OCTAGON assigned general subcontractor to PC Business Center office building, located in northern Bucharest

                                          

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Press Release August 14^th 2014

OCTAGON assigned general subcontractor to PC Business Center office building, located in northern Bucharest

      Contract value: 2 mil. Euro

      Office building located on Bucharest- Ploiesti Road

      Height: 11 Floors

Bucharest, August 14^th 2014: OCTAGON CONTRACTING & ENGINEERING, a company specialized in civil and geotechnical construction works, has become general subcontractor for an office building- PC Business Center, located in the north of the capital. Construction works are worth approximately 2 million Euro.

PC Business Center is located on 7-9 Bucharest- Ploiesti road. The building has two underground and 9 ground levels and is located near Sector 1 City Hall. Iridex Group Import Export is the developer and general contractor of the project.

OCTAGON took over the project in the autumn of 2013, as specialized contractor, and has performed special foundation and infrastructure works: diaphragm walls D 600, bored piles D 620,crown beam, excavation and metal retaining systems, dewatering systems, foundation raft S2, S1, hydroinsulation of underground and water basin. Works were completed in May 2014.

The execution of the superstructure works has been added to the initial contract and OCTAGON has become general subcontractor to PC Business Center. Construction works have reached the 3^rd level of the building. This is one of the three major office projects built by OCTAGON in Bucharest, between 2013- 2014, along Green Court Bucharest (2-4 Gara Herastrau St.) and Hermes Business Campus (7- 9 Dimitrie Pompeiu Blvd.).

“Although according to statistics 2013 was a slower year for the construction market than the previous year, 2013 and 2014 have been intense growth years for OCTAGON, characterized by contracting major projects, especially in the office and infrastructure sectors. PC Business Center is a new opportunity to prove our ability to execute all the works included in a project: special foundations, infrastructure and superstructure.”  said Alexandros Ignatiadis, co- founder and shareholder of OCTAGON CONTRACTING & ENGINEERING.

OCTAGON CONTRACTING & ENGINEERING (www.octagon.com.ro ) is a Romanian company set up in 2005, headquartered in Bucharest. The company also has a branch in Baghdad (Iraq).  With a 19.6 million euro in 2013, large scale projects in Romania, Iraq, Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria, OCTAGON is one of the main players in the civil and geotechnical construction sectors, in Romania.

Among the reference works performed by OCTAGON in Romania there are: the office complex Green Court Bucharest (Gara Herastrau Street- Bucharest), the tallest office building in Bucharest Sky Tower (Barbu Vacarescu Blvd.), the office building Olympia Tower (Decebal Blvd.- Bucharest) and the Combined Cycle Power Plant 867 MW OMV- Petrom (Brazi- Prahova county).

Contact

OCTAGON CONTRACTING & ENGINEERING

Corina Ilie

Public Relations Specialist

Tel: (+40) 769 249 286

E-mail: c.ilie@octagon.com.ro

OCTAGON delivers special foundation and infrastructure works on PC Business Center

OCTAGON delivered the special foundation and infrastructure works on the office project P. C. Business Center, located in the north of Bucharest, on 7-9 A Bucharest- Ploiesti Road.  The company performed the following works: diaphragm walls D 600, bored piles D 620- h = 12 m, crown beam, dewatering system, infrastructure- raft S 2, S 1, underground hydro- insulation and water basin. PC Business Center will have 9 floors.

 As Alexandros Ignatiadis, co-founder and shareholder of Octagon C&E. said: "In the first half of this year we started works on three new projects. A project begun last autumn, on which we are still working, is an office building, PC Business Center".

    

 For more information click HERE.

OCTAGON CONTRACTING & ENGINEERING

Phone: (+4)021.232.39.20

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The Construction Agenda: OCTAGON- 2 million euro works for large scale infrastructure projects

Octagon Contracting & Engineering, one of the main constructors of special foundations in Romania is  working on three large scale infrastructure projects in Romania. The total value of the projects is around  2 million euro. Octagon will cash 600,000 euro for geotechnical works performed at the underground passage from Presei Libere Square in Bucharest.  Another important project is the rehabilitation of Brasov – Simeria railway,  Coslariu – Sighisoara section, Micasasa – Coslariu sector, worth 260,000 euro. "In this project we were subcontracted by the Greek contractor Aktor. We also executed bored piles for sections A, D and E of the second sector of  Lugoj – Deva highway, a  5 million lei (1.14 milion euro) project,  as the subcontractor of Salini Impregilo ", said Alexandros Ignatiadis, co-founder and shareholder of Octagon C&E.

 Poor management of public investments blocks the infrastructure development

According to the manager the main issue the local infrastructure and public works market is facing is the poor management, which triggers poor results in the area. "Delivery terms are extended three times on average and these delays generate financial loses. We have major delays in each stage of a project’s  development, starting with the feasibility stage and continuing with the launching of the specifications book, which is contested several times. A lot of time is wasted trying to solve the contestations, after which a new bid the results of which are contested again is announced.” said the shareholder of Octagon.

The new rules for the awarding of public contracts, voted by the European Parliament on January 15^th  2014, have not solved the issues of the Romanian legislation either. "Maintaining the lowest price as the main awarding criteria can significantly impact the quality of delivered projects. We need a more detailed approach and deep changes in this respect.”  explained Alexandros Ignatiadis.

The Constructions Agenda: Geotechnical construction market worth around 93 million euro in 2013

 Local geotechnical construction and foundation market, estimated at 93 million euro, will most probably maintain this year at the 2013 level, according to opinions of the managers in the area. Significantly dependent on the construction sector, the geotechnical works market has positive growth perspectives, but lack of liquidity and excessive fiscal requirements on the market, investors’ low confidence in market economy are still obstacles against sustainable resumption of the entire sector’s activity. Another market characteristic at the beginning of 2014 is the slowdown of public investments, also confirmed by the National Statistics Institute (INS), which reported for the first quarter of the year, a 27.3% decline of engineering construction sector. There are 25 specialized companies at national level, Bauer, Octagon, Soletanche Bachy, Terratest Geotehnic, Zublin Romania and Edrasis Construct S.R.L., being among the leaders.

  

  According to Alexandros Ignatiadis, co- founder and shareholder of Octagon Contracting &Engineering- one of the main special foundation and geotechnical construction companies in Romania, with a 19.6 million euro turnover in 2013- this year will not be different from the previous. 

“The first trimester brought a 3% contraction of the construction sector, while the GDP went up by 3.8%, therefore this sector was not a growth engine for the economy. The private sector was revived by the construction of two malls in Bucharest and of several factories in the country, but these investments have not generated profit yet.  These results combined with the activity slowdown in the public sector have led to the -3% contribution of the construction sector to the GDP “, said Octagon manager.  At the same time the incoming elections have not influenced positively the construction sector either, due to political instability. “During elections a great part of investment funds is redirected, through budget amendment, towards public sectors which can bring votes, such as social protection, to influence the electorate.” explained Alexandros Ignatiadis.

Positive estimates for foundation subcontractors

  The 25 companies specialized in geotechnical construction execution, foundations, bored piles and  drilling, which perform works on projects located countrywide, reported a 93 million euro turnover for 2013, according to most recent data published on the website of the Ministry of Public Finances. The results show a 4.4% growth against 2012, when the companies reported a total turnover worth 88.7 million euro. Business growth is followed by an 11.4% decline in 2012, on 2011.

In terms of value, geotechnical construction market ranks at the 2010 level. In 2014, the sector evolution will keep being influenced by the financing of the infrastructure and energy sectors works, while the 2015 operations will represent the results of current political decisions.  Failure to cash receivables from the state, uncertainty related to private sector financing, low value of public investments in infrastructure and continuous change of the economic stimulation policies are among the difficulties which will be present on the market this year. Another fundamental issue is disloyal competition generated by certain companies which disrespect employment laws, maintaining low quality standards.

New contract awarding rules have not solved market issues

  The new contract awarding rules, voted by the European Parliament at the beginning of this year bring, according to constructors, a plus of security and transparency in public works legislation, but they do not simplify it.

“The two directives in force will be replaced by three directives and the number of legislative provision pages will almost double. We have to mention, though, the fact that the expertise and qualification of the personnel will be used as assessment factors when the level of performance significantly depends on the quality of the personnel involved in the execution of the public acquisitions contract. At the same time many controversial and contradictory aspects remain unclear, which leads us to believe that this new rules package reaches its purpose only partially.” explained ing. Carlos Vasquez, Country Manager al Terratest Geotehnic.

The new rules do not solve the prioritization issue or the issues related to the lowest price criteria. “This can significantly affect the quality of delivered projects. More detailed and deep changes regarding this aspect are necessary.” said Octagon shareholder.