Press Releases 2002

April 23, 2002
Concession awarded for new BOT project in the UK - Bilfinger Berger to design, finance, build and operate hospital in Gloucester

Bilfinger Berger is consolidating its position as a partner for Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) projects in the UK. Gloucestershire Hospitals National Health Service Trust has awarded the company a concession to convert and expand a hospital in the West-country town of Gloucester in the UK. Bilfinger Berger is in charge of design, financing and construction and, once this is complete, will then be responsible for operation of the buildings for a period of 30 years. The project is worth €60 million.

Bilfinger Berger's commitment to privately funded operator models plays a major role in the company's strategic goal of becoming a multi-service group for building and infrastructure. The UK has become an important market for the company in this area. Under the British Government's private funding initiatives, Bilfinger Berger has put three school buildings in the County of Wiltshire into operation, projects worth a total of €55 million, and a new privately funded hospital wing worth €30 million is being built in Kingston-upon-Hull. Bilfinger Berger is also actively involved in other similar projects in Asia and Australia. Just a few weeks ago, a consortium jointly headed by Bilfinger Berger and Deutsche Bank was chosen as the preferred bidder to implement a two-kilometer-long toll tunnel project underneath Sydney city center.

Bilfinger Berger is at the forefront of Germany's BOT business. Its projects include the British Embassy in Berlin, a model, privately-funded project commissioned by the UK government. It is also playing a major role in the design, financing, construction and operation of a road tunnel under the Trave in Lübeck. Interest in privately-funded solutions is growing in Germany. The German government has announced that it intends to privately fund extensions to sections of autobahn that are particularly congested. Thanks to its experience on the international market, the Bilfinger Berger Group is in a prime position to capitalize on the opening up of the German market.