STOCKHOLM, Sweden, June 6, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Skanska BOT AB has acquired a 35-percent interest in a newly formed company that will build, own and operate the Breitener Energetica power plant in Brazil. The investment amounts to USD 18 M (approximately SEK 180 M).
At the same time, Skanska's Argentinean subsidiary, Sade Skanska, is being awarded a construction contract valued at USD 25 M (approximately SEK 250 M). The total contract amounts to USD 62 M, of which Sade Skanska's share is 40 percent. The order is included in order bookings in the second quarter of 2002.
The power plant is being built by Sade Skanska in a consortium with Arcadis Logos of the Netherlands, and two Brazilian companies, EIT and Orteng. The latter three companies are also part-owners in Breitener Energetica, holding a combined interest of 35 percent, with Brazilian Petrobras holding 30 percent.
The project is being financed with loans from the Brazilian development bank, BNDES, Unibanco and Hermes, the German export credit agency.
The Breitener power plant, which will have a capacity of 153 MW, is being built in the city of Fortaleza in the state of Ceara. The power plant is part of the national Emergency Energy Program. Construction has been started and it is expected that production of electricity can begin in October 2002.
The investment is the second for Skanska BOT in the energy sector in Brazil. The company has for some time owned 50 percent of Ponte de Pedra, a hydropower plant with a capacity of 180 MW.
"With this investment we are strengthening our position in the expansive Brazilian market for electric power, as both an investor and a builder," said Jose Trujillo, senior vice president for the Americas at Skanska BOT. "Expansion plans call for an increase in installed capacity of 3,000 MW per year over the next ten years. We aim to be an active participant in this growth."
"Our objective is to be at the forefront of the Brazilian energy market - for the construction of both electric power plants as well as facilities for the gas and oil industry," said Mario Piantoni, President of Sade Skanska.
For further information please contact: Bert-Ove Johanssson, President, Skanska BOT, tel +46 8 504 36877 Peter Gimbe, Press officer, Skanska AB, tel +46 8 753 88 38
This and previous releases can also be found at www.skanska.com
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