Habau bags Minsk Tower order
An Upper Austrian company has been assigned to build what will be the biggest building in Minsk, it emerged today (Weds).Habau Hoch- und Tiefbaugesellschaft m.b.H. (Habau) confirmed reports claiming it had been contracted to construct the 170-metre Minsk Tower.The company, which is based in the town of Perg, explained it planned to have started the project by the end of next year or in the first few months of 2012.It said the plan was to open the Minsk Tower in 2014 when Belarus hosts the Ice Hockey World Championships, adding that the buildings design was masterminded by Viennese architect firm Moser.The Minsk Tower will feature offices, apartments, a hotel, three fitness centres and a bank, according to Habau.The Upper Austrian company has done business in the Eastern European (EE) country which borders Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Latvia and Lithuania for 15 years. It has an overall 3,700 employees.Habau is the fifth-busiest Austrian construction company behind Strabag SE, Alpine Bau, Porr and Swietelsky. It managed to increase its turnover from 562.8 million Euros in the 2008/2009 business year to 598.5 million Euros in the following business year.Meanwhile, market leader Strabag announced that Siegfried Wanker will succeed Roland Jurecka as technical director next year.Jurecka has worked for the Viennese firms board for more than 40 years. He recently decided to retire from his position on the executive board.