Alexandros Exarchou expects strong growth for the coming years from Aktor's construction sector.
Indeed, during the conference call with analysts on the occasion of the first-half results he stated that the backlog of projects through Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) is the largest we have ever seen.
However, there are challenges such as payment delays from the State, which force contractors from time to time to put money out of their own pockets until the project is paid.
“If, therefore, the Greek State succeeds in overcoming this and has successfully anticipated the needs per year, so as to pay for projects normally, I think that, on the one hand, project delays will be reduced and, on the other hand, a better execution pace of the backlog will be achieved,” he stressed.
“Consequently, the State's ability to move forward with major projects in the future will increase,” he adds.
Despite the implementation of projects worth 500 million euros in the first half, the group's backlog remained at high levels and amounted to 4.5 billion euros, of which 67% concerns signed contracts and 33% contracts pending signature. Also, the prospects for the future pipeline are positive, with 23 tenders underway.
As regards geographical diversification, Romania is an important market for Aktor, where the group is implementing projects with a total value of 900 million euros.
The next major water projects
“At this moment I believe there is a strong pipeline. Whether and to what extent this will move forward (in Greece) before the elections is not certain. We have a healthy backlog, which, if I am reading it correctly, covers the next four years, so I am not very worried. I believe that after the elections, logically, projects will begin to be “bombarded,” mainly water projects. I believe that the next series of projects with large budgets will concern water,” he concludes.
With the aim of pursuing the new water management projects, AKTOR has entered into an exclusive partnership with Suez International.