HOCHTIEF ends 2007 with EUR 373 million contract

Subsidiary John Holland to construct water pipeline in Australia

Essen, Germany – Via its subsidiary John Holland Group Pty Ltd., HOCHTIEF has won a contract to deliver the Sugarloaf Pipeline project in Australia. Once completed, the water pipeline will transfer almost 75 billion liters of water annually to Melbourne. The contract volume amounts to EUR 373.7 million.

John Holland, a holding company of HOCHTIEF‘s subsidiary Leighton Holdings Limited, specializes, among others, in civil engineering projects in the field of energy and water supply. In the Sugarloaf Pipeline project, the company will lay the 70 kilometer pipeline linking Goulburn River to the Melbourne Sugerloaf Reservoir and support saving 225 billion litres of water each year. Construction will start in April 2008 and will be completed in 2010.

HOCHTIEF is one of the leading international providers of construction-related services. With nearly 47,000 employees and a sales volume of EUR 15.51 billion in FY 2006, the company is represented in all the world‘s major markets. The Group‘s service offering in the fields of development, construction, services, concessions and operation covers the entire life cycle of infrastructure projects, real estate and facilities. In the USA, the biggest construction market in the world, HOCHTIEF is the No. 1 general builder via its subsidiary Turner and, with its holding company Flatiron, ranks among the most important players in the field of transportation infrastructure construction. With its subsidiary Leighton, HOCHTIEF is market leader in Australia, and its holding Al Habtoor makes it one of the key vendors in the building construction and civil engineering market in the Gulf region.

Leighton Holdings Limited is the parent company of Australia’s largest project development and contracting group, which includes subsidiaries Thiess, John Holland, Leighton Contractors, Leighton International, Leighton Asia, and Leighton Properties. Leighton Group companies offer a broad range of construction, mining, and operations and maintenance services to the infrastructure, property and resources markets, and often take a concession role. With over 25,000 employees, the Group’s operations are spread all around the Asia-Pacific region on projects in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, India and the Arabian Gulf. Further information is available at www.leighton.com.au.