There are also successes to report from the construction world: the state construction group BIG (stands for Federal Real Estate, belongs to the state holding company ÖBAG) will proudly transfer a dividend of 250 million euros to the state last year.
Chief engineer Peter Weiss: “We have achieved increases everywhere, the value of our fixed assets has increased from 16 to 17.2 billion euros.” This includes numerous public buildings, universities, schools, etc., but also residential buildings. BIG board member Weiss: “We will invest two billion euros in 2040 to become CO₂-neural.”
Of the prominent objects, the renovation of Parliament stood out: after years of work, the final bill even came in slightly under the budget of 525 million euros.
The demand for housing has increased enormously, especially in Vienna. Peter Weiss: “While 16,000 apartments were built in 2021, this number has fallen to 9,000 in 2023 – and will fall further, as evidenced by the dramatic drop in building permits.” The federal capital does not need less because of the influx, but rather many more new apartments.
BIG is also active in residential construction through its subsidiary ARE, which aims to operate profitably in the privately financed sector, which is also successful.
Benko’s bankruptcy remained unscathed: Signa was a 50 percent partner in the large ‘Vienna Twenty Two’ project and was able to take over this share on time (and cheaply). This meant that there were no construction delays.
This year there will be a management change at BIG: CFO Wolfgang Gleissner will hand over leadership to former UBM board member Gerald Beck in May, and Peter Weiss will change within the construction sector in the fall. The company is still kept secret.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
