Construction firms struggle to expand abroad

The expansion in the presence of Greek construction groups still leaves a lot to be desired.

Amid considerable delays in the concession of new major contracts in the Greek market, the sector’s companies are unable to get successfully involved in projects abroad as conditions remain difficult.

GEK Terna, Ellaktor and Avax have been forced to cope with a series of issues over the last few months, either through abstaining from bidding for new contracts in other countries or due to losses from projects that have not borne fruit.

For example, GEK Terna has for a number of years adopted a particularly conservative policy toward taking on new projects abroad, especially since the outbreak of the crisis, due to soaring financial costs that make the submission of competitive bids particularly difficult. It has therefore resorted to limiting itself to just a few carefully selected moves.

After a long period of losses, Ellaktor is attempting to regrow its presence abroad, having upgraded its structure and operation mode after recent administrative changes. Avax faced a different situation last year, as it was forced to take on a series of projects it had previously worked on with parent company J&P Overseas until the latter’s financial collapse, leading Avax to losses.