Bouygues Construction, a world leader in building, civil works and electrical contracting and maintenance

Building is the original business of the Bouygues group, founded in 1952 by Francis Bouygues. In 1972, Bouygues successfully broke into the civil works market when it built the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, then the maritime works and oil and gas contracting market.

The 1990s saw an upsurge in the building and civil works business, mainly outside France. Prestigious projects were completed abroad (the Convention and Exhibition Centre in Hong Kong, motorways in Hungary, Tai Lam tunnels in Hong Kong and the Sydney CityRail airport link) and in France (the Normandy Bridge, Grande Arche complex and Stade de France stadium).

Bouygues Construction in brief

	Chairman & CEO: Yves Gabriel, appointed in September 2002
	Headcount at 31 December 2009: 52,599
	Sales: €9.5 billion in 2009
	Net profit (attributable to the Group): €240 million in 2009
	Majority shareholder: wholly owned by Bouygues
	Geographical scope: Bouygues Construction operates worldwide.

A world leader

Bouygues Construction is a world leader with prominent positions in the building, civil works and electrical contracting/maintenance markets. It is also expanding into other sectors, including public-private partnerships, concessions and property development. It combines the strength of a large group with the responsiveness of a network of smaller firms within seven complementary entities: Bouygues Bâtiment Ile-de-France, Bouygues Entreprises France-Europe, Bouygues Bâtiment International, Bouygues Travaux Publics, the Specialist Civil Works Division (VSL and DTP Terrassement), the Concessions Division and ETDE.

International expansion

Operating in nearly 80 countries, Bouygues Construction generated 44% of its sales outside France in 2009. The group is involved mainly in the European Union, Central and Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific and Africa. International expansion has been achieved by building up existing operations (UK and Switzerland), by acquisitions, by gaining a foothold in new markets (Qatar) and by forming partnerships with local companies.

Some of the major projects currently underway or recently completed include the Gautrain rapid rail link between Pretoria and Johannesburg in South Africa, several luxury tourist complexes in Cuba, the Hodariyat Bridge in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates), the Machang Bridge and Pusan Port in South Korea, the Tangiers ferry port and new container port in Morocco, the Sail@Marina Bay residential towers in Singapore, Surrey Hospital in Canada, hospitals, schools and social housing in London and the New Tyne Crossing in Newcastle (UK).

Development of a full-service offering

Thanks to synergies between its major subsidiaries, Bouygues Construction can offer its clients a comprehensive range of services throughout the project value chain, including needs analysis, financial and technical engineering, project development, design, turnkey projects, construction, maintenance and operation. The group works in close partnership with clients, getting involved very early on in large-scale or complex projects with tight deadlines or technical difficulties, packaged and project-financed developments, public-private partnerships, etc.

Sustainable development

Fully aware of the challenges and opportunities of sustainable development, Bouygues Construction signed up to the United Nations Global Compact in October 2006 and created a sustainable development department in early 2007. Combining the quest for performance with respect for people, the group's sustainable development policy has a long-term vision and a hands-on approach involving practical social and environmental initiatives. In order to better respond to changes in its business environment, in late 2009 Bouygues Construction gave responsibility for sustainable construction, research, development and innovation to a deputy CEO. 

(Updated: March 2010)