Editor TLN
Australia It is, without a doubt, one of the places strategic for the business of DHW. The group has chosen the continent as the center of its plan of expansion and, today, it is one of the largest markets both in business figures and in terms of portfolio and sales. An expansion that the group has intensified in recent weeks with various awards on the Australian continent, located just at the antipodes of its nerve center and headquarters.
the bet of ACS Group in Australia is such that there it has cimic, one of its many subsidiaries, which has already become key to the local business fabric. ACS’s Australian subsidiary is in charge of projects ranging from the expansion of the Sydney metro, one of the most populated cities in Australia, to energy supply contracts. The Spanish multinational is not only represented by Cimic in the Asia Pacific region, as the Australian company has a network of subsidiaries, including Thiess, CPB Contractors either UGLwith a wide implantation in the territory
The ACS economic figures available so far -corresponding to the first nine months of the year, from January to September- reflect the importance of Australia in their accounts. So much that the sales of the group in Australia have picked up a 18.5% in this period, growth much higher than that registered in other key regions for ACS such as Spain, Poland or the United Kingdom. Thus, the international sales of the group have risen to 21,895 million euros, 95% of the total turnover of the Construction activity, with North America and Australia as the most profitable markets for the group’s business.
Santamaría: “Australia has one of the best fundamentals at the moment”
“Australia it probably has one of the best fundamentals that we can find in the economy at the moment”, began the executive president of the Cimic Group, Juan Santamaria, his speech at the last results presentation. “There is a forecast of GDP growth in 2022 of 3%. The country’s net debt remains below 40% of GDP. And there is huge investment in almost every sector, be it education, healthcare, transportation infrastructure, defense.” An economic situation that ACS has been able to take advantage of through its subsidiaries on the Australian continent.
CPB Contractorsin turn a subsidiary of cimichas been selected to deliver the West-East Tunnel Package of the Sydney Underground in partnership with John Holland and Ghella. With a contract valued at 1,650 million Australian dollars -1,060 million euros at the exchange rate- the project involves the construction of sections of specific tunnels such as the M6, WestConnex M4 East, M8 or Rozelle Interchange. In fact, the construction project of the Sydney Metro at the hands of Cimic has received one of the highest awards in the industrial sector this 2022.
DHW plays a key role in managing public transport Australian. Not only with the expansion of the Sydney Metro, but also UGL, Cimic’s service company, participates in the management of the buses that connect the south of the Australian city. The joint venture U-Go Mobility has just been awarded a seven-year transport contract for the southern part of the big city, operating as a spine what makes of sydney a connected and intermodal city. A contract that will allow UGL to increase its revenues by around 250 million Australian dollars in seven years, until 2030.
U-Go Mobility will operate buses in the Sutherland Shire and Bankstown regions of Sydney, with more than 500,000 passenger journeys expected daily. With routes stretching from the city’s southern beaches to the southwestern suburbs, it will advance the energy transition claimed worldwide, increasing the number of zero emission buses and predictive maintenance systems to improve the service provided.
Bet on renewable energy, Australia needs it
Secondly, cimic is also deploying its potential in Australia through projects energetic and resources, already valued at 200 million Australian dollars (128 million euros in exchange). In this case, it has been UGL the company that has been awarded several multi-year contracts in the energy sector in Western Australia in recent weeks, with some of them already underway.
The executive president of the Cimic Group, Juan Santamaria, has entered into this contract, ratified just a few weeks ago: “Providing services for critical energy assets across Australia keeps our communities and industries running. By consistently providing expertise, custom solutions and flexibility, we are proud to be considered a reliable partner for these long-term customers. Santamaría himself reaffirmed in one of his last public statements the need for Australia to “face a huge energy transition”.
The 32.5% of the total electricity of Australia in 2021 originated from energy renewable, a lower percentage than 47% in Spain, 49% in Germany or 43% in the United Kingdom, according to the group’s official figures. “The transition is huge and includes not only the electrification of transport and industry, but also all the assets connected to the grid, such as batteries or pumped hydroelectric, and, of course, the entire transition from fuel electricity. fossil fuels to the generation of renewable electricity”, emphasized the executive president of Cimic, highlighting the role of Australia in his business.
Also CPB Contractors has been in charge of carrying out the bulk earthworks of the main infrastructure in the mine Western Range iron ore mine in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. A contract that will generate revenue of around A$250 million for CPB Contractors. “The companies of the Cimic Group provide a set of integral services to our clients in the resource sector. We have decades of experience in the Pilbara. Our team will work closely with Rio Tinto to deliver the project safely, on time and according to requirements, to support operations”, Santamaría celebrated in this case.
Cimic and Thiess raise the flag high
The cimic advances are added to those that, in parallel, develop Thiess on the Australian mainland. The ACS Group subsidiary specialized in mining has ratified two new contracts in two mines located in Indonesia for a value of 480 million Australian dollars in a project that will last three years. Specifically, Thiess will be in charge of the expansion of mining services, including drilling and blasting, loading and transport, and well drainage, as has been known in recent weeks.
The group’s mining subsidiary has added successive project awards and agreements to expand its services on the Australian continent. The Executive Chairman and CEO of Thiess, Michael Wrightthus celebrated one of the latest agreements: “Thiess has delivered excellent results for Bayan Resources in Melak since 2008. We strive to continue providing quality solutions. sustainable mining for Bayan, building on our long and successful partnership.”
These awards and projects make clear the bet ACS Group in the Australian antipodes, literally on the other side of the world, with a perfect symbiosis in which the group expands while making improvements to the continent. Improvements that go from favoring the connections of transportation in the big cities to bring renewable energy to new areas to advance in the protection of the environment and in the ecological transition, a challenge that is also worrying in Australia.
