Alexandre Rocha*
São Paulo – Construction company Andrade Gutierrez has just won one more contract in Algeria. Approximately 10 days ago, the Brazilian company was announced as the winner of a tender for the construction of a new runway in Oran Airport, located on the coast of the Mediterranean, West of country capital Algiers.
The estimated value of the construction is 20 million euros, according to the company. "The construction is not large, but is important to consolidate our presence in that country," stated the foreign relations director at Andrade Gutierrez, Flávio Machado Filho. Oran is the second largest city in Algeria. With a population of around 650,000 inhabitants, it is an important industrial, cultural and educational centre.
The work in Oran airport is the second contract won by the company in Algeria. The first, announced in January this year, was for the construction of a dam in the province of Jijel, in the northern region pf the country. The project is evaluated at 25 million euros.
The bet on the Algerian and North African market is so large that the company recently opened an office in Algiers. The office has a workforce of four Brazilians as well as some Algerians. The company is also participating in other tenders. "We are participating in various tenders, mainly in the port and highway sectors, and we have great expectations for success in some of them," stated Machado.
The company
Andrade Gutierrez operates in the sectors of heavy construction, public service concession and telecommunications. Established in 1948, the company has a broad portfolio of works executed in Brazil and abroad.
In the area of concessions, the company recently acquired control – in partnership with the Electric Energy Company of Minas Gerais (Cemig), JLA Participações and Pactual Bank – of company Light, which distributes electric energy in the southeastern Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro. The company also participates in the groups that control the Highway Concession Company (CCR), the largest company in the sector in Latin America, and also of Telemar, the largest telecommunications company in Brazil.
The country
Algeria is located in North Africa and is bathed by the Mediterranean. Rich in oil, the country has announced a series of infrastructure works covered by the increase in prices of the commodity on the foreign market. The government of Algeria is currently executing its five year plan, which involves investment of US$ 60 billion in sectors considered essential.
The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Algeria, according to figures supplied by the government of the country, has reached US$ 102.2 billion in 2005 (estimated value). Exports reached US$ 42.1 billion last year, with oil answering to the greatest share, and imports of US$ 20.3 billion.
Algeria is the main Brazilian supplier among the Arab countries. In 2005, Algerian sales to the Brazilian market totalled US$ 2.8 billion, against US$ 384 million in exports from Brazil to the Arab country.
*Translated by Mark Ament
