ALPINE, FCC's Austrian subsidiary, has won a contract to build a new lock at Vienna harbour to enable it to withstand floods in the Danube. The contract is worth 15 million euro.

The project consists of building a new gate 13.5 metres high and 26.5 wide in the environs of the Freudenau bridge. Work will be performed on the dike and Danube canal sides, and the dike will be sealed to a depth of 32 metres.

ALPINE will also build a pumping station to handle any increase in underground water flow due to heavy precipitation or floods, in order to avoid the consequences of a rise in water level, even when the gate is closed.

The work will be completed by the end of 2010, and shipping traffic will not be impeded at any time.

ALPINE operates worldwide. With approximately 3.3 billion euro in construction revenues and close to 14,300 employees, ALPINE is Austria's second-largest construction group. In 2007, ALPINE landed new contracts worth over 3 billion euro. FCC acquired 80% of Alpine in 2006 as part of the 2005-2008 Strategic Plan promoted by the company's leading shareholder, Esther Koplowitz.