38 companies, 85 countries, 662 construction sites, 187 new awards. And again: 250 companies under foreign law and 24 concession contracts, all for a total amount of 10,5 billion euros and a +237% for the year 2014 compared to 2004. These numbers, referring to the Made in Italy, well describe the trend of an increasingly global sector detached from the fluctuations of the domestic market. According to the latest ANCE Report, in fact, for six years the turnover of Italian construction companies abroad has represented 50% of total production. However, according to the latest report, this figure would have already been surpassed by the acquisitions of 2014 which led to a foreign turnover of 64% of global turnover.
The 38 builders covered by the study are companies that «have a preponderant impact abroad» and whose presence is necessarily accompanied by «constant adaptation of the organizational structure». Consider that already at the end of 2013 the 38 companies were present in the reference markets with around 250 companies incorporated under foreign law. But where do the new orders come from today? The 10,5 billion euro of orders acquired are broken down as follows: 26,4% are of European origin and in particular come from France, Poland, Austria, Slovakia. The second market is represented by Latin America (25% of new acquisitions), 14,3% of orders instead arrive from non-EU countries such as Switzerland, Turkey and Russia which allowed the acquisition of orders for approximately 1,5 billion euros and the opening of 18 new construction sites. Followed by North Africa (8,6%), North America (7,9%), Sub-Saharan Africa (7%), the Middle East (5,3%), Asia (2,9%) and Oceania (2,2 %).
Despite the second place in the standings, however, it is still Latin America and above all Venezuela to hold the largest amounts in terms of orders assigned to Italian construction companies. In fact, Venezuela alone accounts for more than 1 billion euros in new work for 2014 and a total of 11,5 billion euros in work acquired and still in progress by Italian companies. Orders from the country alone exceed, in terms of amounts, those acquired in North America, the Middle East, Asia and North Africa. Of course, one must always take into account the country's riskiness and from this point of view, with a risk index of 7/7 in the OECD category, the management of orders acquired in Venezuela needs the utmost precautions.
With reference to the types of works, the works to be carried out fall within the railway sector (28,5%), road works (22%) and hydraulic works (18%). We have also been witnessing, for some years now, the growth of orders relating to the residential, hospital, prison sector as well as interventions in the environmental field for which our local companies are acquiring jobs also for plants of the "waste to energy”, a sign that the know-how Italian is truly borderless.
