Briefs

Court adjourns proceedings involving Elektromontaż Export

The construction company Elektromontaż Export avoided immediate bankruptcy when a court adjourned proceedings, held so that the construction company and its creditors might come to some agreement about the former's outstanding debts.
Elektromontaż Export is hoping for its liabilities to be reduced by PLN 76 mln and bankruptcy is still some way off, as the firm has presented the court with a motion for an arrangement to be reached with its creditors.

Residents protest at usufruct zone around Okęcie airport

Residents of the Warsaw suburbs of Włochy, Ursynów and Michałowice are unhappy about the creation of a limited usufruct zone around Okęcie international airport, claiming that it could lead to the appropriation of land. The airport administrators PPL however, have argued that the zone will benefit locals in the form of compensation.
The usufruct zone is vital for the construction of a new terminal, which will have an annual capacity for six million passengers, (it is currently 3.5 mln). Construction was to begin in spring this year but there are fears that residents' opposition will cause this to be delayed.

Bick wins contract

The Polish constructor Bick has won a PLN 1.3 mln (EUR 313,000) contract to build an office and storage building for the company Minox in Warsaw, it was announced on February 4th.

Portuguese MSF wins EUR 69 mln contract to construct stretch of road

The Portuguese consortium MSF, consisting of the firms Moniz da Maia, Serra e Fortunato and Teodoro Gomes Alho TGA, has won a EUR 69 mln contract to construct a stretch of the A4 road between Kleszczów and Sośnica in southern Poland. The work is due for completion twenty-five months after the signing of the contract.

PIA Piasecki files for payment from Telewizja Polska

The Polish construction company PIA Piasecki has filed a suit against the TV operator Telewicja Polska (TVP), for PLN 11.4 (EUR 2.8 mln), for construction of an office building and car-park in Warsaw. TVP cancelled the contract for the work in December last year because it felt there was a risk PIA Piasecki might not meet its conditions.

Troubled construction company considers future

The shareholders of Mostostal Gdańsk are to hold an extraordinary meeting to discuss the company's future and vote on whether it should continue to exist, on March 3rd 2003. The Gdańsk regional court rejected the company's application for protection from creditors on December 2002 and over ten of the firm's creditors have filed for its bankruptcy. Mostostal Gdańsk's debts amounted to PLN 185.4 mln (EUR 70.5 mln) at the end of September 2002.

Wadowice authority to invest EUR 2.4 mln in hospital

Southern Polish town Wadowice's authorities are to invest EUR 2.4 mln in the extension of the town's hospital. The investment will be financed by banking credits to be re-paid by 2012, the tender will be announced at the end of April this year and construction, to begin in July 2003, is due for completion in 2005.

PBO wins EUR 2.6 mln contract for seaport work

The Polish construction company Przedsiębiorstwo Budownictwa Ogólnego has won a EUR 2.6 mln contract with Hydrobudowa Gdańsk, a subsidiary of Swedish construction firm NCC, as a subcontract, to reconstruct the entrance to the seaport in Kołobrzeg in northern Poland.

Bleak outlook for Polish construction industry

Fitch ratings, the international rating agency, has claimed in a new report, that the Polish construction sector is experiencing hardship and is unlikely to witness any major reversal in fortune over the coming year.
According to the report, the problem of late payments in the sector has lead to a deterioration in liquidity and a number of firms have been slow to react to the generally unfavourable economic conditions. Some Polish construction firms are either close to bankruptcy or are in negotiations to write off debt and waive interest payments and Fitch views the credit risk of Polish construction companies as well above the average for firms in the country.