Swedish bypass work for Implenia

Swiss-based construction company Implenia has been awarded a major infrastructure order in Sweden – its first in the country thanks to the acquisition of Bilfinger Construction last year.

Implenia has reported increases in consolidated revenue for the first half of the year, which it said were a result of the Bilfinger acquisition.

The Forbifart Stockholm bypass will create a new north-south link on the edge of the capital city. Implenia is to handle the first construction section, Lot FSE 403, under a contract with the Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket).

The project, which includes its execution as well as some of the planning, is worth around CHF235 million (€219.06 million).

The section awarded to Implenia includes the two three-lane main shafts of the Johannelund Tunnel, which have a total length of 7.2km. The order also includes four single-lane entry and exit ramps, four access tunnels, several cross-shafts and electricity and ventilation stations.

The lot is the first of six-tunnel construction jobs awarded in connection with the bypass. In total, the bypass includes 21km of motorway, of which 17 will be up to 70m underground.

The Swedish Transport Administration expects to invest an overall sum of SEK 27.6 billion (nearly €3 billion) in the project. Construction work begins on Lot FSE 403 in October, and the Johannelund Tunnel will be opened for traffic after a construction period of about six years.

Implenia said its first half of 2015 had been characterised by good order intake and investments in the future, with EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) improving on an adjusted basis.

It posted consolidated revenue of CHF1.52 billion (€1.41 billion) for the first half of 2015, compared to CHF1.41 billion (€1.32 billion) in the first half of 2014. This 7.2% increase was said to be entirely a result of the first-time consolidation of Bilfinger Construction, which contributed CHF189.9 million (€177.08 million).