24 Sep 2013 07:00
For immediate release 24 September 2013
WYG plc
("Company" or "WYG")
€8.0 million Contract Wins in Western Balkans
WYG plc, the global management and technical consultancy to the built and natural environment, is pleased to announce a number of recent developments in the Western Balkans region.
During the current financial year we have won the following new contracts in Croatia, Kosovo*, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro, with a total value to the Company of more than €8.0 million over 2 years.
· In Croatia, a new member of the EU since July 2013, WYG has secured a major EU-funded contract for the provision of direct business advisory services to small and medium enterprises totalling €2.9 million.
· Using EU Structural Funds WYG, in partnership with local Croatian companies, has been awarded two contracts totalling €2.8 million for the development of projects aimed at protecting Croatia's water resources through improved water supplies and integrated waste water management systems in Istria and Dalmatia.
· WYG has also won two smaller projects to supervise construction of three wastewater treatment plants and irrigation systems, all of them located in coastal towns of Croatia.
· Under the EU funded IPF3 programme, WYG is working on four new high-profile projects released under that framework, including:
· In Croatia, WYG has started work on a feasibility study for the regulation of the Sava River in Zagreb. This is the largest single grant award (€1.5 million) made to date by the Western Balkans Investment Framework Steering Committee under the IPF3 programme.
· In Bosnia and Herzegovina, WYG has also recently started a €400,000 study into the possibility of introducing smart metering in the energy sector.
· In Montenegro, WYG is assisting the local authorities of seven municipalities with the procurement of works under a €114m water and wastewater programme, which is being funded in part by a €57m loan from the European Investment Bank.
· In Kosovo, in partnership with Corporate & Public Management Consulting Group, WYG has been awarded a €2.1 million EU-funded project to establish a system for effective medium-term planning, strategic decision-making and policy coordination that combines the European integration agenda into Kosovo's overall development agenda.
· Also in Montenegro, WYG has secured its first technical services project outside the IPF programme that has underpinned much of WYG's operations in the country. WYG has been appointed to supervise the construction of works to upgrade the water supply to Rozaje, a town of 25,000 people, using funding from central government and the European Investment Bank.
Paul Hamer, Chief Executive Officer of WYG, added:
"WYG first began working in the Western Balkans in the aftermath of the break-up of the Former Republic of Yugoslavia. Some 15 years later, we have built a substantial, permanent presence in the region with 8 offices and annual turnover of approximately €12 million."
"Building on this track record in the region, the project in Rozaje, Montenegro represents our first environmental project in one of the six non-EU states of the Western Balkans and our first win outside the €85 million IPF programme, demonstrating that our established presence in each country is now beginning to generate an increasing number of shortlistings for tenders and new wins."
"Today's news, in addition to the successes in Southern Africa that we reported on 30 July, demonstrates that we are making strong progress with our strategy of international growth through supporting the stabilisation of Fragile and Conflict Affected States, underpinning the Group's return to sustainable growth."
* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.
ENDS
WYG plc Tel: 0113 278 7111
Paul Hamer, Chief Executive Officer
Sean Cummins, Group Finance Director
MHP Communications Tel: 020 3128 8100
John Olsen / Katie Hunt / Vicky Watkins
Numis Securities Limited Tel: 020 7260 1000
Stuart Skinner/ Jamie Lillywhite (Nominated Adviser)
David Poutney/ Ben Stoop (Corporate Broker)
Notes to Editors
WYG is an established global management and technical consultancy to the built and natural environment that collaborates with clients in over 40 countries to help them realise their corporate and project ambitions.
A top 15 European consultancy and employing more than 1,400 people around the world, WYG has the expertise for every stage of a project's life-cycle from planning and design to building and completion.
WYG takes enormous pride in the work it does and has been recognised with several prestigious industry awards including: British Expertise International Awards 2011; RoSPA Occupational Health and Safety Gold Medal Award 2012, National Recycling Awards 2011.
WYG has been active in the Western Balkans since 1998 and has successfully delivered projects to the value of more than €120 million. Our activities in the region originally focussed on socio-economic development; more recently we have expanded into the provision of technical services.