The order book of Portuguese construction group Soares da Costa has increased by 9 percent following the award of two tenders in Luanda, Angola, the group said in a statement filed with Portugal’s stock market regulator, Comissão do Mercado de Valores Mobiliários (CMVM).

The two new projects are worth US$51.5 million and are to build office and retail buildings, which include foundations, finishing work and special installations.

According to Portuguese financial daily Jornal de Negócios, the group’s order book was worth 1.102 billion euros at the end of September 2012, of which 39 percent was related to work in Angola and 20 percent to work in Portugal.

Along with this, in December of last year Soares da Costa said that the work to build the basic infrastructure of the Fútila Industrial Hub, in Cabinda, Angola had been awarded to a consortium led by a subsidiary in which the group has a 50 percent share.

International business accounts for around 68 percent of the construction group’s business, and 41.8 percent of its international revenues are from Angola.

In the last few years Portuguese construction companies have looked to their international businesses as a way of overcoming the current standstill of the Portuguese construction sector. (macauhub)