Astaldi SpA has filed for creditor protection under the Italian Insolvency Act, but the application will still allow work on contracts around the world.
Subsidiary Astaldi Canada is a lead contractor on Nalcor Energy’s hydroelectric dam project at Muskrat Falls, and Nalcor Energy is, “continuing to monitor the situation,” according to a statement issued by Newfoundland and Labrador’s Crown corporation Friday afternoon.
Astaldi continues its work in Labrador.
The company’s work at Muskrat Falls was about 95 per cent complete as of the end of August and there was no further update to that figure, in an emailed response to questions posed by The Telegram on Friday.
Nalcor said it continues to pay the construction company in accordance with contracts in place, and has performance securities (letters of credit and bonds) for financial protection if Astaldi does not live up to contract commitments.
“We won’t be completing an interview as this is a commercial issue with Astaldi,” a spokeswoman for Nalcor Energy stated in the email.
For its part, the parent company Astaldi had been working on a deal that would provide an injection of cash, tied to the sale of its interest in the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge, spanning the Bosphorus Strait in Turkey.
It is also referred to as the Third Bosphorus Bridge.
The company filed for protection under the insolvency act after a delay in the bridge deal. Astaldi says the delay is tied to political and economic/financial events in Turkey this year.
The company says its plans are now focused on safeguarding business activity, and it is expected to file more to the Court of Rome.
