Money Buzz! Europa

Category: Infrastructure

  • Astaldi signed a contract worth EUR 356 million in Romania

    Astaldi signed a contract worth EUR 356 million in Romania

    Astaldi signed a contract worth EUR 356 million for the construction of more than 30 kilometres of the Sibiu-Pitesti Motorway, the most important section under construction in Romania.

    It is an EPC contract and concerns the design and construction of Lot 5 of the Sibiu-Pitesti Motorway, from Km 92+600 to Km 122+950. The planned duration of the works is 60 months, 12 months of which for design and 48 months for construction.

    The contract is financed partly with EU funds (85%) and partly with the State budget (15%) and includes the adjustment of contract prices starting from the date of the submission of the bid.

    Moreover, an advance payment is envisaged in the contract, both at the start of the design phase and at the start of the construction.

    The Customer is CNAIR, a state-owned company under the responsibility of the Romania’s Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure for which Astaldi is currently engaged, among others, in the construction of the Braila Bridge, a suspension bridge over the Danube of approximately 2 kilometres in length with more than 23 kilometres of connecting roads, as well as of approximately 20 kilometres of the Ogra–Campia Turzii Motorway (Lot 2).

    Astaldi in Romania represents a consolidated business reality since 1991.

  • Ryanair, to return to 40% of normal flight schedules from July 1st

    Ryanair, to return to 40% of normal flight schedules from July 1st

    Ryanair announced plans to return to 40% of normal flight schedules from Wed 1 July 2020, subject to Government restrictions on intra-EU flights being lifted, and effective public health measures being put in place at airports.

    Ryanair will operate a daily flight schedule of almost 1.000 flights, restoring 90% of its pre-Covid-19 route network.

    Since the Covid-19 flight restrictions in mid-March, Ryanair has been operating a skeleton daily schedule of 30 flights between Ireland, the UK and Europe.

    From July, Ryanair will restart flying from most of its 80 bases across Europe. There will be fewer daily/weekly frequencies on trunk routes, as Ryanair works to restore some services on the widest number of routes, rather than operating high frequency services on a small number.

    Ryanair, new health measures

    Ryanair released a return to flying video, encouraging passengers to observe effective health measures to limit the Covid-19 virus.

    These include fewer checked bags, check in online, downloading boarding pass to the passenger smart phone, as well as undergoing temperature checks at airport entry and wearing face masks/coverings at all times in the terminal and on board aircraft.

    All Ryanair aircraft are fitted with HEPA air filters (similar to those used in critical hospital wards) and all aircraft interior surfaces are disinfected every night with chemicals, which are effective for over 24 hours.

    While temperature checks and face masks/coverings are the cornerstone of this healthy return to service, social distancing at airports and onboard aircraft will be encouraged where it is possible.

    On board its aircraft, Ryanair cabin crew will wear face masks/coverings and a limited inflight service will be offered of pre-packaged snacks and drinks, but no cash sales. All onboard transactions will be cashless. Queuing for toilets will also be prohibited on board although toilet access will be made available to individual passengers upon request. Ryanair encourages passengers to regularly hand wash and use hand sanitizers in airport terminals.

    As a temporary further public health measure, while EU States emerge from their respective Covid-19 lockdowns, Ryanair will require all passengers flying in July & Aug to fill in details (at the point of check in) of how long their planned visit will be, and also their address while visiting another EU country, and this contact information will be provided to EU Governments to help them to monitor any isolation regulations they require of visitors on intra-EU flights.

  • Wien placed first in ”World’s Greenest Cities” ranking

    Wien placed first in ”World’s Greenest Cities” ranking

    Resonance Consultancy’s new index of the world’s greenest cities praised the diversity of green areas in Wien, ranging from the English landscaped gardens such as the City Park to the national park located directly on the city’s borders.

    „Vienna is also the European benchmark for public transit, with almost half of the city’s population holding an annual transit pass—and using it religiously”, says the study.

    Top 10 ”Green Cities”

    1. Vienna, Austria
    2. Munich, Germany
    3. Berlin, Germany
    4. Madrid, Spain
    5. Sao Paulo, Brazil
    6. Manchester, Great Britain
    7. Lisbon, Portugal
    8. Singapore
    9. Amsterdam, Netherlands
    10. Washington, D.C., USA

    To find out which cities are leading the way towards a greener future, Resonance Consultancy collected nine data points to create the ranking:

    • Percentage of public green spaces 
    •  Percentage of total energy needs from renewable energy
    •  Percentage of population who use public transportation to go to work 
    •  Level of air pollution
    •  Per capita water consumption
    •  Walkability
    •  Availability of city-wide recycling
    •  Availability of city-wide composting
    •  Number of farmer’s markets
  • First regular freight train from Poland to China, arrived in 20 days

    First regular freight train from Poland to China, arrived in 20 days

    An inbound China-Europe freight train from Poland carrying 33 containers of goods left Rizhao, China, marking the regular operation of the first inbound transit train between Rizhao and Europe, says Xinhua.

    Starting from the city of Wroclaw in Poland, the freight train had arrived in Rizhao after passed through Kazakhstan, Belarus, and Russia after 20 days of journey, which is 14 days less than that of traditional sea transportation.

    It is the first inbound transit freight train runs between Rizhao and Europe, and the train will be shipped to Pyeongze, Republic of Korea (ROK) through the railway-sea intermodal transport from Rizhao Port.

    The freight train connecting Rizhao, Chengdu, and Europe was launched in 2017. In the nearly past three years, a total of 793 freight trains had run along the route, posting an export volume of 20,916 TEUs.

  • 91% less passenger vehicles crossed Eurotunnel in april 2020

    91% less passenger vehicles crossed Eurotunnel in april 2020

    In the context of the lockdown measures imposed by the French and British governments on the 17th and 23rd March respectively, prohibiting all travel considered to be non-essential, Eurotunnel focused on ensuring the supply of critical goods between France and the United Kingdom via its Truck and Passenger Shuttle services.

    This restriction does not apply to cars and vans travelling in the Passenger Shuttles, as drivers and passengers remain in their vehicles during the crossing, without coming into direct physical contact with staff or passengers.

    Le Shuttle Freight carried almost 80,000 trucks in April 2020, mainly due to the resilience of demand for food, pharmaceutical and e-commerce goods.

    With an average of 4 departures per hour, Le Shuttle is better adapted to this type of product than maritime transport. Since 1st January, more than 466,000 trucks have crossed the Channel using our Shuttles.

    In April 2020, the Passenger Shuttles carried almost 20,000 passenger vehicles. This figure should be seen in light of the very severe restrictions in relation to border crossings imposed by the French and British governments.

    Since 1 January, almost 440,000 passenger vehicles have crossed the Channel on board of Passenger Shuttles.


         		April 20April 19ChangeJan- April 2020Jan- April 2019
    Truck ShuttlesTrucks79,474119,563-34%466,722
    Passenger ShuttlesPassenger vehicles19,682227,393-91%439,854
  • Volume of goods loaded and unloaded in Albanian ports decreased by 41.2%

    Volume of goods loaded and unloaded in Albanian ports decreased by 41.2%

    The volume of freight loading/unloading in Albanian ports, in March 2020 is 254 thousand tonnes, 41.2 % less compared to March 2019, latest data provided by Albanian Institute of Statistics shows.

    In the first quarter of 2020, the volume of freight loading/unloading in ports is 1,0 million tonnes, decreasing by 9.8 % compared to the first quarter of 2019.

    The volume of freight transported by rail in March 2020 is 2.6 million / tonnes–km decreasing by 13.8 % compared to March 2019.

    In the first quarter of 2020, volume of freights transported by rail is 8.6 million tonnes-km, increasing by 5.6 % compared to the first quarter of 2019.

    In March 2020, the volume of freights transported by air is 155.6 tonnes, decreasing by 22.3 % compared to March 2019.

    In the first quarter of 2020, the volume of freights transported by air is 511.5 tonnes, decreasing by 9.5 % compared to the first quarter of 2019.

    The number of flights, in March 2020 is 922 marking an decreasing of 50.3 % compared to March 2019.

    The number of passengers traveling by sea line in March 2020 is 16,206 passengers. Compared to March 2019, this indicator decreased by 67.4 %.

    In the first quarter of 2020, 125,810 passengers travelled by sea, decreased 17.0 % compared to same period of 2019.

    In March 2020, passenger air transport occupies 82.4 % of the total transport.

    The number of passengers traveling by air line, in the first quarter of 2020, is 515,506 passengers, decreasing by 15.5 % compared to the first quarter of 2019.

  • First integrated Smart City project in Romania will begin in Piatra Neamț

    First integrated Smart City project in Romania will begin in Piatra Neamț

    The new public transport waiting stations in Piatra Neamț (NE Romania) will be equipped with WiFi, multimedia touchscreens, USB ports for charging smartphones, photovoltaic pannels, smart cameras that allow video analysis and traffic monitoring, environment sensors, traffic information for users, entirely operated via a command center.

    The first integrated Smart City project in România, modernizing the waiting stations for the public transport in Piatra Neamț, within a contract worth 21.1 million lei, will be implemented by Electrogrup and Urban Scope.

    The projection and execution contract, signed on February 25, 2020, starts with the projecting stage, run by Urban Scope, while the overall execution period for the project is of 25 months.

    „In Piatra Neamț we will have 80 smart waiting stations, with information panels connected in real time to the means of transport for travelers, wireless internet connection, video surveillance cameras and photovoltaic panels. This project is complementary to other projects in various stages in Piatra-Neamt, including the purchase of electric buses, which together contribute to the general objective of stimulating the use of public transport means to the detriment of personal cars, in order to reduce carbon dioxide emissions – CO2. The investment is 98% financed with European funds, with a municipal contribution of only 2%,” said Dragoș Chitic, Piatra-Neamț Mayor.

  • 93% of Ryanair flights arrived on time in January

    93% of Ryanair flights arrived on time in January

    • 93% of January flights arrived on-time (up from 89% January 2019) excl. ATC delays;
    • ATC staff shortages delayed 1,975 Ryanair flights in January (3%).

    Ryanair also released its January ‘Rate My Flight’ customer experience scores, which show 89% of over 104,000 respondents rated their flight ‘Excellent/Very Good/Good’, with high ratings for crew friendliness (93%), onboard service (91%), range of food & drink (85%), and boarding (85%).

    Ryanair’s Kenny Jacobs said: ”Ryanair Group Airlines carried over 10.8m customers in January with over 93% of our 62,000 flights arriving on-time excl. ATC delays. While these ATC delays improved significantly in January, there is still a needless impact on our punctuality – with France, Germany and Portugal as the worst affected countries. However, our industry-leading performance continues with improved year-on-year punctuality.”

    Mr. Jacobs added: ”We’re satisfied that 89% of customers surveyed (over 104,000) rated their Ryanair flight in January as ‘Excellent/Very Good /Good’ using Ryanair’s Rate My Flight feature, which allows all customers to provide real-time reviews of their flights via the Ryanair app and email. We welcome this feedback, which encourages us to continuously improve our customer service.”

  • ADL enters agreement with NTA Ireland for up to 600 double-deck buses

    ADL enters agreement with NTA Ireland for up to 600 double-deck buses

    Alexander Dennis Limited (“ADL”) signed a framework agreement with the Republic of Ireland’s National Transport Authority (NTA) for the delivery of up to 600 Enviro400ER double deck hybrid buses, capable of running in zero emission mode for at least 2.5 kilometres. The agreement includes an initial firm order for 100 buses.

    The single supplier framework agreement covers the purchase of double deck diesel-electric hybrid buses and will run for up to five years. ADL was selected in a comprehensive procurement process in which the company provided the most economically advantageous offer.

    The first 100 buses, awarded on a firm contract, are to be delivered in autumn 2020 and the NTA will be able to exercise options for a further 500 vehicles to reflect vehicle requirements over the coming years, representing a significant addition to ADL’s backlog.

    The Enviro400ER is a double deck diesel-electric hybrid, capable of at least 2.5 kilometres continuous electric range with no exhaust emissions. It utilises the BAE Systems Series-ER hybrid system with a 32kWh next-generation lithium-ion battery energy storage system that can be charged externally via a plug-in connection, meeting the requirements of the European Union’s Clean Vehicles Directive.

    In addition to its continuous zero tailpipe emissions range, the Enviro400ER switches off its diesel engine at low speeds during approach to and departure from stops and when stationary.

    The buses will be 11.0 metres long and will have City style bodywork which has been adapted to suit requirements in the Republic of Ireland.

    The first 100 buses will seat 66 passengers and will have separate spaces for wheelchair users and passengers travelling with buggies. The framework agreement provides the opportunity to adjust the specifications of further vehicles to suit other operating requirements.

  • Sheremetyevo International Airport celebrates the opening of Terminal C

    Sheremetyevo International Airport celebrates the opening of Terminal C

    • Sheremetyevo International Airport’s new passenger Terminal C was opened to the public on January 17;
    • The terminal complex will be home to international carriers and can accommodate 20 million passengers per year;
    • It comprises the main seven-floor passenger terminal building with a total area of 127,375 square meters, a control tower to supervise aircraft ground movement, and a roofed, six-level parking lot for 2,500 vehicles that is connected with the terminal via a pedestrian crossing.

    Terminal С forms a single space together with Terminal B. Uniting the buildings “under one roof” was one of the toughest challenges of the entire construction cycle. This single space enables passengers to make use of the services and technical capabilities offered by both terminals, while allowing transfer passengers to move quickly between the terminals through the transit area.

    The design and construction phase of Sheremetyevo Airport’s new terminal lasted 33 months, from April 2017 to January 2020. The General Contractor and Developer of the project was EnergoStroy LLC. 

    The constructivist motifs of the interior are also reflected in the terminal’s cutting-edge media installations, which present Russia as a country of rich historical and cultural heritage as well as significant scientific and technological achievements. 

    Services available to passengers in Terminal С­­­

    • Duty Free shops where travelers can purchase products from leading world brands 
    • Superior-comfort lounges: VIP and business lounges, sleep and recreation areas
    • Catering: all restaurants, cafes, and bars are open 24/7
    • A comfortable baby care room and children’s play areas
    • Wi-Fi coverage for wireless internet access

    Navigation and information systems in Russian, English and Chinese help passengers and attendants navigate all areas of the terminal with ease. 

    Terminal C in numbers

    • Check-in counters: 74
    • Passport control booths: 60
    • Jet bridges: 20 (including one for A-380 aircraft)
    • Escalators: 11 + 2 in parking lot
    • Moving walkways: 8 + 4 in parking lot
    • Automatic doors: 120 + 8 in parking lot
    • Elevators: 57 + 8 in parking lot
    • Media screens: 78 
  • Germany to invest 86 billion euros in rail modernization

    Germany to invest 86 billion euros in rail modernization

    • Germany has pledged to put 86 billion euros into the upkeep and modernization of its railways over the next decade.
    • The government will be footing 62 billion, while the German rail company Deutsche Bahn (DB) will pony up the remaining 24 billion.
    • The two sides signed the contract guaranteeing the investments – the biggest ever in German history – in Berlin on Tuesday, 14 January 2020.

    The volume of investment represented a 54 percent increase over the previous administrative period. Part of the money will be used to renew around 2000 kilometers of tracks and 2000 switching points every year.

    2000 railways bridges will also be renovated by the year 2030. Seven billion euros will be spent on signal-box technology alone. Deutsche Bahn has said it wants to increase its fleet of super-fast ICE 4 trains from 39 to 137.

    “The record size of this investment – plus the scope of areas it involves – will offer a wealth of opportunities for foreign companies as well as German firms to get involved,” says Germany Trade & Invest (GTAI) transportation expert Stefan Di Bitonto. “In fact companies from around the world are already taking part in the modernization process.”

    Deutsche Bahn wants to see regular high-speed connections operating at quick intervals between all of Germany’s larger cities and is targeting 260 million passengers a year by 2030.

    The emphasis on rail is part of Germany’s ambitious strategy to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and Deutsche Bahn CEO Richard Lutz has argued in the past that rail is “the only truly green mode of transport.”

  • New annual record achieved by Frankfurt Airport in 2019

    New annual record achieved by Frankfurt Airport in 2019

    • Frankfurt Airport (FRA) served more than 70.5 million passengers in 2019 – achieving a new all-time record by exceeding the 70-million mark for the first time in a calendar year.
    • Compared to the previous year, this represents a passenger increase of 1.5 percent.
    • Following a positive trend in the first half of 2019 (up 3.0 percent), passenger volumes largely stagnated in the second half of the year (up 0.2 percent).

    In the months of November and December 2019, passenger numbers declined for the first time since November 2016.

    The relatively weaker growth in full-year passenger numbers can be mainly attributed to domestic traffic (down 3.4 percent) and European traffic (up 1.2 percent).

    In contrast, intercontinental traffic to and from Frankfurt Airport increased by 3.4 percent in 2019.

    Aircraft movements rose by 0.4%

    The number of aircraft movements at Frankfurt Airport rose by 0.4 percent to 513,912 takeoffs and landings in 2019. Accumulated maximum takeoff weights (MTOWs) were up 0.8 percent to about 31.9 million metric tons.

    Cargo throughput (airfreight + airmail) contracted by 3.9 percent to 2.1 million metric tons, reflecting the ongoing slowdown of the global economy.

    Passenger traffic declined in December 2019

    In December 2019, Frankfurt Airport’s passenger traffic declined by 1.2 percent year-on-year to 4.9 million passengers. With 36,635 takeoffs and landings, aircraft movements shrank by 4.4 percent.

    MTOWs slipped by 2.9 percent to just under 2.4 million metric tons. Cargo volumes decreased by 7.2 percent to 170,384 metric tons.

    Positive performance for international airport operating companies owned by Fraport

    The airports in Fraport AG’s international portfolio continued to show largely positive performance during 2019.

    Affected by the bankruptcy of home-carrier Adria Airways and other factors, Ljubljana Airport (LJU) in Slovenia recorded a 5.0 percent traffic decline in the reporting year (December 2019: down 21.6 percent).

    In contrast, Fraport’s two Brazilian airports of Fortaleza (FOR) and Porto Alegre (POA) posted combined traffic growth of 3.9 percent to 15.5 million passengers (December 2019: up 0.3 percent). 

    Peru’s Lima Airport (LIM) continued the strong performance of previous years, with traffic rising by 6.6 percent (December 2019: up 5.4 percent).

    Traffic at the 14 Greek regional airports expanded slightly by 0.9 percent to nearly 30.2 million passengers in 2019 (December 2019: down 2.2 percent).

    Following years of dynamic growth, traffic at Varna (VAR) and Burgas (BOJ) airports in Bulgaria declined by 10.7 percent, due to airlines consolidating their flight offerings (December 2019: up 23.3 percent).

    In 2019, traffic at Turkey’s Antalya Airport (AYT) once again advanced rapidly by 10.0 percent to almost 35.5 million passengers (December 2019: up 2.8 percent).

    Pulkovo Airport (LED) in St. Petersburg, Russia, saw traffic climb by 8.1 percent to some 19.6 million passengers (December 2019: up 5.7 percent).

    At Xi’an Airport (XIY) in China, traffic jumped by 5.7 percent to more than 47.2 million passengers (December 2019: up 4.7 percent).