ONE ROOF

40 Annual Report 2009
Concessions and operation
Airports
In mid­2008, the steady rise in global passenger volume
was interrupted for the first time in years. The decline is
attributable to a fall in demand owing to the financial
and economic crisis as well as to rising operating costs.
According to the airport association Airport Council
Inter national (ACI), the global passenger volume declined
by another 2.6 percent year on year, falling to 3.2 bil­
lion. For the same period, the German Airports Associ­
ation (ADV) reports a 4.6 percent drop in passenger
figures in Germany.
As in the past, economic trends will impact on passen­
ger volume in the short term, such that economic re­
covery is also expected to bring with it a rise in air traffic.
Reflecting this, the industry reports positive growth
rates once again since the third quarter of 2009. For
the period 2010 to 2013, ACI expects growth rates of
2.2 percent, 4.7 percent, 7.4 percent and 6.6 percent.
Further airport privatizations can be expected in the
next few years in Central and Eastern Europe, Asia and
South America. In North America, this market is still at
an early stage of development and accordingly has high
potential for growth.
Roads
The market for road transportation infrastructure performed
well, above all in Europe. Especially high growth
rates can be expected in Eastern Europe, where major
road projects worth several billion euros are currently in
the pipeline. The reasons for this include high demand
due to strong growth in traffic, gaps in the current infrastructure
in the region, improved legal and regulatory
conditions for PPP projects, and EU funds available for
infrastructure investments.
Recovery continues in Germany, too. For instance, the
total volume of federal highway construction between
2009 and 2011 is expected to amount to some EUR 2.9
billion.
In the USA, the PPP market is also playing an ever
greater role. Industry experts expect average annual
growth of 2.9 percent until 2013. This is supported by
the fact that, while up to now infrastructure projects
have traditionally been financed by state and federal
funds, the current financial situation and pressures on
public coffers make PPP projects increasingly interesting.
The PPP market in Canada is more mature than the
US market and is still booming. In the infrastructure
segment, especially in road building, investments of
USD 14.9 billion are expected by 2013. HOCHTIEF
already operates successfully in this segment through
its subsidiary Flatiron.
There are currently PPP projects in road building in
around half of all the countries in South America. In
Chile, HOCHTIEF Concessions is in charge of two toll
roads.
Social infrastructure
PPP projects are becoming more and more important
for social infrastructure. According to the Central Federation
of the German Construction Industry, over 130
such projects have been launched in Germany’s building
construction segment since 2004. Based on the accumulated
investment volume of project contracts, the
public building market in Germany—HOCHTIEF Concessions’
core market—more than doubled between
2006 and 2009. This means an increase from approximately
EUR 1.5 billion in 2006 to EUR 3.8 billion in the
past fiscal year.