Polish road for Impregilo and Salini
05 February 2013
Three lots of Poland’s A1 Torun to Strykow highway, with a length of approximately 75km and a total value of around €250 million, have been won by Impregilo, Salini Polska and Kobylarnia.
The project, organised by the Polish General Directorate for National Roads & Motorways (GDDiKA), is co-financed by the European Community. It is planned for completion in 12 months.
Italian contractors Impregilo and Salini have worked together in Poland before. Between 1994 and 1996, a joint venture of the two companies built part of the highway near the city of Katowice.
More recently, Salini reached a collaboration agreement with Impregilo, after a protracted battle to gain control of the company.
In September last year, the companies said they would both embark on joint commercial strategies in domestic and international markets, and would submit joint bids for larger and more complex projects. The companies said they expected to benefit from synergies in procurement, as well as optimising investments and pursuing greater efficiency in their commercial structures.
At that time, they estimated that, working together, both contractors could take in additional new project orders worth up to €6.4 billion between 2013 and 2017.
The legal battle between Salini and IGLI, a holding company owned by Gavio, a rival majority investor in Impregilo, has continued. In November, an Italian court rejected an attempt to suspend Salini’s boardroom control of Impregilo, and confirmed the legitimacy of a July shareholders’ meeting which saw Salini come out on top after a showdown with Gavio.
Last week, the Civil Court of Milan rejected a challenge filed by IGLI against the judgment of 6 November, refusing IGLI’s application for suspension of the “execution and effectiveness” of the resolution adopted by an Impregilo shareholders’ meeting on 17 July, 2012, concerning the revocation of the board of directors and the election of a new board.
Now, Impregilo is claiming the Polish contract win as a success under the strategic accord between itself and Salini, “confirming the competitiveness and the commercial coverage of the global market”.
In the Polish deal, Impregilo and Salini Polska will each take 33.34% while Polish company Kobylarnia will hold 33.32%.
