Latvia's Kalnozols construction company reported 18.4 million lats (26.1 million euros) in turnover during the first nine months of this year, a 3.4 percent rise from the same period a year ago. Kalnozols marketing head Irena Simplinska noted the company managed to cut last year's losses by 97 percent in the first nine months of this year. Board chairman Valdis Kalnozols predicted that the company was likely to surpass the planned net turnover of 30 million lats and close the year with a 400,000 lat profit. In 2005, Kalnozols Celtnieciba posted 25 million lats in turnover and ended the year 2.7 million lats in the red. According to Latvia's Builders Association, last year Kalnozols was the largest construction company in Latvia by volume.
Lithuania's ZIA Valda, the indirect owner of flyLAL Lithuanian Airlines, plans to earmark up to 414 million litas (120 million euros) for the purchase of Hungarian airline Malev. Malev is seven to eight times larger that Lithuania's flagship carrier. "We have offered to make further financial investments into the company and take over a share of funds guaranteed by the state. The total value of the project would reach 380-414 million litas in one or two years," Gediminas Ziemelis, a representative of ZIA Valda, told the Lietuvos Rytas daily. Following the purchase of the Hungarian company, ZIA Valda would use Vilnius-based infrastructure for joint flights from Vilnius to the United States and European destinations. The Malev base at Budapest Airport would become a hub for joint flights in the direction of Asia and Australia. Other bidders for Malev include AirBridge Magyarorszag, Sky Alliance controlled by Russia's businessman Boris Abramovich and private investor Ofer Hava.
The Iru power plant, owned by Eesti Energia (Estonian Energy), plans to build a new heat and power generation block fired by household and industrial waste. The project will cost one billion kroons (64 million euros) with an electrical capacity of 15 megawatts and a thermal capacity of 60 MW. The new block is expected to reduce Estonia's consumption of natural gas and bring down heating prices in Tallinn and the adjoining town of Maardu. The Iru plant is located on the outskirts of Tallinn.
