Title: Middle East: Opportunity for Greek Construction Industry
Abstract:The European Union funding for large infrastructure projects in Greece has remained in the initial phase. Moreover, various projects such as highway extensions and improvements have been stopped due t...The European Union funding for large infrastructure projects in Greece has remained in the initial phase. Moreover, various projects such as highway extensions and improvements have been stopped due to the bank loan being s inaccessible and shutting of lines of credit. Another major problem faced by construction firms due to the economic crisis is that the government owes more than 2 billion euros for works already carried out. These debts have negative impact even on the largest local companies. Looking for ways of survival, many Greek construction firms expanded their activities abroad. It is mentioned by industry executives that today, local firms are turning their activities abroad in order to stay active during the period of crisis, while in the past the projects that were undertaken abroad were focused on boosting firms’ revenues and scope. Greek firms follow the way towards the Balkans, the Middle East (ME) as well as the Central and Eastern Europe, due to the expertise and knowledge of local conditions. Many infrastructure projects were announced by the UAE and Saudi Arabia, at the end of the local economic crisis. The result was the expansion of the Greek construction firms activities in ME region. It is noticed that Saudi Arabia alone commissioned infrastructure, industry, real estate and transportation projects worth a total of approximately 60 billion euros in 2011, raised by125 percent compared to 2010. For large Greek construction firms such as GEK Terna, Ellaktora and J&P Avax, which have both the experience and the know-how required, the ME area is an opportunity for expanding their activities. For instance, GEK Terna has undertaken projects in Bahrain and Qatar worth a total of 138 million, has already opened a subsidiary in Saudi Arabia and is carrying out works in Bulgaria and Serbia worth 38 million euros. Also, Ellaktor is active in the Middle East and in Southeastern Europe, and J&P Avax operates on a pipeline of projects worth 1.7 billion euros, 40 percent of which concerns overseas infrastructures in Cyprus and ME. Business dilemma – research questionRead More
Publication Year: 2014
Publication Date: 2014-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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