Photographs : Alan Adams, Régis Bouchu, David Houlston, Dion Gray, Yves Boucaux, Chris Choo, Axel Heise, StT, Francis Vigouroux, Freyssinet picture library.

A n n u a l Re p o r t 2 0 0 6

Sustainable Technology

Contents Message from the Chairman p3 Profile p4 Key figures p5 Sustainable Technology p6 Structures p10 Soils p18

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Bruno Dupety CHAIRMAN DIRECTOR, SOILS DIVISION Jérôme Stubler DEPUTY GENERAL MANAGER DIRECTOR, STRUCTURES DIVISION Roger Bloomfield DIRECTOR, NORTH AMERICA DIVISION Philippe Héry DIRECTOR, TERRE ARMEE INTERNATIONALE Paul McBarron DIRECTOR, AUSTRALIA Jorge Moreno DIRECTOR, IBERIAN-AMERICAN DIVISION Patrick Nagle DIRECTOR, UNITED KINGDOM / NORTHERN EUROPE DIVISION Philippe Zanker DIRECTOR, FRANCE DIVISION Yann Grolimund ADMINISTRATIVE AND FINANCIAL DIRECTOR Claude Lascols HUMAN RESOURCES AND COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR

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Message from the Chairman

Sustainable Technology 2006 has been a further year of growth and improving results for Freyssinet. Our consolidated turnover of 619 million euro constitutes an increase of 22% on 2005, while our operating result was 7%, exceeding the target of our 4-5-6 action plan. In parallel, our cash flow has continued to improve, reaching more than 56 million euro at the year-end, and our net profits after tax were 31.7 million euro (5.1% of turnover), placing us at the top of the group of VINCI Construction companies. Over the year, the group’s activities were illustrated by its involvement in prestigious projects in the field of structures, such as the Orinoco bridge in Venezuela, for which we installed the stay cables, in the field of soils, such as the Weekhawken soil consolidation project, a site facing the Manhattan skyscrapers in the United States, the construction of cut-and-cover trenches using TechSpan precast arches in South Korea, and the construction of a soil-bentonite anti-pollution barrier wall in Mayfield, Australia. The plan 6+ we are now launching is a continuation of the above. For the group, this means pursuing a dynamic of growth and sustainable results. We now add a further dimension, constituting our total commitment to everything “Sustainable”, in terms of our techniques, products, practices and the men and women who work, or hope to work, in our companies. For these people, we will also be stepping up our recruitment, training, motivation and safety efforts. All this gives a positive meaning to what we do and allows us to look to the future with confidence.

Bruno Dupety Chairman

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70 subsidiaries throughout the world

Profile

4,330 employees 6,500 projects undertaken per year throughout the world

The Freyssinet group, a subsidiary of VINCI Construction, is made up of unequaled expertise and skills in the specialist civil engineering sector, where it implements high added-value solutions in two major fields: structures and soils. In 2006, Freyssinet recorded a consolidated turnover of 619 million euro, an operating result of 7% and net profits after tax of 31.7 million euro (5.1% of consolidated turnover). The Group has over 70 operating subsidiaries on all five continents, and employs 4,330 people. Its structure is based on its business areas and geographical divisions, which gives it both worldwide expertise and strong local roots. With a set of technical solutions and know-how in line with the principal environmental sustainable development criteria, the Freyssinet group is working towards developing its range of services with a view to improve sustainable development. In parallel, it is strengthening its policy on social responsibility and is committed to finding innovative solutions.

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Consolidated turnover 619 million euro

Key figures

Total workforce 4,330

Employees by category

Employees by division North America: 283

Executives: 747

France: 549 Iberian-American: 492

Manual workers and staff employees: 2,083

Asia-Pacific: 1,298

United Kingdom / Northern Europe: 287

Soils: 389 Technicians: 1,500 Structures: 1,032

Distribution of turnover by business area

Distribution of turnover by division

Structures: 18%

North America: 12%

Reinforced Earth: 29% Freyssinet: 60%

Asia-Pacific: 17%

Soils: 40% Structures: 60% Ménard: 11%

Soils: 13%

United Kingdom/ Northern Europe: 8%

France: 14%

Iberian-American: 18%

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In 2006, Freyssinet committed resolutely to sustainability. This commitment included an in-depth study of the CO2 production linked to the activities of its two main specialist areas: soils and structures. As a mark of this new direction and the commitment of its three entities (Freyssinet, Reinforced Earth and Ménard), the group adopted a new motto at the beginning of 2007: “Sustainable Technology”.

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Social commitment Safety The group already has employee education programs in place throughout the world (such as the “Safety First!” scheme, campaigning against drug-addiction, holding safety seminars and regularly organizing methods training before starting work on sites). The group has now stepped up its efforts to improve risk prevention and its safety results at a local level. In 2006, Austress Freyssinet, Pannon Freyssinet, PSC Freyssinet and Tierra Armada, the Australian, Hungarian, Malaysian and Spanish subsidiaries, appointed a local safety representative and launched a risk prevention plan. In France, within the group’s nuclear division, Mecatiss organized “first aider” training courses and Salvarem drew up a safety repository, which it deploys on all of the sites it works on. Freyrom (the Romanian subsidiary) and the Freyssinet Rhône-Alpes and South West (France) regional offices have taken the preliminary steps towards obtaining OHSAS (Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series) 18001 safety certification. Also in France,

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the Freyssinet South East regional office has renewed its MASE (company safety improvement manual certification) for the next three years.

Recruitment and training

1) With partnerships with various colleges, Freyssinet welcomed pupils of the École nationale des ponts et chaussées onto the site of the Oum er-Rebia bridge, Morocco, in 2006.

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Over the year, the Freyssinet group recruited 1,168 people on permanent contracts, 596 on fixed-term contracts and 18 people within the scope of apprenticeship/employment contracts, increasing its total workforce by 26% in relation to 2005 (4,330 employees in 2006 in comparison to 3,638 in 2005). Notably, targeted actions (promotion, sponsorship, forums) took place with vocational training colleges, universities and higher education institutions the world over to provide information about the different business areas of

2) Shotcreting apprenticeship training.

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specialist civil engineering and to attract young people to the company. In France, Salvarem, which works in the very specific nuclear market, joined forces with a college in Cherbourg to create a specialized vocational diploma focused on its core business.

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3) Various training courses on management and sales techniques were organized throughout the year.

Throughout the year, the Freyssinet group stepped up its training efforts. In addition to regularly organized local courses, 3,706 hours of theoretical and practical training (expansion joints, formwork-reinforcement, shotcreting, structural repair, prestressing installation) were given to 136 employees in the Eugène Freyssinet in-house training center situated at Le Perray-en-Yvelines in the Paris region. This represented an increase of 58% in numbers of training hours and 6% in numbers of trainees in relation to 2005. The “Prestressing Specialist (CMP)“ training course was organized on an international scale, with sessions in Belgium (10 people, 400 hours), Dubai (14 people, 448 hours) and Morocco (7 people, 105 hours). Internal management and sales training schemes organized by an outside consultant also took place throughout the year in various countries.

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Sustainable Technology Social action

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In Spain, Tierra Armada, Freyssinet’s Spanish subsidiary, renewed its collaboration with the Aprocor foundation (Asociación Pro - Centros Ocupacionales y Residenciales) in 2006, promoting the insertion of people with mental illnesses into the world of work. In France, PPC, the group’s production plant, situated near Saint-Eusèbe (Saône-et-Loire) recruited several people from a CAT (help centers promoting the professional insertion of handicapped people).

Knowledge sharing 1) Freyssinet was an active participant in the fib congress from 5 to 8 June 2006 in Naples (Italy).

2) Calculations carried out by the company confirmed that the techniques of the group produce less CO2 than other traditional solutions. Compared with preloading, the Menard Vacuum atmospheric consolidation process, for example, cuts CO2 emissions by one quarter.

Within each of their fields, the companies of the Freyssinet group participated actively in colloquia, exhibitions, various committees and the work groups of the international standards organizations. In June 2006, Freyssinet took part in the fib congress (fédération internationale du béton) in Naples. This takes place every four years, and brings together the world’s major concrete experts. In France, the group collaborated with the AFGC (Association française du génie civil). In Spain, Tierra Armada and Freyssinet were involved in the work of bodies such as the ACHE (Asociación científica del hormigón estructural), the Anipar (Asociación nacional de industrias de pantallas y dispositivos antirruido), the ATC (a composite reinforcing elements working group), etc. In the United States, the group continued its cooperation with the PTI (Post-Tensioning Institute). On a world scale, numerous exchanges took place with the IABSE (International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering), IGS (International Geosynthetics Society), of which Terre Armée Internationale is a corporate member, etc.

Environmental performance

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3) In December 2006, just one year after winning the Grand Prize at the VINCI Innovation Awards in 2005, Freyssinet’s Cohestrand cable system was awarded the Grand Prize at the European Innovation Awards in Monaco.

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In 2006, the group calculated the CO2 emissions from its sites (materials and labour), using the carbon count method developed by VINCI Construction. The results showed that the solutions proposed by the group would reduce carbon dioxide emissions compared with traditional techniques, particularly stay cables, with a service life in excess of 100 years; prestressed concrete floors, which use less materials than reinforced concrete floors; Reinforced Earth walls, which represent average annual savings of 1,500,000 T of CO2 compared with walls cast in-situ; the Menard Vacuum soil atmospheric consolidation process, which reduces CO2 emissions by a factor of 3 or 4 compared with traditional processes; etc. More generally, the carbon count confirmed the appeal of the group’s civil engineering structural repair, strengthening and maintenance solutions in terms of saving natural resources. By preserving and restoring old or under-sized structures using innovative and non-polluting techniques such as cathodic protection or composite material reinforcement, Freyssinet offers clients solutions that will allow them to avoid totally or partly demolishing and then re-building their structures. Worldwide, the group is committed to limiting the environmental impact of its activities. Tierra Armada, the Spanish subsidiary, has invested nearly 243,000 euro in improving its production system and equipping itself with storage containers. This investment is part of the company’s drive to obtain ISO 14001 environmental management system certification for its business. In France, PPC, the group’s production plant, has moved to a larger site at Saint-Eusèbe, enabling it to optimize its selective waste sorting system. This system involves the use of seven 3 to 20 m3 bins for outsized scrap, steel, wood, board, plastic, non-hazardous industrial waste and paper and containers for hazardous industrial waste. In Morestel (Isère), the group’s subsidiary Mecatiss has also equipped itself with storage containers, completing its selective sorting system with a waste reprocessing

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monitoring system. As a result of this commitment towards waste recovery, processing and destruction, the company was awarded a corporate eco-citizen certificate by JPR Metal Company in 2005. At the beginning of 2006, the Freyssinet South East and Île-de-France - Normandie regional offices embarked upon the formalities for obtaining ISO 14001 certification, while at the same time organizing selective waste sorting and the installation of storage containers and bins. Lastly, to measure the improvements of its environmental performance from 2007, the group has defined a series of environmental indicators (certification, water and electricity consumption in the administrative site and office areas, CO2 consumption of the fleet of company vehicles, environmental training record based on numbers of training hours given and numbers of trainees) in all its activities throughout the world.

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Innovation

1) In New South Wales (Australia), Austress Menard constructed a soil-bentonite barrier wall to prevent the pollutants in the soil of an old steelworks from polluting the Hunter River.

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3) In Malaysia, Reinforced Earth used its innovative Omega synthetic connection system to create two river retaining walls in the suburbs of Kuala Lumpur.

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Central to the work of Freyssinet, Ménard and Terre Armée, innovation remains a strategic development axis for the group, which, in 2006, allocated 1.5% of its turnover to innovation throughout the world. Work was carried out inhouse or in close collaboration with different research laboratories and universities in order to provide clients with solutions that are safe, durable and environmentally sound. For Freyssinet, a high point of the year was the use of the APS process (Air Pad Transport System based on sliding) and the Megasteel shoring system, both developed by Swiss subsidiary Hebetec, to install the deck of a railway bridge in Seine-Maritime that was precast approximately 50 m from its final position. One year after Freyssinet won the Grand Prize at the VINCI Innovation Awards, the Cohestrand was recognized again, at the end of 2006, with the Grand Prize at the European Innovation Awards, an award that aims to promote European industry and applied research, in recognition of the work of independent researchers, universities and companies in Europe. In the field of MSE walls, Reinforced Earth was given the French Ivor award for its Omega process, a system removing all metal intermediate structural parts between facing panels and reinforcements in retaining walls, which was validated on a major structure in Morzine (Isère). This innovative, corrosion-resistant connection solution, which enables retaining structures to be erected in aggressive environments (marine environment, acid pH backfill etc.), quickly found its place in the market. In the suburbs of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, it was used to construct two 6,220 m2 long retaining walls along the Ampang river. In Australia, Austress Menard used the soil-bentonite wall technique for environmental protection purposes for the second time. This time, it was to prevent the pollution of the Hunter River on the edge of the former Newcastle steelworks in New South Wales. The 1.5 km long wall, with a depth of 15 to 45 m, was built around the edge of a 35 ha contaminated area to cancel out the hydraulic gradient between the river and the contaminated area, thereby substantially reducing the inflow of pollutants into the river.

2) Initially developed

by Hebetec to move ships on the shipbuilding sites of South Korea, the APS Air Pad. Transport System allowed to install the deck of a railway bridge in Seine-Maritime during summer 2006.

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60% of turnover 1

1) In Baja-California (Mexico), Freyssinet installed the prestressing of the Costa Azul liquefied natural gas storage tank.

Using its historic know-how in prestressing and structural cables, the Freyssinet group has developed a full range of solutions for the construction, repair and maintenance of structures of all types. The many projects undertaken over the year have shown off the range of techniques mastered by the group, notably in the field of repairs, growing rapidly throughout the world, and prestigious cable-stayed projects.

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New structures

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Prestressing In the field of building, Freyssinet assisted with the construction of numerous structures throughout the world. In the United Kingdom, on the site of the Blenheim Centre, a vast building complex in the outskirts of London, 323 T of prestressing were installed for the floors. In Singapore, in the Cendex Center, a vast service-sector complex comprising offices and car-parks, 53,000 m2 of prestressed concrete floors were installed by the group’s local subsidiary. In Malaysia, on the island of Penang, Freyssinet PSC supplied and, during the year, began the installation of the prestressing for the 55,000 m2 of flooring of the Skyhome, a 33-floor tower. In Argentina, Freyssinet prestressing was also installed in two prestigious buildings in

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1) The 300 m high Eureka Tower in Melbourne (Australia) benefits from prestressed concrete floors.

2) In Morocco, Freyssinet installed 272 T of prestressing on the Oum er-Rebia bridge.

3) On the site of Dubai’s new aerial metro, Freyssinet, as part of a joint-venture, embarked upon one of the largest projects in its history, namely precasting 14,500 segments and installing them using trusses.

Buenos Aires: the Biseil (15,000 m2 of floors) and the Hipodromo II (12,000 m2). Finally, in Melbourne, Australia, the Eureka residential tower (300 m high, 92 floors) was opened in December 2006. The Freyssinet teams had been installing the prestressing for the floors on this remarkable project since 2002. In the field of bridges, large amounts of prestressing were installed by Freyssinet in Morocco, on the Oum er-Rebia bridge, and on several viaducts linking Tanger-Oued R’Mel and Marrakech-Agadir. In Dubai, Freyssinet began the precasting of approximately 14,500 prestressed beams as part of a consortium, which were needed for the laying out of two future aerial metro lines in the Emirate (one 45 km and the other 10 km). The company will install the beams using trusses. In Saudi Arabia, Freyssinet was involved in the construction of the

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structures

1) In Algésiras, Freyssinet is installing the 3,870 T of horizontal and vertical prestressing of the Adriatico LNG storage tank.

Jamarat bridge, a 4-tier prestressed concrete structure on the holy site of Mina. The company notably supplied the Freyssibar bars for the temporary prestressing of the segments. In Laos, near Savannakhet, Freyssinet supplied and installed the interior and exterior prestressing (1,410 T) for a new 1, 430 m long bridge crossing the Mékong, which was opened at the end of the year. In Thailand, Freyssinet’s local subsidiary began the installation of the prestressing for the Suvarnabhumi Airport Rail Link, a 28 km stretch of elevated railway linking the center of Bangkok to the new airport. In Mexico, 200 km north of the capital, Freyssinet de México completed the construction of three

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road bridges as general contractor in the town of Querétaro in August. In the industrial sector, also in Mexico, the company’s involvement in the construction of the Costa Azul liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage tank continued in Baja California, where 930 T of prestressing will be installed. In Spain, 3,870 T of horizontal and vertical prestressing were installed in Algésiras for the construction of the Adriatico, an LNG storage tank of monumental proportions (180 m x 88 m and 47 m deep) constructed on dry land which, after being transferred to Italy and then partly submerged to secure it to the sea bed, will supply the town of Venice. In Nigeria, on the Bonny Island gas field, Freyssinet is supplying and installing the prestressing of the sixth of the site’s LNG storage tanks, a 43 m structure with a diameter of 61 m.

Stay cables Over the year, the group again stood out through its involvement in the construction of major cable stayed structures throughout the world. In Las Palmas, on the island of Gran Canaria (Spain), Freyssinet took four weeks to complete the installation of 30 stay cables on the 35 m high tower supporting the deck of the 100 m long

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A turnkey project In Mexico, 200 km north of the capital, Freyssinet de México completed the construction of three road bridges as general contractor in the town of Querétaro in August. For this project, the company was also in charge of installing a precasting plant, close to the works area, to produce the deck beams and the panels of the Reinforced Earth walls.

Escaleritas bridge. The structure has an original stay cable design (arranged on a single plane at the front and fanning out at the back). In Hungary, 70 km from Budapest in Dunaujvaros, Pannon Freyssinet installed the 48 hangers of a new 312 m long structure crossing the Danube by the M8 motorway. In Russia, Freyssinet won the contract for the supply and installation of the 72 stay cables of the Cerebryani Bor bridge at the beginning of the year, an unusual 410 m long structure with a 102 m high metal arch located in the Silver Woods area to the west of Moscow. In Kazakhstan, the company installed 56 stay cables on the Astana arch bridge using the H1000 system, the latest generation of Freyssinet small-unit stay cables. In Asia, in the suburbs of Bangkok (Thailand), Freyssinet was involved in various parts of the Industrial Ring Road project: the company installed the prestressing on a number of viaducts and interchanges and was involved in the construction of the

1) On the construction site of the second bridge over the Orinoco river in Venezuela, Freyssinet put its know-how to use in the field of stay cables, expansion joints, bearings and paraseismic devices.

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Sobrr cable-stayed bridge between the towns of Bang Pli and Suk Sawat, a 950 m long structure with a 500 m central span fitted with 168 white stay cables. In Vietnam, Freyssinet installed the stay cables and multitube deviation saddles on the Nga Tu So extradosed bridge, south west of Hanoi. The structure, the first of its type in the country, was opened on 19 May 2006. Finally, in the Americas, the year was marked by the completion of the bridge crossing the Orinoco river in Venezuela, a 3,180 m long structure with a main bridge of 1,080 m, suspended by 176 stay cables (1,400 T).

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2) In Thailand, Freyssinet carried out the cable staying of the 500 m long central span of the Sobrr bridge.

Deck construction

3) The deck of the Dunaujvaros bridge (Hungary) over the Danube is suspended by 48 Freyssinet stay cables.

After acquiring JMB Méthodes in January 2005, Freyssinet undertook various Autoripage® sliding and Autofonçage® sinking projects during the year. These included sliding a

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structures

1) In Forges-les-Eaux (SeineMaritime), Freyssinet used the APS Air Pad Transport System developed by Hebetec for the first time to slide a railway engineering structure into place on 19 and 20 August 2006.

2,050 T railway bridge, near Châteaudun (Eure-et-Loir), over 40 m using the Autoripage® sliding technique and two 1,000 T jacks, and installing a railway bridge in Saint-Rémy (Saône-et-Loire) using the Autofonçage® sinking technique. Using the know-how of its Swiss subsidiary, the heavy lifting specialist Hebetec, Freyssinet moved a railway engineering structure using the APS (Air Pad Transport System) in Forges-les-Eaux (Seine-Maritime) at the end of August. Until now, Hebetec had been using the system on the shipbuilding sites of South Korea. In Hong Kong, as part of the Sha Tin Heights project on a section of highway 8, Freyssinet used a launching beam to install the 203 precast segments required for the construction of two approach viaducts, one to the south (seven spans) and the other to the north (six spans). Freyssinet then prestressed the segments.

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Heavy lifting

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Two years after the acquisition of Hebetec, the Freyssinet group has strengthened its position as world specialist in heavy load lifting. In mid-March 2006, Freyssinet’s Spanish subsidiary used 96 hydraulic jacks and an automated LAO (computer aided lifting) system to remove the 14 shoring elements of the monumental cantilevers of the Princess Letizia conference center in Oviedo (principality of Asturias, Spain). Hebetec used its Megasteel shoring system and 80 jacks to lift the roof of the Salzburg football stadium (Austria) over 11 m, a 140 x 180 m structure weighing 2,100 T. 2) Hebetec, the specialist in heavy lifting and handling, lifted and installed the 2,100 T roof of the new Salzburg Stadium (Austria).

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Structural fittings The Freyssinet group has installed accessories designed and produced in its production plants on a number of structures this year. In Morocco and in Spain, on the Oum er-Rebia and Escaleritas bridges, Freyssinet supplied and installed the bearings and expansion joints. On the Orinoco bridge in Venezuela, the group also

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installed the stay cables, bearings, expansion joints and Transpec paraseismic devices, assuring the connection between the spans of the approach viaducts.

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Repair, strengthening and maintenance Structural strengthening In France, the country in which the company’s repair and strengthening business began, Freyssinet was involved in work on various structures. The company applied carbon fiber fabric (TFC®, patented system) to the Gagnac bridge in Lot. The company strengthened a 415 m viaduct using additional prestressing in Pont-àMousson (Meurthe-et-Moselle).

1) As part of the country’s R14 infrastructure upgrade program, the group’s Romanian subsidiary Freyrom repaired the Tomsani and Comanesti bridges.

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2) In the Paris region of France, Freyssinet restored the roof of automotive manufacturer Renault’s Technocentre. 3) Additional prestressing works to the Bagnolet municipal technical center (France).

Freyssinet continued its shotcrete and grout strengthening of the arch of the RER line C between the Gare d’Austerlitz and Quai d’Orsay stations in Paris. In the field of building, in France, Freyssinet carried out the underpinning of the Arras Theatre (Pas-de-Calais) using stringers and micropiles and strengthened the beams of the Union Hospital, near Toulouse (Haute-Garonne), using TFC® and shotcrete. Freyssinet was asked to restore the fire-damaged municipal technical center in the Paris suburb of Bagnolet using shotcrete and additional prestressing. Finally, Freyssinet strengthened the entire roof of the Renault Technocentre in Guyancourt (Yvelines) using additional prestressing and replacing beams. In Romania, the group’s subsidiary Freyrom restored the Comanesti and Tomsani bridges and two engineering structures as part of the R14 program for bringing a series of bridges into line with European standards. In Asia, Freyssinet’s subsidiary strengthened two buildings using TFC® bonding in Changi and Bukit Batok on the island of Singapore. In New South Wales (Australia), Austress Freyssinet strengthened the structure of the Westpoint Blacktown shopping center by creating columnbeam connections using Freyssibar prestressing bars. Finally, in the United States,

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structures 1) In the heart of Washington (United States), American subsidiary Freyssinet LLC repaired two Tidal Basin concrete bridges using three techniques: shotcreting, crack injection and leveling.

in the historic Washington Monument district, Freyssinet restored two reinforced concrete engineering structures built at the beginning of the 20th century using shotcreting and crack injection techniques, marking its largest ever repair project.

Structural protection 2) In Wales (United Kingdom), Freyssinet continued its concrete strengthening work and corrosion-protection of the reinforcements of the South Hook port facility where an LNG terminal will be built.

Among other civil engineering structures, in France, the Freyssinet teams applied a double exterior sealing and interior waterproofing coating to the Vento water tower in Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône). Freyssinet, specialist in the treatment of reinforcements with cathodic protection

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and carbon loaded conductive paint processes, completed two large projects during the year: “les Vagues” building in Biarritz (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), and a 56 m bridge located at Wimereux (Pas-de-Calais). In the United Kingdom, Freyssinet and British subsidiary CCSL (Corrosion Control Services), using exactly the same techniques, pooled their expertise to treat the concrete reinforcements of the Stylo Matchmaker building in Northampton and the reinforcements of the South Hook jetty in Wales, a disused former tanker terminal currently being converted into a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal. In Huelva, Spain, Freyssinet continued the restoration work of the Rio Tinto wharf (began in 2003) and embarked upon a new phase with the application of an epoxy paint designed to render steel passive. In Melbourne (Australia), the subsidiary Austress Freyssinet began repair work to the Swanson Dock, consisting of shotcreting, installing a protective liner for the piles and applying a cathodic protection. Finally, in the state of Campeche in the south of Mexico, Freyssinet de México applied a cathodic protection to the La Unidad bridge, which links Ciudad del Carmen and the continent.

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3) Freyssinet, specialist in the repair of hydraulic structures, carried out the interior and exterior waterproofing of the Vento water tower in Marseille (France).

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1) In Fort Lauderdale, Florida (United States), on one of the I75-I585 interchange bridges, Freyssinet LLC carried out acoustic monitoring to check the prestressing ducts prior to cement grouting work.

2) In mid-November, the Freyssinet teams replaced the expansion joints of the Arrêt-Darré viaduct in Hautes-Pyrénées (France).

Maintenance In France, on the A64 motorway near Tarbes (Hautes-Pyrénées), Freyssinet replaced the expansion joints of the Arrêt-Darré viaduct, a 512 m long, curved and sharply sloping structure (3.78 %). In the Paris region, near Dourdan, the company used computer aided lifting (LAO) to lift a 2,200 T overpass in order to replace the bearings. In Spain, Freyssinet entirely dismantled and replaced the 250 m2 glass roof of the Abando station in Bilbao. With proven experience in the replacement of stay cables on structures in service, Freyssinet, in 2006, continued with the replacement of the 15 stay cables of the Penang bridge in Malaysia before winning the contract to replace all the cables at the end of the year. Similar work was carried out in Argentina on the Zarate bridge, which crosses the Parana Guazu

Stay cable replacement On the west coast of Malaysia, the only link between the peninsula and the island of Penang is a 13.5 km cable-stayed bridge (8.5 km of which is over water), comprising a cablestayed section of 225 m. Over the year, Freyssinet replaced part of the cables without disrupting traffic. At the end of the year, the company won the contract to replace all the cables.

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river, 100 km from Buenos Aires. On this same structure, Freyssinet replaced the stay cables and installed the equivalent of 400 T of sheathed and waxed galvanized strands covered in an HDPE sheath. In the United States, the Freyssinet teams, using a georadar and endoscope, inspected 10,000 m of prestressing cables and 628 anchors of an interchange bridge located on the I75 and I585 intersection near Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for the FDOT (Florida Department of Transportation), in order to reapply grout to the defective areas.

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1) The Rugeley bridge, in the United Kingdom, was built using TechSpan precast arches and TerraTrel welded mesh panels covered with a brick cladding.

2) In Hamburg (Germany), two controlled modulus column (CMC) teams were dispatched to treat a 40,000 m2 storage platform.

Through the Reinforced Earth and Ménard brands, the group has a full range of solutions for foundations, retaining walls and soil improvement. The year was marked by a number of Reinforced Earth retaining wall projects, particularly in the Iberian-American division, and a large number of operations in the United Arab Emirates for Ménard, which has increased the number of controlled modulus column (CMC) projects throughout the world.

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Soil improvement

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Soil improvement without additional material On the construction site of the A71 motorway near Erfurt in Germany, the Ménard teams detected voids where the gypsum had dissolved using dynamic compaction. The innovative MARS system (Mass Automatic Release System) was used on this 96,000 m2 traditional site, generating energy of 800 T/m in free fall. In the Middle East, this area of business was very busy throughout the year. In the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates, Ménard consolidated a 95,000 m2 platform on the side of a lake, where 100 chalets for a large hotel will be built. A 150,000 m2 platform has been constructed in Saudi Arabia. In the Ras Laffan gas field in Qatar, two soil improvement projects were undertaken for two liquefied natural gas

1) To treat unstable soil on the A71 motorway in Germany, Ménard used its dynamic compaction system and the MARS system (Mass Automatic Release System).

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2) In south Vietnam, using its Menard Vacuum and vertical drains processes, Ménard consolidated a 240 000 m2 area of clay soil in Ca Mau, where a power station will be built.

3) Pressiometer tests on the Ras Laffan gas field in Qatar.

storage tanks. In Oman, soil consolidation work over an area of 20,000 m2 began for a future Alstom power station. In the Emirate of Ras al Khaima, Ménard completed the treatment of a 300,000 m2 area using dynamic compaction. In south east Asia, the company completed the installation of the Menard Vacuum atmospheric consolidation system in south Vietnam for treating the soil of the future Ca Mau power station. In the United States, the group was involved in major vertical drainage projects through its subsidiary DGIMenard. In New Jersey, 67,000 drains were installed on the Egg Harbor site, near Atlantic City, to consolidate an area of 50,000 m2 where two buildings, a clubhouse and a swimming pool will be built. Also in New Jersey, 60,000 vertical drains, combined with dynamic compaction,

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soils were used for the EnCap project, one of the country’s most ambitious development programs involving the construction of housing, hotels, a shopping center and a golf course. 1) In the United States, on a site where a luxury property complex will be built on the banks of the Hudson, Ménard installed 2,500 deep CMC (21-30 m).

2) Locating CMC positions by GPS on a site in Hamburg (Germany).

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Soil improvement with additional material In France, Ménard consolidated a platform on the Triscatin Georges-Besse II uranium enrichment site between Lyon and Valence (Rhône), which required the installation of 30,000 ml of stone columns and 30,000 ml of vibrofloated columns. In Champagné, Sarthe, Ménard used several of its flagship technologies to treat the soil beneath future warehouses and roads: dynamic replacement, dynamic compaction (40,000 m2) and CMC (12,000 columns). In the United Kingdom, in Dartford,

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near London, 3,000 CMC were installed to consolidate the soil under a future road to be built over backfill under a high-voltage line, which therefore required the use of a machine fitted with a special mast. In Germany, on the Fiege storage platform in Hamburg, Ménard dispatched two teams to the site to consolidate the ground with 40,000 m2 of CMC within a very tight deadline. In Spain, Barcelona, Ménard treated the soil of the Vela Hotel designed by the architect Ricardo Bofill using CMC.

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In the United States, three major CMC projects were undertaken over the year. The most spectacular, in view of its location facing the Manhattan skyscrapers, involved the installation of 2,500 of CMC on the banks of the Hudson, on a site where a luxury property development will be built. In Lockhaven, Pennsylvania, DGI-Menard won the contract for the installation of 4,600 of CMC, which will form the foundations of an industrial site. Finally, in Boston, DGI-Menard installed nearly 1,000 CMC, at depths of between 9 and 12 m, to consolidate the ground on which two residential buildings will be built as part of the Squantum Gardens project.

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In 2006, Ménard undertook a large number of jet-grouting projects. In France, right in the center of Lyon, the company constructed a wall made up of reinforced secant columns to enable the construction of an access road to the metro for firefighters. The same technique was used to strengthen the foundations of the new northern rampart of the château de Saumur (Maine-et Loire). In Australia, Austress Menard strengthened the docks in Brisbane and Sydney using jet-grouting and solid injection.

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Finally, using this technique for the second time for environmental protection, Austress Menard constructed a soil-bentonite wall 180 km to the north of Sydney in order to prevent the pollution of the Hunter River, which runs alongside a site occupied by the former Newcastle steelworks for more than a century.

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1) In New South Wales (Australia), Ménard constructed a barrier wall to prevent contaminated industrial ground from polluting the adjoining Hunter River.

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Reinforced Earth

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4) In Croatia, Terre Armée designed and assisted with the assembly of various retaining walls on the Dugopolje-Bisko motorway section.

As world leader in the construction of Reinforced Earth retaining walls, the companies of the group were involved in numerous prestigious projects. In France, Terre Armée designed the TerraClass and TerraTrel access ramps, on behalf of Freyssinet, for the passerelle de l’Épine footbridge constructed in the eastern suburbs of Paris. In Spain, this area of business involved the design of the Reinforced Earth access ramps of the Escaleritas bridge on the island of Gran Canaria; the construction of a 12 m high Reinforced Earth wall in brickwork to repair an engineering structure on the TF-82 road section at Adeje, in the south of the island of Tenerife; finally, the construction of the Madrid ring road. As one of the largest development projects of the current time, this operation required different areas of expertise from the group’s subsidiary Tierra Armada, which designed and then supplied the materials required to construct the temporary and permanent retaining walls and the prestressing beams of the cut-and-cover structures. On the Dogopolje-Bisko motorway section in Croatia, the French subsidiary Terre Armée

2) In Milwaukee (United States), MSE designed Reinforced Earth walls decorated with original motifs recalling a page of local history for the Marquette interchange.

3) On the site of the new Madrid ring road (Spain), Tierra Armada designed and supplied retaining walls and precast prestressed beams.

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soils 1

1) On the site of the Sishen mine (South Africa), Reinforced Earth used the TerraNail (anchored composite earth is used to construct a very high Reinforced Earth structure on an existing slope, leaving only a 2 m space at the base) and TerraTrel techniques to build a very high wall (14 m).

2) In South Korea, the first TechSpan arches constructed by Freyssinet Korea represents a total length of more than 2,000 m.

designed and assembled two retaining walls representing a total area of 12,500 m2 with Freyssisol facing. In Morocco, the same subsidiary designed a solution of Reinforced Earth ramps with Freyssisol facing for a railway line crossing structure in Malabata, near Tangiers. In South Africa, Reinforced Earth undertook its second TerraNail project on the Ugie-Langenie section. The technique was combined with TerraClass (16,800 m2) and TerraTrel (1,050 m2) retaining walls. For the Sishen iron mine, also in South Africa, the company again used the TerraNail technique and a 3,230 m2 TerraTrel wall. In Malaysia, in the suburbs of Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian subsidiary Reinforced Earth Management Services completed the second major Omega synthetic connection system project. Developed by Reinforced Earth, this innovative procedure was used to construct two river retaining walls. In the Americas, this area of business, in addition to other work, involved the construction of Reinforced Earth retaining walls for the Marquette interchange in Milwaukee (Wisconsin), United States, which are decorated with architectural motifs recalling a page of local history. In Tampa, Florida, Reinforced Earth assisted in the development of interchanges that will improve service to the local airport by designing 37 permanent retaining structures, totaling an area of 60,000 m2, and 17 temporary walls. In Canada, the group’s subsidiary Reinforced Earth designed the retaining wall of a railway interchange at Snider Diamond, near Toronto, capable of withstanding heavy rail loads. In Mexico, close to the capital’s airport, Tierra Armada designed and supplied the materials and equipment required to erect a 12,000 m2 wall. Further south, in Brazil, Terra Armada constructed four large structures representing a total area of 27,000 m2 of retaining walls: 5,600 m2 of Reinforced Earth access ramps in Natal; 9,000 m2 of retaining walls at Manaus; 7,870 m2 of Reinforced Earth access ramps in the state of Rio de Janeiro; 4,400 m2 of retaining walls in the state of Santa Catarina. In Argentina, Freyssinet’s subsidiary Tierra Armada constructed approximately 65,000 m2 of retaining walls over the year. The largest, constructed in the provinces of Buenos Aires (structure RP n° 36) and Santa Fe (structure RN11), represented areas of 9,000 and 6,380 m2, respectively.

Precast arches 2

TechSpan precast arches, another specialty offered by the network of Terre Armée companies, have been shown off in various ambitious projects over the course of the year. In France, on the A89 motorway near Thenon (Dordogne), Terre Armée marked a first, in collaboration with its Spanish sister company, by constructing a cut-and-cover tunnel using two 130 m long precast arches, each consisting of 220 components. To illustrate another type of application, the TechSpan arches were used to reconstruct a three-arch bridge in the United Kingdom: under its brick cladding, the new three-arch Rugeley bridge, to the north of Birmingham, is a structure made up of 27 specially designed TechSpan arches and a TerraTrel welded mesh facing. In Asia, the subsidiary Freyssinet Korea drew on the expertise of its Australian sister company Reinforced Earth to carry out its first TechSpan arch projects, ambitious structures representing a total arch area of more than 2,000 m. On the Cheongwon-Sangju motorway section, the company constructed two double tunnels, called Naeseo 1 and Whaseo 2, each 135 m long. In the south east of the country, near Taebak, the two 790 m hydraulic tunnels constructed by Freyssinet Korea required the assembly of 623 TechSpan half-sections. Finally, in Mexico, for the Monterrey metro, Freyssinet de México cast and assembled 1,350 m of TechSpan arches.

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3) In Canada, near Toronto, the Snider Diamond railway interchange is clad in TerraClass facing.

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1 bis, rue du Petit-Clamart 78140 Vélizy-Villacoublay France Ph. : (+33) 1 46 01 84 84 Fax : (+33) 1 46 01 85 85

www.freyssinet.com

Photographs : Alan Adams, Régis Bouchu, David Houlston, Dion Gray, Yves Boucaux, Chris Choo, Axel Heise, StT, Francis Vigouroux, Freyssinet picture library.

Sustainable Technology