Europe’s largest construction firm bullish on

C.M.C. di Ravenna Asia Construction Corp., a local arm of Europe’s largest construction cooperative C.M.C. di Ravenna, is bullish on the prospects of the construction business in the country.

"We have formed a construction company (C.M.C. Asia) last May to further signify our interest to do business in the country. We are here to stay," C.M.C. regional director for Asia Armando de Rossi, said yesterday.

He said C.M.C. Asia has an initial capital of about $30 million to $40 million (P1.5 billion to P2 billion).

C.M.C. di Ravenna has been consistently ranked as one of the top three Italian construction companies in the last 10 years. Established in 1901 by a small group of workers in Italy’s Romagna region it has offices in 11 countries worldwide.

The European construction giant specializes in complex projects such as infrastructure; hydraulic engineering; housing; civil engineering/industrial works; expressways, subways, docks and marine works, airports, terminals, environmental protection and rehabilitation, and integrated rural development projects for extensive areas.

C.M.C. is currently working out a new hydroelectric power project in Lake Mainit, Agusan del Sur which will also serve as a flood management control project in the area.

The construction company is expected to handle civil works for the 20-22 megawatt (MW) Lake Mainit hydro project. The total project cost is placed at $40 million to $45 million.

De Rossi said they are now in the process of completing the studies for the project while they negotiate with other power developers and government authority.

De Rossi said they are looking forward for more projects this year. "There are some projects in the pipeline for the C.M.C. Asia that would start very soon," he said. – Donnabelle Gatdula