.

The point clouds served as the BIM models development base. The point clouds served as the base for the development of the BIM models. In inaccessible areas or where direct capture was not possible, the models were filled in using the available technical documentation, including plans, operating regulations, XYZT data and other documentation provided by the Duero Hydrographic Basin Public Administration.

The resulting models incorporate structured parametric information on the different elements of each asset, with particular attention to critical components such as monitoring and instrumentation systems and hydromechanical equipment.

In this way, models become a digital inventory of the dams, providing structured information that can support the operation, maintenance and asset management of the infrastructure throughout its entire life cycle.

Building the framework for digital twins

One of the project’s key outcomes is the creation of a digital infrastructure that can evolve beyond BIM towards the implementation of digital twins for water infrastructure.
By linking BIM models with data from monitoring and instrumentation systems, computerised maintenance management systems (CMMS) and other sources of information, future Digital Twin environments will be able to provide a more comprehensive and dynamic view of infrastructure behaviour.

This development can help to improve monitoring, predictive maintenance, action planning and data-driven decision-making, assisting asset managers in managing critical infrastructure throughout its entire lifecycle.

Knowledge-sharing as part of digital transformation

The project has also included a training programme for technical staff at the Duero Hydrographic Basin Public Administration, designed to facilitate the adoption of BIM methodology, information management and the practical application of the models developed.

This knowledge transfer approach is essential to ensure that digitalisation generates lasting value and enables the development of future-proof innovation. The transformation of infrastructure management depends not only on the creation of digital models, but also on providing technical teams with the knowledge and skills needed to use, update and further develop them.
Through a combination of cutting-edge reality capture technologies, BIM, structured asset information and knowledge transfer, the project establishes a solid digital framework for the future management of some of Spain’s most important water infrastructure assets.

For Ayesa Engineering, the project shows how digital engineering can help infrastructure owners and managers move from static documentation towards connected, information-based and increasingly intelligent asset management, contributing to more resilient and sustainable infrastructure in the future.