Statkraft Anlegg AS, the construction arm of Statkraft, the Norwegian power company, has been purchased by the giant Swedish construction company NCC Norge.
Statkraft has been a major pioneer of TBM tunnelling during the excavation of hundreds of kilometres of tunnel for Norway’s hydroelectric power development since the early 1960s. The company currently owns machinery which includes four Robbins TBMs and has been featured in T&T International as builders of hydropower projects in Norway and abroad.
"With purchase of all shares in Statkraft Anlegg AS, it is our intention to establish an international underground construction division in which all the NCC Group’s capacity and expertise in the area will be integrated to form a strong competitive tool in the Nordic and other markets," said Lars Wuopio, executive vice president of NCC AB.
Arnfinn Hardersen, CEO of Statkraft Anlegg AS, said the company had been looking for a partner to expand its interests both in the domestic and the international market. "NCC’s determined focus on international underground construction was a decisive factor in the decision to open negotiations with NCC. It has extensive experience in heavy civil construction and our leading edge expertise in the construction of power plants is a major attraction for development of the combined resources on the local Scandinavian and international markets.
"Statkraft has been working recently on international projects in Hong Kong and Bolivia as well as on projects in Scandinavia. There will be an advantage to many parties to present a large and very experienced tunnelling and ground excavation contractor to the current international stage."
Statkraft Anlegg AS has been an independent trading arm of the state owned Statkraft SF hydropower generating company of Norway since 1993.
The company had sales of approximately $47m in 1998 and employs about 250 people. NCC had a turnover of $4.3bn in the past year and its stock price increased by some 28%.
