April 3 (Bloomberg) -- Shares of Cintra Concesiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte SA, a highway operator controlled by Spanish builder Grupo Ferrovial SA, climbed as much as 3.1 percent after settling a dispute about the 407 ETR toll road with the Ontario government.

Cintra, which also operates toll roads in countries such as Spain and the U.S., gained as much as 33 cents to 11.04 euros, and traded at 10.92 euros as of 11:16 a.m. in Madrid.

``We view this as very positive for Cintra,'' Robert Crimes, a JPMorgan Chase & Co. analyst in London wrote in a note. ``In our view 407 ETR is one of the world's premier toll roads due to its freedom in setting prices.'' He rates Cintra's shares ``overweight.''

Cintra, which gets 65 percent of its revenue outside Spain, is expanding in North America where it already has projects in Chicago and Texas. The 407 ETR highway in Toronto contributed 40 percent of Cintra's total revenue last year.

The provincial government of Ontario agreed to drop its appeals against toll setting. Ontario was contesting a court ruling allowing the road's managers to set tolls without obtaining government approval.

In return, Madrid-based Cintra said it will add lanes to the highway earlier than forecast and offer discounts to frequent drivers on the road, according to a regulatory filing.

Cintra holds a 53 percent stake in the 407 ETR highway, which reported a 5.3 percent increase in traffic in 2005. Sydney- based Macquarie Infrastructure Group and Montreal-based SNC- Lavalin Group Inc. own the rest.

The Spanish highway operator said Feb. 23 it's interested in 40 projects in countries including the U.S. and Ireland, representing a total investment of 41 billion euros. Earlier this year, Cintra was named ``preferred bidder'' to run a toll road in Indiana after offering $3.85 billion with Macquarie.

Shares of Ferrovial, Spain's second-biggest builder and owner of 62 percent of Cintra, rose as much as 3.8 percent to 69.25 euros. Other Spanish builders also advanced today, with Fomento de Construcciones & Contratas SA climbing as much as 5.2 percent to 64.30 euros and Acciona SA gaining as much as 3.7 percent to 133.30 euros.

To contact the reporter on this story: Joao Lima in Madrid at jlima1@bloomberg.net;

Last Updated: April 3, 2006 05:19 EDT