Money Buzz! Europa

Category: Infrastructure

  • Coface does not expect the transport sector to recover before 2022

    Coface does not expect the transport sector to recover before 2022

    In Coface’s central scenario, the turnover of listed companies of the global transport sector will be 32% lower in the 4th quarter 2020 and 5% lower in the 4th quarter 2021 than in the 4th quarter 2019.

    In the hypothesis of a second wave of the pandemic in the 3rd quarter of 2020, the turnover would be 57% lower in the 4th 2020 and 27% lower in the 4th 2021.

    The impact of COVID-19 is all the more important since economic activity was already slowing down before the crisis.

    Focus on air transport: the means of transport most affected by the health crisis

    Among the 13 sectors for which Coface publishes sectoral risk assessments, air transport would be the most affected: its turnover expected to decrease by 51% in the baseline scenario and by 57% in the event of a second COVID-19 wave in Q3 2020.

    According to the IATA (International Air Transport Association), air traffic decreased by 94% year-on-year in April 2020 and is not expected to return to its pre-COVID level before several years.

    The fall in air passenger activity led to a strong decrease in air cargo capacity, as most of air cargo is carried by passenger aircraft in the “belly” of the plane.

    The maritime and rail transport segments are also experiencing a strong deterioration in their activity at the global level, even though some markets (such as rail freight between China and Europe) are doing relatively better.

  • Austria: Registrations of used passenger cars decreased by 11.5%

    Austria: Registrations of used passenger cars decreased by 11.5%

    A total of 385.780 used passenger cars was registered from January to June 2020, 11.5% less than in the first half of the previous year.

    According to Statistics Austria, used car registrations still increased in January (+3.7%) and February 2020 (+0.1%), but significantly decreased during the COVID-19 related lockdown in March (-48.7%) and April (-39.1%).

    The decline was already less pronounced in May (-3.2%), and used passenger car registrations rose again in June (+26.8%).

    Diesel-driven (share: 59.4%; -13.3%) and petrol-driven passenger cars (incl. flex-fuel; share: 38.5%; -10.4%) recorded declines compared to the first half of 2019; alternative drives achieved a share of 2.1% and increased by 40.8%.

    Among the top 10 passenger car makes, the number of used registrations declined for all brands: Opel (-17.3%), Ford (-13.7%), Peugeot (-13.1%), VW (-12.0%), Renault (-11.0%), Mercedes (-9.8%), Audi (-9.6%), Seat (-9.5%), BMW (-8.0%) and Skoda (-0.5%).

    9.5% less vehicle registrations from January to June 2020

    In the first half of 2020, 493 663 used motor vehicles were registered, 9.5% less than in the first half of 2019.

    The used commercial vehicle market recorded an increase of 7 vehicles for lorries category (cat.) N3, while there were declines for agricultural and forestry tractors (-0.9%), lorries cat. N1 (-1.1%), lorries cat. N2 (-20.5%) and articulated lorries (-15.0%).

    For used two-wheelers, fewer motorcycles (-0.2%) and scooters (-4.7%) were registered compared to the first half of 2019.

  • Moldova acquire 12 new locomotives using european funds

    Moldova acquire 12 new locomotives using european funds

    Twelve modern diesel locomotives purchased by Moldova’s state-owned railway company Calea Ferată din Moldova (CFM) thanks to joint financing from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Union (EU) arrived in Chisinau.

    The new rolling stock was manufactured in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, by GE Transportation, now a division of the US company Wabtec, a leading supplier of freight car and locomotive products.

    GE Transportation was contracted following a tender held by CFM in 2018 in line with EBRD procurement policies and rules.

    The acquisition of the locomotives is part of a large project financed by the EBRD, EIB and EU that also includes the rehabilitation of railway infrastructure and comprehensive reform of CFM to improve safety, efficiency and corporate governance.

    The total project cost is €110 million, of which €5 million is an investment grant from the EU’s Neighbourhood Investment Facility (NIF) and the remainder from loans by the EBRD and EIB.

  • Half of the European consumers plan to postpone buying a new vehicle

    Half of the European consumers plan to postpone buying a new vehicle

    More than half of the European consumers (52%) plan to postpone buying a new vehicle and they will keep their current one longer than originally intended in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Deloitte State of Consumer Tracker.

    Respondents from Poland being the most cautious regarding the purchasing behavior (68%), followed by the Irish (61%) and the Spanish (60%). At the opposite end, only 32% of the Dutch have postponed their plans to buy a new vehicle.

    The survey was conducted on 18.000 respondents from 18 countries, including nine European states – Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and United Kingdom -, in the second half of June 2020.

    The study reveals that the pandemic also affects the sectors of services and products related to transportation, with ride-hailing companies being the most impacted, as almost half of the European consumers (45%) plan to limit the use of their services.

    Furthermore, the study indicates that air companies may have a slow recovery, as only 27% of Europeans feel safe flying right now. Also, more than a quarter of the Spanish, Italians, British and Irish plan to put off regular maintenance services and 8% of the Europeans intend to spend less on fuel in the next four weeks.

    The COVID-19 pandemic seems to increase the importance of vehicle ownership, as almost three quarters of the European consumers (72%) feel that owning a car is valuable during these times. In this context, more than half of the Europeans (54%) plan to limit the use of public transportation in the next three months.

    When it comes to preferred means of buying a vehicle, 25% of the British are willing to use online purchase channels, followed by Polish (22%) and Germans (21%).

  • Less cars were put into circulation in Greece in June 2020

    Less cars were put into circulation in Greece in June 2020

    The Hellenic Statistical Authority announces that in June 2020, 16.170 road motor cars (both new and used from abroad) were put into circulation for the first time.

    This was a 24.7% decrease compared with the corresponding month of 2019 when the number of road motor cars was 21.464.

    In June 2019, a 4.9% increase had been observed in comparison with the corresponding month of 2018. A total number of 8.678 new cars were put into circulation in June 2020 compared with 13.980 in June 2019, recording a 37.9% decrease.

    Less new motorcycles over 50cc in June 2020

    The new motorcycles over 50cc (both new and used from abroad) that were put into circulation for the first time in June 2020 amounted to 5.306, against 5.471 in 2019, thus recording a 3.0% decrease.

    In June 2019, a 3.2% increase had been observed in comparison with the corresponding month of 2018. Out of the above motorcycles 4,889 were new, while the corresponding figure in June 2019 was 5.041, recording a 3.0% decrease.

  • MOL selects Driivz to power electric vehicle charging infrastructure

    MOL selects Driivz to power electric vehicle charging infrastructure

    MOL has chosen Driivz technology to manage its electric vehicle (EV) charging network.

    Driivz provides a robust and scalable operating system for global EV charging with its end-to-end EV charging and energy management software platform.

    MOL currently operates chargers in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary, and Romania, and by the end of 2020, EV drivers will be able to charge on the company’s network from the Czech border to the Adriatic and Black seas.

    The expanded charging infrastructure and services position the Hungarian oil company as a dominant player in the EV market in central and southeast Europe.

  • Moscow Sheremetyevo’s International Terminal returns to full operations

    Moscow Sheremetyevo’s International Terminal returns to full operations

    Sheremetyevo International Airport’s international terminal—Terminal D—will resume full operations at 00:00 Moscow time on July 27, 2020.

    The trains of the inter-terminal crossing (ITC) of Sheremetyevo Airport will resume operations on July 15 to shuttle passengers, employees and visitors throughout the airport complex.

    Sheremetyevo International Airport is among the TOP-10 airport hubs in Europe, the largest Russian airport in terms of passenger and cargo traffic. In 2019, the airport served 49.933.000 passengers, which is 8.9% more than in 2018.

    In 2019, Sheremetyevo became the best European airport in terms of quality of services with a passenger traffic of more than 40 million passengers per year in the ASQ ACI rating.

  • EIB to provide support for a specialised children’s hospital in Burgas

    EIB to provide support for a specialised children’s hospital in Burgas

    The European Investment Bank (EIB), funded by the European Investment Advisory Hub (EIAH), will provide support to the Municipality of Burgas to facilitate project preparation for the construction of the first children’s hospital in the country.

    The construction of the new hospital is an integral part of the Burgas Municipality’s Investment Programme for the period 2020-2023 and is also considered as an important component of the country’s healthcare strategy by the Ministry of Health.

    The new hospital will address the healthcare needs of children and adolescents in the city of Burgas, one of the fastest growing cities in Bulgaria.

    The advisory support from the EIB and international consultancy experts will provide the municipality with a comprehensive feasibility study that will include functional planning and preliminary designs for the hospital, in line with best international practices and standards.

    This project is due to be completed by 2024.

  • Vienna: Solar power meets the energy needs of all households in Josefstadt

    Vienna: Solar power meets the energy needs of all households in Josefstadt

    From January to the end of June 2020, Wien Energie generated more solar energy than ever before. Austria’s largest solar power generator increased its production by almost 60 percent year-on-year to 13,800 megawatt hours.

    The increase is mainly due to the dedicated photovoltaic expansion programme of Wien Energie.

    27 turbines with around 16 megawatts have been built since the beginning of the year alone or are currently in implementation.

    But the weather also played a part in this spring: In particular, May 2020 lived up to its name as a sunny month, almost every day the facilities here ran at peak performance.

    2030: Solar energy to power 250.000 households

    Wien Energie currently operates around 230 photovoltaic plants, 27 of which are citizen solar power plants. The installed capacity is just under 50 megawatts.

    This corresponds to an expanded area of around 750.000 square metres or more than 100 football pitches. More than 80 percent of the plants are currently on roof surfaces.

    By 2030, Wien Energie aims to generate solar power with an output of 600 megawatts. This means that 250.000 households or two cities such as Graz and Linz can be supplied together.

    The company will spend half a billion euros on this over the next ten years.

  • Bonjour, Paris! Bolt launches electric bikes in France

    Bonjour, Paris! Bolt launches electric bikes in France

    Starting from July 1st, all Parisian urban commuters will have the opportunity to travel on a Bolt electric bike.

    The e-bikes are environmentally friendly and built from easily recyclable materials like aluminium, steel and plastic.

    The maximum motor-assisted speed is 25 km/h and the e-bike has a range of up to 65 km on a single charge.

    Over 1.000 Bolt e-bikes will be available for rental in Paris.

    To rent an e-bike, you’ll need the Bolt app and a payment card tied to your account to pay.

  • Wizz Air established the new base in Tirana

    Wizz Air established the new base in Tirana

    Wizz Air established the new base in Tirana. The airline has already based the first aircraft Airbus A320 at Tirana International Airport.

    Wizz Air announced 15 new routes to eight countries from Tirana starting from July 2020, bringing the total to 25 destinations from Tirana International Airport.

    The two other aircraft are expected to arrive in two weeks’ time, the company announced.

    The 3 Airbus A320 aircraft will support the operations of fifteen new routes to:

    • Beauvais (Paris),
    • Charleroi (Brussels), 
    • Eindhoven, 
    • Mulhouse Euroairport, 
    • Karlsruhe/Baden-baden, 
    • Hamburg, 
    • Berlin Schönefeld, 
    • Frankfurt Hahn, 
    • Prague, 
    • Heraklion, 
    • Rhodes, 
    • Bari, 
    • Catania, 
    • Milan Malpensa
    • Torino

    There are over 800 thousand seats on sale to 25 destinations from Tirana in 2020.

  • Eurobank to finance the Crete – Attica electrical interconnection project

    Eurobank to finance the Crete – Attica electrical interconnection project

    The common bond loan has a repayment period of ten (10) years with a possibility of partial withdrawals according to the implementation course of the interconnection.

    In addition to bank lending, the project will be implemented using equity of €200 million while the co-finance of Greece and the European Union will be used for the remaining €400 million.

    The Crete – Attica Interconnection is a landmark project in Greece. It is the largest energy project under construction and the second largest overall and it will contribute significantly in the process for economic recovery with a special positive sign for the economy of Crete.

    The project has a total budget of €1 billion.