Finance & Funding

Three major projects have been approved in Pakistan. The projects have a total value of US$1.42 billion and were approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council.

Slovakia is looking to benefit from European funding for key highway projects. The country’s Transport Ministry has selected a number of expressway projects as well as the D1 and D3 highways as being of high priority.

Work is now proceeding as planned on a key motorway project in Montenegro, according to the country’s Ministry of Transport and Sea. The project for the new Bar-Boljare motorway is being carried out by the China Road and Bridges Corporation (CRBC), and the China Communications Construction Company (CCCC).

A slow but steady improvement in machine sales is being observed in Italy as the market recovers. Over the first three months of 2016, 1,977 construction machines have been sold into the Italian market, according to the country’s construction equipment manufacturing association, the UNACEA. This gain in sales represents an increase of 29% compared to the same period in 2015. The sales were for 1,879 earthmoving machines and 76 road machines.

The Philippines might separate a 47km six-lane road construction element from a complicated land reclamation and dike development contract recently shunned by preferred bidders. None of the three qualified bidders for the Laguna Lakeshore Expressway Dike public-private partnership deal submitted final bids for the contract. There were concerns over the legality of reclaiming 700 ha of land and whether investors could make money from it.

French company Vinci Autoroutes has been awarded a contract for the construction and operation of the A45 toll motorway linking Lyon to Saint-Etienne. The 50km four-lane project will need €1.2 billion of investment but have an €845 million subsidy. Opening is expected in 2022 and the concession is for 55 years.

Metropistas has been granted a 10-year extension to its PR5 and PR22 toll road concessions in Puerto Rico, up to 20161. Metropistas, a subsidiary of Spanish operator Abertis, signed the agreement with the Puerto Rico Highways and Transportation Authority. The agreement entails payment of $115 million to the Authority and a redistribution of the company's future revenue. PR22 is the 83km San Juan-Arecibo highway and PR5 is the 4km urban San Juan-Bayamon highway.

The new prime minister of the Ukraine, Vladimir Groisman, said the government will boost spending on motorways from $563 million to nearly $750 million this year. A total of 1,700km of roads will be repaired or constructed. Some estimates suggest around 97% of motorways need sort form of repair work.

Crane and lifting manufacturer Palfinger Group has reported a record increase for first quarter revenue, up by 9.1% to €318.8 million (Q1 2015: €292.3 million). EBIT – earnings before interest and tax - also showed an “extraordinarily strong increase” of 28.6% from €23.5 million to €30.2 million, which is a new record as well. “This generated a marked increase in the EBIT margin, which came to 9.5%, as compared to 8% in the first quarter of the previous year.”

Construction company STRABAG has seen its financial performance improve during the 2015 financial year. The firm’s earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) reached €341.04 million, an increase of 21% over the previous year. Double-digit growth was also achieved in net income (after minorities), with a gain of 22% to €156.29 million, while earnings/share grew from €1.25 to €1.52. These developments have compelled the management board to propose to the AGM planned for June 2016 a dividend of €0.65, which wil