Strabag bags record order in Romania
Strabag SE has said it hopes to win more Romanian roadwork assignments after being engaged to build a motorway for more than 160 million Euros.The Viennese company announced today (Weds) it saw good chances to get further orders in the Eastern European (EE) country after agreeing about the construction of a 24-kilometre (km) stretch in western Romania yesterday.Strabag pointed out that the new assignment was the biggest ever individual road construction deal in Romania at 166 million Euros. The firm which carried out orders worth 2.31 billion Euros in the first three months of this year said the vast majority of workers engaged to get the construction underway will be Romanians. The project will be finalised in mid-2013, according to Strabag which is Austrias leading building company.The firm headed by Hans Peter Haselsteiner explained it considered Romania as one of its most promising areas of activity alongside Russia due to the “immense backlog demand” as far as investments in its infrastructure were regarded.Strabag pointed out that Romanias network of motorways makes 360 km. The highways of Austria which is three times smaller than the former Communist country cover a span of 1,600 km.”We plan to apply for all future roadwork orders in Romania,” Strabag said today, adding that the European Union (EU) come up for 85 per cent of its most recent 166-million-Euro assignment.Strabag recently said it hoped to be engaged in activities worth 14 billion Euros around the world this year. The firm said it initially planned for orders worth just 13.7 billion Euros, but a strong performance in the first quarter made it increase its outlook.The firm has been upping its focus on assignments in countries in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) over the past few years as Western European governments reduced their infrastructure investments due to the global debt and cash crisis.