Within three years, Spanish giant FCC Construction has worked its way up from a single contract to around seven projects worth approximately 200m euros, with the value likely to increase to 250m euros, given the tenders the company is due to take part in this year.
Amid the real estate crisis on the Spanish market and the low level of EU funds for infrastructure, Spanish companies have decided to expand on emerging markets and diversify the type of works they undertake.
FCC Construction group, owner of Spain's biggest constructions company with turnover worth 13.9bn euros, decided to charge into the Romanian market to profit from the boom in infrastructure projects.
"(...) We are satisfied with what we've achieved so far on the Romanian market," stated Alcibiades Lopez Ceron, European manager of FCC Construction.
"Whereas until now we've been involved in small projects worth some 20-40m euros, in the future we want to take on large projects, such as the Cernadova-Constanta highway (400m euros) or Comarnic-Brasov highway (1bn euros)," says Lopez Ceron. FCC Construction expects to derive turnover worth around 150m euros at the end of 2010 in the wake of the ongoing contracts, whereas for 2007 it estimated turnover worth above 40m euros.
"According to our strategy, we want to have a work portfolio worth at least 350m euros by 2010, because starting this year broader infrastructure projects will be launched. EU funds will rise significantly over the following years," says Lopez Ceron.
The company is now involved in a joint venture with Italy's Astaldi company in the construction of the Basarab bridge in Bucharest, worth 225m euros, due to be finalised in the first half of 2009.
The company is also involved in the project related to the modernisation of Bucharest's northern ring road in a consortium with Austria's Alpine Mayreder
