MADRID | In a bid to offset its exit from the Greek market, Alpine, FCC's subsidiary in Central and Eastern Europe, said it will concentrate a commercial offensive in its domestic markets. Alpine would have unpaid bills in Greece of up to €20 million, according to the Spanish press reports.
At a news conference in Gdansk, the company's new CEO Johannes Dotter announced that the company had already landed contracts worth close to €1 billion so far this year. They include the construction of a toll road in Oslo (Norway), worth €170 million, and 30 kilometres of railway line in Timişoara (Romania), in a joint venture with Avzi and Straco, which is worth €175 million.
A
nalysts in Madrid noted that in the first quarter of this year FCC has generated 53 percent of sales in international markets. Alpine sales were 34 percent of FCC's international sales in 2011 or €3.26 billion.
Outside its natural territory, the new CEO highlighted two specific markets in East Asia: Singapore, where Alpine has been involved in the construction of several subway lines, and Hong Kong, where it has opened an office to explore business opportunities in the Chinese market. Also, Alpine built Baku Crystal Hall in Azerbaijan, which hosted the Eurovision Song Contest 2012.
Among the main projects currently under way at Alpine, Dotter cited the Gotthard base tunnel (Switzerland), which will be the world's longest tunnel (57 km), the Whitechapel and Liverpool Street stations, as part of the London Crossrail project, and the Singapore metro.
