12
international
construction
Türkiye
Eylül
2013
English translation
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
HIGHLIGTS
INDIA:
The Asian Development Bank
(ADB) has agreed to finance a further
US$300 million for the upgrade of
254 km of highway as part of the
Bihar State Highways II Project in
India. The project, which is already
underway, will widen existing
sections of four highways to two
lanes, build and maintain bridges,
and strengthen pavement.
AFRICA:
The World Bank has
announced it is to provide
US$340 million in funding for East
Africa’s Regional Rusumo Falls
Hydroelectric Project, which will
provide power to Burundi, Rwanda
and Tanzania.
UK:
A forecast from the UK’s
Construction Products Association
(CPA) has pointed to recovery in the
construction industry starting in 2014
and continuing through 2015 and
beyond. The latest figures predicted
construction output growth of 2.2%
in 2014 and 4.5% in 2015.
VIETNAM:
The Asian Development
Bank (ADB) has approved a US$410
million loan to support construction
of a new arterial road in Vietnam.
The funds will help build sections
of the Second Southern Highway,
connecting Ho Chi Minh City in
Southern Vietnam to the Mekong
Delta and southern coastal regions.
ASIA:
Kobelco’s sales of excavators
and cranes fell 4% in the first
quarter of the fiscal year to US$877
million compared to the same period
last year. Operating profits for the
two divisions combined were almost
unchanged at US$37 million.
LIBYA:
A US$1.3 billion contract
to construct the first section of a
coastal motorway in Libya has
been awarded to a consortium led
by newly-merged Italian contractor
Salini Impregilo. The consortium
also includes Italian construction
services company La Società
Italiana per Condotte d’Acqua
and contractors Impresa Pizzarotti
& C and Cooperativa Muratori &
Cementisti .
AUSTRALIA:
A consortium led by
Thiess has been awarded a US$ 579
million contract to deliver a 12.6 km
rail link in south east Queensland,
Australia. The Moreton Bay Rail Link
will connect the greater Brisbane
rail network, which currently ends
at Petrie, a suburb north of the city,
to the rapidly growing Moreton Bay
region to the east.
G
erman contractor Hochtief reversed last year’s first
half net loss of US$70 million and returned to net
profit of US$167 million for the first six months
of 2013. The result was boosted by asset sales as it seeks to
streamline its business.
Revenues stood at US$16.7 billion at the end of the
first half, up 5% year-on-year, fuelled by gains in the
company’s Americas and Europe divisions. However,
the order backlog at 30 June 2013 amounted to US$60
billion, down 14.4% year-on-year. Hochtief said this was
due to negative exchange rates effects, mainly relating to
the Australian and US dollar.
Hochtief – which itself is owned by Spanish
contractor ACS – said its strategy of disposing non-
core assets was going according to plan. This year it
has sold its airports business for US$1.5 billion and
its Service Solutions business for US$330 million,
while its Australian subsidiary Leighton sold its
telecommunications business for US$628 million in the
second quarter.
Hochtief CEOMarcelino Fernández Verdes said, “We
are well on course to implement our strategy and position
Hochtief as a global infrastructure group.” Looking ahead,
Hocthief forecast net profit of between US$212 million and
US$265 million for the full-year. It said this guidance did
not include any earnings from the assets it has sold this year.
T
he first Shandong Lingong Construction
Machinery (SDLG) production facility
outside China has opened. Manufacturing
has started at the company’s excavator factory in
Brazil – a US$10 million assembly hall within
the Volvo CE facility in Pederneiras, São Paulo.
SDLG is Volvo CE’s Chinese joint venture,
and is presented as a competitively priced
alternative to Volvo-branded machines. Four
SDLG excavators will be manufactured at the
Pederneiras site –– the LG6150E, LG6210E,
LG6225E and LG6250E models, covering the
13.8 tonnes to 24.3 tonnes weight classes.
SDLG machines have been sold in Brazil
for over four years, and Volvo said the timing of
the launch of locally-built SDLG excavators was
good as there is strong demand in the country
for solid, cost-effective machines.
Volvo CE president and CEO Pat Olney
said, “Localised production will help SDLG be
more flexible and responsive to its customers
and dealers in the region. We’re taking advantage
of the Volvo Group’s long history in Brazil to
introduce an exciting new initiative with these
locally built SDLG excavators.”
A
former head of oil and gas contractor Saipem’s
engineering division has been arrested in Italy
in connection with a bribery investigation
relating to Algerian gas contracts. Pietro Varone
resigned in December last year together with Saipem
CEO Pietro Franco Tali and Alessandro Bernini,
chief financial officer at parent company ENI. The
senior executives stepped down after the Prosecutor
for Milan notified Saipem that it was investigating
corruption in Algeria connected to gas contracts.
Nearly US$265 million in bribes is alleged to
have been paid to officials in Algeria via a company
called Pearl Partners, according to reports. Eni and
Saipem have denied any wrongdoing.
C
ement producer Holcim has blamed weaker
than expected global economic growth for a
decrease in sales and operating profit in the
first six months of the year. First half revenues totalled
US$10.4 billion, down 7% year-on-year, while operating
profit slipped 5.2% compared to the first six months of
2012 to US$1.1 billion. The company’s annual cement
production capacity was also down 1.4% to 206.4
million tonnes.
Holcim said construction activity was hurt by severe
winters around the world, as well as the bad weather
encountered in many regions. It said demand fell short
of expectations in India, Canada, Mexico and Morocco
in particular. By contrast, it said the economic climate
was significantly better in the Philippines and Ecuador,
while it reported improvements in Europe and Latin
America.
For the full-year, Holcim said it expected to record
an increase in cement sales, but it said revenues from its
aggregates and ready-mixed concrete businesses were not
expected to reach 2012 levels.
It said while its Asia Pacific and Latin America
businesses were expected to record higher cement sales, it
was less optimistic with regard to Europe, Africa and the
Middle East. In North America, it said cement sales were
expected to reach similar levels to the previous year.
Hochtief back
in profit
Production starts
at SDLG Brazil
Holcim’s profits slip
Ex-Saipem manager arrested
