Germany's Rehau group, one of the main providers of pipes for gas or water supply networks, plans to make investments to build a second plant in Sibiu, as a result of rising demand for such equipment on the Romanian market.

The rehabilitation and modernisation of Bucharest streets and the start of major road infrastructure projects are estimated to boost the piping market by around 20% this year, to 50 million euros, according to some market players.

Rehau investments in a new plant in Sibiu could revolve around 10 million euros.

Since it entered the market, in 1996, the German group has invested more than 13 million euros. The company was present with sales structures until 2003, when an investment project worth 5.5 million euros for the construction of a PVC and polyethylene pipe manufacturing facility was finalised. In the first half of this year, the domestic arm of Rehau saw its turnover increase by 20%, according to some market sources.

"We witnessed a strong increase this year in terms of the number of contracts for the delivery of drain pipes, geogrids and geosynthetics, products that are used in street rehabilitation. We supplied products for the rehabilitation of Bucharest-Pitesti highway, as well as for the orbital roads of Brasov, Pitesti, Sibiu and Cluj-Napoca," stated Emil Pop, Rehau general manager.

The piping market is also influenced by the investment projects related to water supply or gas networks, worth hundreds of million euros, which are underway or about to start in several cities of the country and in rural areas, with a large part of the project financing being secured through EU funds.

"Over the following period, we are going to secure a position as suppliers of products for water supplying and water purifying station projects (...)," specifies Pop.

Romania is an attractive market in terms of the new