Building a sustainable future Skanska

Skanska Sweden, like all the companies in the Skanska Group, is committed to leading the building and construction industry in sustainable technologies and business practices.

BUILDING A

SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

IN January 2014 more than 1000 employees of Swedish construction company Skanska will move into a new global headquarters in Stockholm. The new office building, designed and constructed by Skanska itself, is located in the Western Kungsholmen area of Stockholm, a district that is rapidly being transformed as new homes are built right up to the water’s edge, new restaurants and shops are opening and new offices are going up all along the central boulevard.

The new head office is itself an excellent example of what Skanska can deliver in environmentally friendly design and construction. It features a carefully controlled indoor climate with Skanska’s own Deep Green Cooling patented technology through which energy-efficient cooling is provided from 144 boreholes under the building. Heat in the summer is also used for pre-heating ventilation air in the winter and waste heat will be reused to provide heating for nearby homes. Environment-friendly pool cars will also be available as well as there being a large bicycle garage. Skanska even intends to install beehives on the building’s roof to help the local bee population to recover.

The facility will also include the latest project visualisation technology which will allow residential customers to experience and add colour to their new homes long before they are actually built; local politicians and planners will also be able to visualise and explore their ideas for new district developments years before they become a reality.

Across the market, across the world

Skanska Sweden is one of Sweden’s largest construction companies, with operations in building and civil engineering construction. It has some 11,000 employees and its revenues in 2012 amounted to approximately SEK 30 billion. Skanska in Sweden is also active in the development of residential construction and commercial premises.

The Swedish operation is, of course, part of the global Skanska Group, founded in

1887 in southern Sweden to manufacture concrete products and now one of the world’s largest construction companies, with some 57,000 employees worldwide. In Europe the Group is active not only in the Nordic markets of Sweden, Norway and Finland but also in Poland, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and the UK. It also has fast-growing operations in the USA and Latin America.

Skanska’s construction services include the building of large commercial and public buildings – office blocks, hospitals, schools, railway stations etc – bridges, roads and private homes. The company develops residential areas to include single-family and multi-family housing and takes care of all stages of these developments, from choosing the location to planning, designing, building, marketing and sales. It sees its core competence as understanding how people want to live their lives, and creating attractive new homes to meet these demands.

From hospitals to highways

The new contracts awarded to Skanska Sweden in 2013 give a good idea of the range of the division’s capabilities. At the beginning of the year Skanska signed a partnering agreement with Värmlands Läns Landsting

(County Council of the Värmland region) for the building and reconstruction at Centralsjukhuset (the Central Hospital) in Karlstad, Sweden. The contract value for the initial work is SEK 370M.

During the first phase, Skanska will construct a new operating unit building, House 60, and substitute premises in the existing House 53 and House 54. The new operating unit has a total area of about 29,000m2 on four floors, including a garage. The building is constructed according to a vision in which the operating unit is built around the needs of the patient. Sustainability is of great importance when it comes to choosing materials and there are high demands for energy efficiency. The goal for the building is to be LEED Health Care certified on level Gold. Work has started, and the building is planned to be completed the summer of 2016.

This order was followed by another contract to build the image and intervention centre at Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg, Sweden. The client is Västfastigheter. This SEK 300M contract comprises construction and conversion of a total area of about 22,000m2. The image and intervention centre will comprise functions and medical activities using advanced methods for image diagnostics and for treatment.

Skanska has been active at this hospital since 2011 with excavation, foundation-laying and frameworks, among other things. The current assignment will be the second phase, out of three, in developing the hospital. In the assignment, Skanska will make additional framework, installation and connection to the adjacent building. Work is set to start in the beginning of 2014 and is scheduled to conclude late 2015.

In 2013, Skanska also won a contract from AB Storstockholms Lokaltrafik, SL for the construction of a new bus depot in Charlottendal, Gustavsberg, east of Stockholm. This contract is worth SEK 375 M. The bus depot will be situated in Ekobacken 1, about two kilometres south of central Gustavsberg. It will be built to accommodate 140 buses and will, amongst other things, include a workshop, parking lots and offices.

Project work has already started and construction is planned for mid-January 2014. The facility is planned to be completed in the summer of 2016.

Also adding to its road-building experience, Skanska is to construct the last part of the E6 highway in south-west Sweden. The client is Trafikverket (the Swedish Transport Administration) and the contract is worth SEK 453 M.

The E6 road is an important infrastructure link between the Öresund, Gothenburg and Oslo regions. The last part that Skanska will complete is 7.5 kilometres, between Pålen and Tanumshede on the Swedish west coast. Construction work has started, and the road will open for traffic in the summer of 2015.

Helping to build communities

Skanska’s roots in Sweden run deep – construction is largely a local activity and the company’s projects place it in numerous communities. It is committed to being a responsible and appreciated community member, based both on how it carries out its projects and on its wider contribution.

Skanska believes that focused efforts are best, so it contributes what it knows and does best. It educates in safety, green building practices and technical know-how as well as supporting relevant local activities. n