Austria's Strabag plans to expand in Russia, Ukraine, Baltics

The Austrian construction consortium Strabag plans acquisitions in Russia, the Ukraine, and three Baltic countries, Litva, Latvia and Estonia, said Hans Peter Haselsteiner, the head of Strabag, in a conversation with the Austrian newspaper Kleine Zeitung. Haselsteiner did not want to directly reveal which companies are involved. “Along with bitumen, we need stone and gravel. We are currently investigating the possibility of buying a number of companies to ensure our strategically advantage in relation to our competition. The Turkish group Enka is active in Russia, and the Chinese and French plan on entering the Russian construction sector”, he said.

Strabag expects that they will secure the jobs of constructing the sporting objects for the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia in 2014, whose value could reach €1 billion ($1.36 billion), said Haselsteiner. The Russian oligarh Oleg Deripaska became the third largest shareholder in Strabag in April this year, right after Haselsteiner and Raiffeisen. Strabag employs 1,500 workers in Russia, and the value of requested jobs in that country currently reaches €3 billion ($4 billion), and the value of income from sales is estimated at €500 million this year. Next year, the income should be doubled, announced Haselsteiner. (javno.com)