| 14 WE SUCCEED OHL ŽS to Build New Junction in Bosnia and Herzegovina In March <strong>2010</strong>, a contract was signed between OHL ŽS and Serbian Motorways for the construction of a motorway junction worth EUR 11.5 million north of Banja Luka, the second largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This motorway junction will link future motorways Banja Luka – Gradiška, a town on the st<strong>at</strong>e border between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Cro<strong>at</strong>ia, and Doboj – Banja Luka. The specifi c element of the motorway junction is a 580 m long bridge. It will be the fi rst structure of its kind in Bosnia and Herzegovina. "We value gre<strong>at</strong>ly the trust the investor has bestowed in us. I believe motorists and future motorway junction users will also be s<strong>at</strong>isfi ed with our work,“ František Ledabyl, Vice-chairman of the Board of Directors and Director of Marketing and Commerce <strong>at</strong> OHL ZŠ commented <strong>at</strong> the occasion of the signing of the contract. Construction is cofi nanced by the European Commission, which provided the Government of the Republic of Serbia with a fi nancial don<strong>at</strong>ion of EUR 5 million. The remaining amount, i.e. EUR 6.5 million is a loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The construction work is expected to take 24 months. It will be carried out by OHL ŽS together with Niskogradnja, a local company based in the town of Laktaši. We asked Zdeněk Zedníček, Head of the Foreign Trade Department <strong>at</strong> OHL ŽS, to tell us more. Why do you think you have been entrusted with this contract? In wh<strong>at</strong> way were you better than your competitors? The tender proceedings were made up of two rounds – prequalifi c<strong>at</strong>ion and the actual off er. We passed the prequalifi c<strong>at</strong>ion thanks to our references, for example for the construction of a motorway in Azerbaijan. Then followed the actual tendering procedure. In cooper<strong>at</strong>ion with Nizkogradnja, a local construction company, we managed to prepare the lowest price off er. We obtained the contract in competition with Cro<strong>at</strong>ian, Austrian, Slovenian, and Italian companies. Wh<strong>at</strong> will this construction project entail? The project entails the construction of a motorway fl y-over junction. This junction will serve as a connection between the motorway currently under construction stretching from Banja Luka to the border with Cro<strong>at</strong>ia and the future motorway from Banja Luka to Doboj. The construction will include access ramps, a motorway segment and two main scaff old bridges (each approxim<strong>at</strong>ely 500m in length), as well as the necessary relaying of engineering networks. Foreign contracts make up about 20% of your revenue. Wh<strong>at</strong> challenges did you have to face abroad in the past? Each project we work on abroad has its own specifi cs, risks, and stumbling blocks. Our company has a rel<strong>at</strong>ively broad “coverage” of activities. From the mentioned far-off Azerbaijan to neighbouring Slovakia or Hungary. One of the gre<strong>at</strong>est and most interesting of our projects is the project for the construction of a motorway worth USD 150 million, currently nearing the end of its execution phase. This project is fi nanced by the Czech Export Bank and EGAP insurance. Which other interesting foreign projects await you this year? This year we will continue in our business activities. We are preparing and implementing a number of projects in a variety of countries where we already have a “permanent” presence – especially Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. At the same time, we are <strong>at</strong>tempting to enter new territories such as Russia, Vietnam, Poland, Serbia, and so on. Among the most interesting of projects we have in the pipeline is a project for the construction of a new railway line in Russia in the Ural region. Photo: OHL ŽS archives
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