VINCI - 2005 annual report

EUROVIA / BUSINESS REPORT
NOxer ® barrier
The NOxer ® pollution-reducing noise barrier
developed at Eurovia’s research centre in Bordeaux-Mérignac,
helps cut peak pollution by
converting nitrogen oxides (NOx) produced on
major thoroughfares into stable water-soluble
nitrogen compounds.
In 2005,
the innovative
warm mix with
Aspha-Min ®
process was
applied on a large
scale on some
30 projects.
74
VINCI 2005 ANNUAL REPORT
Continuing to develop high-performance environment-related products,
Eurovia installed the NOxer ® barrier for the fi rst time on the Paris ring road and
in western France. In 2005 the company also applied the warm mix with
Aspha-Min ® barrier for the fi rst time on the Paris ring road and
process on a large scale, using it on some thirty projects. Eurovia’s
recycling expertise was confi rmed with the award, for the fi rst time in France,
of the CE 2+ mark to aggregates made from recycled household waste bottom
ash produced in three Paris-area Group subsidiaries, which simultaneously
received ISO 9001 certifi cation for their 15 production sites.
Western Europe
IN GERMANY, where the market remained diffi cult, Eurovia GmbH recorded
a slight increase in revenue and stabilised its earnings thanks to brisk business
activity in the second half. The year’s major projects included construction
of a 7 km section of the B96 federal highway in Mahlov (Brandenburg). Eurovia
GmbH has been substantially reorganised to cope with the recession affecting
the market for several years now and is back on track to take advantage
of the expected resumption of investment in motorways and return to growth.
These investments will more particularly involve A-Modell motorway widening
projects (560 km of motorways, accounting for a total investment of €5 billion
over a fi ve-year period). The fi rst bids will be placed in 2006.
IN THE UNITED KINGDOM, Ringway recorded a substantial increase in
revenue (+12.9% at constant scope and exchange rate) and an improvement
in its earnings. 75% of its business activity is conducted under some 30 medium-
and long-term (3 to 12 year) contracts, averaging revenue of €15 million
per year and involving road maintenance and related services (winter maintenance,
maintenance of green spaces and public lighting, etc.). Ringway’s
leadership on this buoyant market was further strengthened by the award of the
Worcestershire County road maintenance contract (covering a period of four
and a half years and with a value of some €25 million per year) and the
renewal of the Peterborough (fi ve years, €3.4 million per year) and Wiltshire
(fi ve years, €30 million per year) contracts. The British subsidiary also strengthened
its position on the road construction market by acquiring TE Beach, a
company based in the southern city of Dartford which also does substantial
business on the London market. TE Beach employs 400 people and generates
annual revenue of €70 million.
THE PLACE STANISLAS RETURNED TO PEDESTRIANS
Renovated on the occasion of its 250th anniversary, the Place Stanislas in Nancy, a historic landmark, was surfaced with
11,000 sq. metres of natural paving slabs and cobblestones by Eurovia’s teams in Lorraine and then closed to automobile
traffi c for good and handed back to pedestrians. Eurovia supported the cultural events that were held in connection with this renovation.
A “Memory Book”, containing a history of the square, construction drawings and messages from local residents and restoration teams, was buried under the
pavement for the benefi t of future generations. VINCI Energies illuminated this architectural jewel dating back to the Enlightenment.