A nice process, low carbon, a good example of the use of the concrete, wood, steel. I would like to commend our teams. It's our companions who deal with concrete, steel, and wood together. It's a great pride. Good evening, all of you. I'm glad to see you for the presentation of our annual results of 2021. Glad that a certain amount of you can be present physically this evening. It's not often. Thanks for being here. Thanks for those following us remotely. I do hope that next time we'll all be together in presence and extend this presentation with a cocktail party. I commend also the members of the management and of the board who are with us this evening. 2021 was intense with beautiful successes. Again, it was highlighted by the pandemic, but our teams know perfectly well to live with it.
This year, we have strengthened our positions, strategic positions. Our balanced concessions and our capacity to remain a local player while being a global player, capable of operating major complex projects, are a source of resilience for the development of the group. Our geographic consistency centered on Europe is a strength, enabling us also to project our European expertise in all the rest of the globe. Our compact organization confers us agility, rapidity, enabling us to mobilize in a much more powerful way our different businesses to capture the value, which is more and more at the interfaces at the time of the ecological and digital transition. I remain convinced that our businesses will know how to face the challenges of those transitions on the city, infrastructure, and mobility. These are the levers of growth for the decades to come.
With the values of the group, our teams are mobilized and excited to support our clients to raise and face the challenge of the fight against global warming. We concluded 2021 with an order book wealthy, giving us visibility. The commercial traction was very strong and enabled us to have an order intake as important as last year in the works. While, as you know, in 2020, we enjoyed three exceptional contracts, HS2 in the U.K., A3 in Germany, A79 in France. The traction of the recurring businesses being able to compensate for the lack of those super contracts. This commercial traction is borne by the private and public sector, generally speaking, in Europe. For France, the public procurement is very strong for the state, Ministry of Transport, Defense, Health, Justice, Education, in new construction, but also in renovation projects.
However, public procurement coming from local authorities remains lagging behind, like the issuing of building permits that will impact the housing business. Beyond the book of order, the Lot 1 of the Tunnel Lyon-Turin and two major contracts and several years in France, CG Log and the lighting of the City of Paris, on which I'll get back later. I invite you to discover a certain amount of those contracts signed in 2021. The Group is growing. Its activity overshot its level of 2019, which already was a level of activity which was historical. To illustrate the highlights of works during this year, I suggest some focuses. For Eiffage Construction, the year was highlighted by the dynamic of the public markets. More and more renovation projects, ramping up of the wooden construction and low carbon, generally speaking, development of our industrial solutions.
As you may notice, those three elements are at the heart of the acceleration of our low carbon offer, enabling us to reduce our greenhouse gases and be a partner of our clients to help them reach their own targets. Against the background where the issuing of construction permits is decreasing, Eiffage Immobilier was enabled to benefit from the starting of its activity in Poland and increasing its planning business to offset the decrease to come of its housing activity. In France, the construction of public facilities is well-oriented. Born by the recovery efforts of the government, several projects of ambitious renovation or new constructions, often in a combined way, are put on the market. On screen, as you see, the administrative city of Lyon, our teams are working on the first tranche of the rebuilding and the administrative city of Colmar in progress also.
Eiffage committed itself for over 10 years in the development of wooden construction and equipment trapping carbon, enabling to reduce the time of works, thanks to the pre-assembled elements, favoring also excellent thermal performances and energy performances. From left to right, Hyperion Tower delivered in Bordeaux this year. Research and Innovation Center for Danone that you have seen at the beginning, and the High School of Clermont-Ferrand, whose particularity, besides wooden frame, walls using straw for thermal insulation. Eiffage Construction has a solid experience in industrialization of production processes. It was a forerunner in this area with this concept of bathrooms, HVA Concept, started 10 years ago in the Sarthe area.
Integration of Savare, recognized expert in the fabrication and framing and wooden framing and walls, and B3 Ecodesign, specialist of the transformation of sea containers in all kinds of buildings, add to the offer of production off-site. Integration of know-how of concrete construction, steel construction, and wood construction enabled the group to make a sober and lean design, highlighting and putting the best equipment, the best material at the best place, coupled with industrial solutions enabling the fabrication and manufacturing off-site. Eiffage Construction may promote with its clients a first-class support in their low carbon strategy. The road teams roll out an ambitious plan to contribute to the ecological transition. What are the three pillars? Energy efficiency of our factories and our machines, recycling of materials, and an often always more complete decarbonized solution.
The rolling out of connected things in our manufacturers of porous asphalts, binders, help the steering and adjustment of temperatures and optimization in real time. It enables us to manage in due time the energy consumption of each task. At the end of 2021, 40% of our factories were connected, and 100% of them will be at the end of 2022. We rolled out the same strategy for our transport machines. The recuperation analysis of data in real time enables us to reduce at the most the consumption, making sure that they are at the right level given the task. This enables, for instance, to suppress the slowdown times. Beyond the reduction of consumption, we roll out solutions of biofuel on our park. 33% of our site are all today equipped.
Beyond the energy efficiency, we increase year after year the rate of recycling of materials in our solutions. We have especially focused our research on emergence of a plant range, enabling to suggest alternatives decarbonated to bitumen and answer to all the uses from cycle path to motorway. Biophalt, which is a plant-based asphalt with high performances, highly recyclable. Recytal ARM, regenerations on location solution. And finally, BioClair, with its colored coating, which is really favored for soft mobilities. Civil engineering remains supported by very large projects in France, Germany, U.K., and internationally speaking. It's an important part, very important part of its activity, ensuring it a very good visibility.
The recognized expertise of the group in works of art and underground enable us to be a player of the major project infrastructure in Europe, like the Grand Paris Express, the Lyon-Turin train line, or the HS2 in the U.K. The group strengthen itself in specialty businesses so as to master in-house even more expertise mandatory to make the difference. On screen now, you see some pictures from our very large working and building. Grand Paris Express, we have 10 tunnel borers mobilized to dig EOLE, line 14 north, 14 south, line 15, and line 16 and 17. The group developed in businesses of specialty like demolition, deconstruction, repairing of works, or CITRA works, contributing to the wealth of our office and our skills. Demolition, deconstruction is a perfect example of business in great mutation because it's a key player of circular economy.
We reach now over 99% of recycling in our works of demolition, deconstruction. Steel construction remains supported by a very strong activity in wind energy and enjoys since 2021 a recovery, strong recovery in the works of art. Our major asset is our industrial European power, with nine factories specialized according to the markets they are addressing: works of art, buildings, offshore wind energy, onshore wind energy. Activity is very intense on the offshore wind farms, where we are a major player with a recognized know-how. Already present on several projects in France, in Germany, Scotland, Netherlands, England and Taiwan, and even in Japan, we signed, end of 2021, a new market for the third phase of the offshore wind farm of Dogger Bank in the U.K. We're also a stakeholder in the pilot project of floating wind farms in France.
The market remains buoyant, with slots of manufacturing already planned in our factories up to 2025. Eiffage Métal enjoyed a strong progression of its works of art during 2021. Activity supported by international major projects like the Leverkusen Bridge in Germany, high-speed line HS2 in the U.K., and soon, three works of art for the motorway of E18 in Norway. The factory in Lauterbourg in Alsace is already full-fledged production until 2023. Eiffage Énergie Systèmes is at the core of all the challenges of digital and ecological transition. This department delivers to its clients, but also to the other businesses of the group, so as to enrich our offers and to enable us to make the difference. It goes on its dynamic of organic growth and of external growth while improving its level of profitability.
For instance, the leadership in photovoltaic farms, the 12 acquisitions realized this year in Europe, and the very beautiful contract of lighting of the City of Paris. We are leader, European leader for the installation of photovoltaic solar farms, where our French and Spanish teams are recognized for the construction of fields that we ensure the maintenance for durations of five-20 years. Since 2007, over 70 solar farms have been built by Eiffage in Europe, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean for over 3.5 GW of installed power. For 2025, we installed 1.4 GW, a nice illustration of the acceleration of this market. Beyond organic growth, during 2021, over 12 companies in France and Europe joined us, representing 625 employees and revenues of over EUR 120 million for a full year.
We just integrated, as you see on the map, the company Ciel, located in Switzerland, specialized in electrical engineering with 230 employees and a revenue of EUR 30 million. Our team signed an agreement in October 2021, the market for public lighting, light signaling, and illuminations of the City of Paris for an amount of EUR 704 million and a 50/50 agreement with Citelum for a duration of 10 years. It's the most important contract ever signed in France in this area. 240 GW hour of saving of energy will be realized over 10 years, so a reduction of 30% of the current consumption of the public lighting as of the fifth year of the contract.
The project will go on parallelly, a target of protection of biodiversity with the creation of dark screen, favoring the development of fauna and flora along less well-lit areas. Special mention for our façadier, Goyer, who commemorate its 90th anniversary, 1990, with the level at its highest and the signature of a particular agreement for the greatest, biggest contract of its history, façades of the tower, The Link at La Défense, future headquarters of TotalEnergies. Concessions now. 2021 enabled the strengthening of our portfolio and our motorway concessions went back on the second half of the year, traffic above the ones of 2019, and went on the strategy of continuous improvement of services to the client.
On the territories where the group is in a sustainable way located, the portfolio of concession is wealthier with the commissioning of the A79, slated for the fall of 2022, with the transfer to APRR. The acquisition of minority shareholders of A65 and the acquisition of the operational society. Extension of five years of contract concession of the motorway of future in Senegal and the signing of the Ministry of Defense of the first concession contract of housing in France over 35 years. The A79 that will be commissioned next year is a perfect example of mobilization of the business of the group to create a new concession altogether. It's gonna be the first motorway in France with a free flow e-toll for 80 km.
Eiffage and APRR signed this day a cession of capital contract and of the current accounts in of the A79, turning APRR the major shareholder under the reservation of various validation. This transaction should be finalized at the end of the first half of 2022. We bought out also the minority shareholders of A65 between Pau and Langon and acquired 100% of the company who is in charge of the maintenance operation. In December, we signed a rider about the concession of the highway, the future of the state of Senegal. Putting a legal aspect to its entrance to the capital, up to the 25% of the capital. This rider includes the implementation of new investments to maintain the service level and the extension of the concession by five years, up to 2044.
In 2021, the motorway of future welcomed 150,000 vehicles per day on the average. It's also the collective work of the departments of works and concession that enabled us, in association with Arcade- VYV, to deliver the best answer to win the first concession of housing for the Ministry of the Armed Forces in the framework of its program, Ambition Logement. It's a concession to ensure the outsourced management of a state-owned housing stock on the whole of the French territory for 35 years. We'll be in charge of the improvement of the energy performance of the stock with the renovation of 8,000 apartments and its development with the new construction of 3,000 housing units.
The design, construction, renovation implemented by Eiffage Construction will be focused on the first eight years of the contract and will represent investments to the tune of over EUR 1.3 billion. In parallel with our partner, Arcade- VYV, will ensure the care and maintenance of all of the stock, as well as the modernization and the improvement of the quality of service for the soldiers and their relatives, their families. The management will start in 2023 after a transfer period with the current manager. To be noticed also, in the framework of our rotation strategy of our portfolio that you know perfectly well, the portfolio of PPP, indeed we sold five contracts in teaching for an active asset value of EUR 150 million while keeping the contracts of operation and maintenance. Regarding the motorway concessions, our motorways are back to levels of dynamic traffic.
Innovation is at the heart of the strategy to face the challenges of ecological transition of motorways and meet the challenges and the expectations of our end customers. After a first half year impacted by a pandemic, traffic of second half is above 4.6% to the one of 2019. The very good traction witnesses the will of our clients to move again. To be noticed that the HV traffic remained resilient even during the last lockdowns, a proof of the continuity of the economic activity. The new modes of mobility, carpooling, interconnection, digitization of services, free-flow e-toll, or the massive influx of electric vehicles and emergence of semi-autonomous vehicles modify in depth our role of concession, motorway concessionaire, and give all its meaning to important investments that we make to meet those challenges.
In 2021, we rolled out five new rest areas fully spread over the network with very competitive price of fuel and improved services. We have more than 6,000 parking lots for carpooling. We have 65% of the rest areas of APRR-owned areas with electrical charging stations, and 2/3 of them by the end of 2021. 100% of our stations will be equipped by the end of 2022. We are ready to be a partner of the state to ensure the investments necessary to speed up the ecological transition of the motorways, take part in the reconquest of biodiversity, and welcome new mobilities and semi-autonomous vehicles. As you have noticed through the highlights, the low carbon strategy of the group is part and parcel of our operations. We have also to be an example.
We decided in 2021 to set ambitious targets of reduction of our greenhouse gases to be compliant to the 1.5 degree target. This will feed our signature Savoir faire la différence, know how to make a difference, and will be a fantastic engine for growth for the decades to come. Those elements enabled us to confirm our ratings, extra financial ratings, A- CDP, AA MSCI, among the best in the business. In terms of human resources, we must be especially aware about our capacity to hire, onboard, train, make move forward, loyalty, raise, and get more females. With the acceleration of our development, we will integrate more and more female employees. The cohesion of the group and the loyalty to our values are unquestionable assets. The major challenge of development of HR goes through an ambitious policy.
All levels of the company was consolidated as to make sure that it will be followed and that will also succeed. We're very glad to be at the first rank of the construction business in the 500 groups, the most appreciated by their employees and by their competitors. Survey made by the magazine Capital. APRR is also the first in its business, transportation of goods and logistics, for the eighth consecutive year. Let's get to the major figures of 2021. Better than what I anticipated a year ago here with you. A raise of the revenue to the tune of 14.7%, 14.7, up to EUR 18.7 billion above the one of 2019. While the previous was very dynamic in all the businesses.
The operating profit is at EUR 1.9 billion, more than 50% compared to 2020. The operational margin of works is above the one of 2019 and above the one of the five past years. A strong increase of the net profit of the group, reaching EUR 777 million above 2019. Free cash flow is at EUR 1.6 billion. Significant raise compared to 2020, but also compared to 2019.
This enabled us to finance acquisitions I talked about earlier by reducing our financial net debt to the tune of EUR 500 million to be now at EUR 9.3 billion by the end of the year. The strong activity of this year did not impact our order book, far from that, since it concludes with a small increase at EUR 16.3 billion, once again, at its highest historical level. For 2022, we anticipate a new progression of our results in Works as well as in Concessions. Works should enjoy a slight increase of its revenue, and in Concessions, growth should be more sustained thanks to the traction of the traffic. Strong with this very beautiful year, we shall suggest to the general assembly of 20 April 2022 a dividend at EUR 3.10 per action. Our financial means are significant.
I am confident in our capacity to go on with the development of the group in organic growth as well as in external growth. Thank you for your attention. I invite Christian to give you detailed explanation about the financial elements. Thank you.
Good evening, everyone. Let's take a look at the main financial indicators. Revenue, no surprises there. Significantly up 14.7% compared to 2020. You can see on the left-hand side that there's a bounce back in both the concession and contracting. Then, internationally, even more, 16.1% compared to 13.9% in France. 96% of our revenue is generated in Europe with a few key countries that you already know, in line with our strategy.
Compared to 2019, which is for the benchmark, revenue was up 3.2%. 3.4% in contracting, while 2019 was already a high base of comparison because it had enjoyed 10% year-on-year growth. In concession, growth is only 2.2%. That's because there were travel restrictions all the way up to May. You should also remember that in 2019, there was no airport. If you leave that out, in fact, concession would have been down 1.4% compared to 2019. If you look at contracting...
In contracting, I beg your pardon, you can see that growth is more significant, overseas, compared to, Europe. In Europe, we're way above our 2019 level at EUR 350 million, especially in Spain with energy and Germany, in all our businesses, where we have a 30%, 33% increase in revenue, in that country. You have the detailed breakdown of revenue country by country in the appendix. 32% of our contracting business is done outside France. Operating profit, then, on ordinary activities, and that's enabled us to renew with the profit margins of 2019 in two of our branches, and indeed do better in energy systems, for a total of 3.7%.
That's EUR 36 million additional operating profit. Profits and margin are still down in concessions for two reasons, the integration of the airports only in 2020, and of course, at the beginning of the year, there was not much traffic. In April, motorway traffic was at 50% of nominal level, and air traffic down to 15%. Of course, things have improved a bit. Anyway, all in all, operating profit from ordinary activity is down 4.3% compared to 2019 or EUR 86 million, including EUR 127 million in concessions. In construction, there is less revenue. That's because there was less volume, mostly in Poland and Switzerland, where we had more business that we hit a low ebb in these two countries.
Now we are back to business in 2020 with an order book building up in 2021 in France. Benoît give you the details of construction and property development. In our reservations in property development is slightly down compared to 2020. Down 18% compared to 2019. A good number in Poland, where we sold more than 500 housing units, and that's a part of the order book building I was telling you about. Operating profit in property development stands at 6.4%, compared with 7.8% in 2019, so we had EUR 71 million in operating profit.
In spite of this lower contribution of property development, that branch has renewed with profits at 3.7% in line with 2019, which means that the business is building up. This is a work in 83 Avenue Marx Dormoy. 30 months project. This is a building with six levels. 10,000 sq m. Very technical work. We turned three underground levels into reception areas and shared spaces. Façades have been built by our subsidiary, Goyer. In infrastructure, revenue is way above 2019, which was already high, thanks to international +15.5%. Mostly because of the boom in transportation infrastructure in Germany, which I mentioned.
The ramping up of the HS2 line in the U.K. and good business in the offshore windmills. In France, that branch had ups and downs. Road is down compared to 2019. Well, that's an electoral year. It's always like this. Civil engineering has gained leverage from Grand Paris Express, with a peak in 2021 before the climb down. For Grand Paris Express, we're looking at EUR 737 million for Eiffage, including EUR 716 million for the infrastructure branch. Metal in France is driven by the windmill project, but also bridges and tunnels and metal structures in the construction industry.
Operating profit, operating margin, sorry, stood at 2.9%, just as in 2019. These pictures, the Eiffage Métal teams are very proud that we're able to build, design, and actually raise that 7.5-s tar. It's 7.5 meters in diameter. 12 branches at the top of the ninth tower of Sagrada Família in Barcelona. 138 meters high. That was with the Énergie Systèmes branch. These are not one of the big civil engineering projects, but still it shows the know-how of this branch. Énergie Systèmes then. Significant growth driven by dynamic businesses and a positioning of Eiffage on renewable energies in France and overseas, with a few good examples on the screen.
There are subsidiaries in Europe are driving the business, even though it's mostly sustained in France. +20% in Spain compared to 2019, +16% in Germany. Operating margin stands at 5%. That's the target we indicated a few years ago. Indeed, many of our subsidiaries doing better than that, and we generated EUR 32 million additional profits compared with 2019. On the screen, you have the Fréjus Tunnel, where our teams are renovating the existing tunnel, the ventilation of the existing tunnel, but also providing lighting, signposting, light signals, and cooling of the workstations in the second tunnel. That goes to show we have a significant expertise in tunnel building and equipment.
Regarding APRR, lower traffic and therefore, lower revenue compared to 2019 is attributable to H1. 1.6% over the year were divided into -10.9% in H1 and +7.1% in H2. Of course, that had an effect on the EBITDA margin, slightly below 2019, but that was also because of the consolidation of Fulli. Fulli is a subsidiary that provides services on our rest and service areas. Positive but low profit margin. So on a like-for-like basis, the EBITDA margin would have been identical to that of 2019, in spite of lower traffic.
Regarding our credit rating, our rating stands at A-, and we actually issued a bond, zero coupon bond, due in 2028. That was the first time we did this. Regarding the ongoing capital expenditure, we have these broad bridges for wildlife, and this is what happens at night. You see this deer crossing that bridge. Regarding our own and other assets in concessions, we should indicate a good traffic on the Millau bridge, higher than 2019. Renewed traffic on the Autoroute de l'Avenir motorway in Senegal. Air traffic is resuming from the summer, 2/3 of the benchmark 2019. Operating loss, EUR 33 million is mostly due to the depreciation of the acquisition of the Toulouse airport.
Without that, operating profit would have been nil and EBITDA would have been positive. I have to mention the good performance of our maintenance subsidiaries and our PPP in the building industry, as well as our dedicated maintenance companies on the Autoroute de l'Avenir, African motorway and the BPL high-speed line, I beg your pardon. PPP on the Île de la Cité in Paris, which will bring together police stations of the first four districts of Paris. Benoît de Ruffray mentioned. 6,000 sq m, and Benoît de Ruffray mentioned this, the highlights of this. Here is the way it looks now. It will be finished, completed in H1 of this year.
This enables me to address the two main items on the income statement, revenue, and operating profit. Other expenses and income, same order as in 2020. It's lower than 2019, so we have a net charge. The net financial debt is down EUR 7 million, even though we had to pay out a full year of interest on the Eiffage bond of June 2020. Other financial income and expenses include, apart from present value calculations, you have the dividends we received from non-consolidated stakes and to the tune of EUR 8 million compared to EUR 1 million in 2020. Taxes include, as in H1, a return to better fortunes on a dispute with APRR.
Not including this non-recurrent item, the effective corporate income tax stands at 28.4%, and net profit attributable to the group stands at EUR 777 million. Earnings per share, EUR 7.98 . Now, looking at the net debt, EBITDA is above that of 2020. Indeed, above that of 2019. You have it as a footnote on this slide. The change in working capital requirements generated cash to the tune of EUR 234 million after the EUR 321 million in 2020. If you add up both years, that's a significant amount. Interest and taxes are down significantly over the past two years, and you had operating cash flow plus EUR 2.7 billion, so significantly.
I mean, EUR 500 million up compared to 2019, a lot of it being recurrent. Capital expenditure in contracting, sorry, EUR 510 million, stable, right about EUR 500 million year- on- year. Concessions, that includes EUR 400 million for APRR, EUR 330 million for the building of a new A79 motorway and the balance on the other PPP concessions, including three being built, including the Perret island I mentioned earlier on. Then you have the payment of PPP receivables, the disposal of a commercial building as part of our partnership with the Pierre Mauroy Stadium.
Total capital expenditure, net CapEx is EUR 1.2 billion, higher than in 2019 and 2020, but that's mostly because we're building that motorway, A79. This is a growth type of CapEx rather than renewal CapEx. In any case, free cash flow stands at EUR 1.5 billion. As you can see, this is much way above the level of the past years, even though there was the significant capital expenditure on that motorway. Regarding acquisitions, EUR 233 million, including the minority interest in A65 and 100% of that operating company, and the balance covers the 12 companies that we acquired in the energy business, minus the proceeds from disposals.
Then, capital operations dividend paid out by Eiffage, EUR 300 million. Dividend paid by APRR to its minority shareholders, and indeed, a capital increase for employees only, and that we have our treasury shares representing 2.4% of the equity compared with 1.2% at the end of 2020. The net debt at end 2021 stands at EUR 9.3 billion, down EUR 556 million, you can see on this slide. We like to give the details between concession without recourse and the net cash in the holding company and contracting.
Within that, you have the debt of PPPs that were disposed of, EUR 440 million, and the balance being the normal debt of our concessions. Upwards, you have the cash available, about EUR 1 billion, stable over one year. It's stable, but that's paid for our external growth, EUR 285 million. The building of the A79, the EUR 300 million. Then for the past two years, of course, the cash position in contracting was very good, but that was also thanks to the lower WCR I mentioned earlier. That's the financial details. A few words on the order book. The backlog, Benoit mentioned earlier, but you have the details here branch by branch.
In the construction business, this growing order book is a reflection of the buoyant market in public buildings and the energy renovation of existing buildings. Lower infrastructure because, well, you have fewer big projects, EUR 700 million in Grand Paris and EUR 250 million on HS2. In energy, the 11% increase is pretty homogeneous. You have the energy transition projects mostly. On the left-hand side, you can see that in number of months, the order book is up compared to the last two years. That was a quick overview in figures, and now we're ready to take your questions. We need the microphones. We'll be ready in a second.
Good evening. Two topics.
Number 1, could we take a closer look at APRR and the A79, which was nicknamed the Highway of Death in the past? Then, on Eiffage Construction, on APRR and the A79, could we have an order of magnitude of the capital expenditure in 2022 and 2023, what you're expecting for the next two years? Could we also have an order of magnitude for the revenue of A79 for the concession for A79 once that is in service? I mean, you didn't give us any guidance last year, but maybe now you can tell us more.
Regarding Eiffage Construction, well, there's an excellent profit margin on the contracting part, even if some of the big projects are down and, of course, you have the cost of factors that are going up. Now, given all this, what can you expect for 2022? I mean, there is, of course, pressure on the cost of raw materials and on the supply chain. Plus, of course, you can expect that the wage bill is likely to go up for construction workers. Right. On the A79, there were no changes compared to last year. We're not in a position to give you much guidance. The capital expenditure was EUR 150-200 million in 2022. Nothing planned for 2023.
We're looking at about 200 million in that branch in terms of capital expenditure. Maybe additional details on capital expenditure on the existing. On APRR, Christian just said there's EUR 400 million were spent in 2021. We're looking now at a similar amount for 2022, EUR 400 million. In 2023, there will be a significant drop because the main two projects still underway, that is the A41, A480 Grenoble and the motorway network in Chambéry will be either completed or well underway. We'll be down to EUR 250 million in capital expenditure compared to EUR 400 for 2022 and 2023.
Olivier, regarding the profitability on the contracting business, well, the good thing is there's volume, there's business. As I said earlier on, we worked hard on productivity. We are always careful on our structural costs. A few months ago, I said that the profit margin should rise, provided that the cost of materials doesn't weigh us down any more than it has in the past few months. What I can add compared to what Olivier just said is that, of course, this is an inflationary environment, and we have to take that on board, especially when it comes to our employees.
There's a high growth in demand in terms of volume, and so we have reason to believe that we can pass on the additional cost to our end customers, because as I said, demand is quite high, especially regarding public buildings. Regarding these public orders, there's a Napoleon decree, so some of the prices can be passed on. For the private sector, it's not quite the same. The clauses in the contracts do not provide for a revision of the rates due to inflation. Well, we don't have this, but the thing is six months ago the rise in the cost of raw materials was unexpected. Now, we do expect it and factor it in.
What I wanted to say is that fundamentally, when you have a high demand, as is the case now, you have projects, you have operations that we simply cannot take up because we simply haven't got the people. So, there is much less pressure from the competition. We have more than we can handle, especially in the construction industry. And that has enabled us to make provisions for inflation more significantly, of course, more than when we didn't have as much business.
Sorry, I took the microphone, Virginie Rousseau. I had questions on the decarbonization of the motorways. You said you were prepared to work with the French government on that.
Could you tell us where you stand where last year that we talked about anywhere between EUR 60 and 70 billion in capital expenditure for the decarbonization of motorways? Is that the order of magnitude you have in mind? Is it still on the table? Regarding working capital requirements, a good surprise. How can you explain the good surprise? What are there any items that can be improved? I mean that good momentum, that was sort of unexpected, but can you turn this into recurrent trend? On external growth, that is acquisitions, you believe that you will be in a position to allocate the capital, your profit to new acquisitions. What are your priorities in this respect?
Well, regarding question number one, I'll let Philippe answer this. From a generic viewpoint, there is quite a bit of work on the biodiversity to speed up the environmental, the ecological transition. Of course, in motorways, we are there all over the country and we can see that, for instance, in electric cars, if you want to travel without worries, you'd better, if you've got an electric car, you better use a motorway rather than roads without charging stations. We are not going further than what we've said, but talks are still ongoing. Maybe Philippe can tell you more about this.
Thank you. Yes.
Well, during our last session in August, I mentioned the talks we're having with the Ministry of Transport to define an investment project limited in scope, but we have finalized it. With the Ministry of Transport, we have arrived at a plan that includes about EUR 400 million in investment in the energy transition and fundamental transition and low carbon. That's the capital expenditure on the table. This is being examined by the authorities now to see the ART. We're waiting for a go ahead in H2. That's where we stand now. This is, as I said, limited in scope. We could consider as a step to a bigger, more ambitious.
I mean, this is, as it were, an example of what could be done on a broader scale on all of our motorways. Thank you.
Christian, on WCR. Well, it's a bit difficult to forecast. I mean, any forecast on the WCR is always tricky, but I mean, some general context. There are two main items. First, there's lots of cash because an intercompany credit works well. Our customers pay us well and on time. Then there's a French situation. The new provisions, that is the new regulations now, are an incentive for our customers to pay us quickly, but for us to pay our suppliers promptly as well. So that means that the...
Well, that's good for the cash position, overall. If you look at the macroeconomics, the order book for Eiffage has built up. You have to know that in the construction industry this has usually negative WCR, so therefore positive cash. That's for these two reasons we have high cash levels. Plus, offshore has generated lots of cash, and we, you know, we had big projects, again, big contracts with the milestones that happen to be on the right side of the timetable. Right now we have high levels of cash. WCR right now remains stable, so we hope not to have suddenly a big cash out after two years of cash generation.
Having said that, well, what the future will bring, we do not know. Right now, there's a favorable economic context.
Thank you, Christian. Regarding the third question, it's the external growth. Basic elements and the strategy remain the same. We have this balance between works and concession, and in long run, we're interested to maintain this balance, so hence the work being performed. About the capacity of strengthening our portfolio of concessions, the best are the ones we have in organic growth. We'll mobilize all the departments of construction to generate it, but remain very cautious about a certain amount of opportunities. However, we remain consistent.
Our development in concession, we focus it in countries where we are present, is the countries of Europe and some African countries, because it seems to be the best way to contain the political risk when you are a recognized employer with a society.
Responsibility on the territory you're working on. About external growth regarding works. We have elements, if you take the various geographies. On the French side, if you take the construction or civil engineering, or steel construction, there are no things or contracts, whatever the complexity that we cannot ensure. We can lead to be strengthening on the line of specialty, but it's not the external growth that is the most potent. However, on the energy system, there are many consolidations that are possible, and with the emergence of the development of the topics linked to the digital transition, ecological transition, we have quote-unquote "new businesses, new jobs." We remain installaters. We have to acquire the best solution to have the most differentiating offer for the client. When you move to the other countries in Europe, we are more open.
Even if we have positions which are rather strong, there are a few countries where we have a total geographic cover, including in the infrastructure branch or the construction branch. We remain opportunistic to improve our coverage in our specialties, with a focus rather strong on the energy system branch because it is in a global phase of consolidation. That we all want to be a player in this consolidation, focusing on the geography, European geography, as you have understood. There are opportunities. I think that the topics, the work we all did collectively is something bearing fruit. The fact that it's included and understood by all of the teams, and it increased our visibility on the traction we had to do bolt-on, maybe in a more important way in size and more global on the various territories where we're already present.
Globally, the guidelines, the major lines.
[Non-English content]. Nabil Ahmed, Barclays. I had three questions, if you allow me. I'll talk about things we didn't talk about yet. Can you remind us the impact of the decrease of expenses on Grand Paris? The peak was last year. How much will that be in 2022, 2023 in activity? You said in the past you were conservative on the recognition of the results of those contracts. 2022, will it be the year where we'll have an improvement of the profitability of the branch linked to the profits? Second question was about Eiffage Énergie Systèmes, so I think you know what I'm gonna ask you. You said that you could go towards the 5%, you're there. You said that there was a structural difference given your size compared to the best in class.
The best in class go on improving. Internally, what's realistic? What can you do? You said some of the subsidiaries had a higher profitability. What's realistic for the branch? Last question, can you give us some indication about the beginning of the year and traffic on APRR? One of your competitors published a softer traffic compared to what we've seen in January last year, and you're more exposed to the winter vacations.
Let's start with the last one, right, Philippe?
Last years, on the two networks, we suffered a lot due to the closure of the ski stations. Reservations are at a very high level in the Alps. Yes, traffic is well-oriented in this beginning of the year.
It is above the one of 2019, and I think it is in the right line of the positive trends that we noticed at the second quarter 2021.
Thank you, Philippe. Guillaume, some elements on the Grand Paris. As you said, the peak of activity on Grand Paris was in 2021, 2020. We remained constant in 2021, EUR 715 million, EUR 700 million for the previous years. We started a decrease. In 2022, the figures will decrease to the tune of EUR 150 million, and this decrease will go on in 2023 and 2024. Next, for the Grand Paris. During a previous meeting, I said in 2019, 2020, we are competing on the next tenders. We hope to be present.
We try to offset that by activities in the regions, very dynamic with other customers. Benoît quoted it. Projects with the Defense Ministry , activity that is ramping up. On the more specific margins of the Grand Paris, we have a recognition of the margins, which is cautious, slightly positive which is a classic way of about tunnels. We have discussions with the customer. Some are about to be finalized, and we hope all the questions that we have to settle in 2022, enabling us to have a final vision on the outcome. What I would add to what Guillaume said, Nabil, is the Société du Grand Paris having decided to stop its initial plan of just design to move to design and building. We have more activity, more cover of overheads.
What is crystal clear is that it has an impact on the profitability of the branch. Even if we, allow me, it's good cholesterol because we hope to go on with our position as a partner of the Grand Paris Express on the major lines. On the Energy System branch, yes, the aim is indeed or was to reach 5%. No reason, you know, in those businesses I always said, we must have a cover of the territory, be present with the clients, often with teams with less specialty, and sell added value, delivering the know-how of the branch to the customer. Hence, more powerful you are, more the coverage of this presence on a daily basis to deliver solution with a strong added value is amortized and the underlying is positive. This gap of volume is there, and it will remain.
There's no reason, and maybe it's on purpose that Christian says that it's never so. Also, it's possible to progress, but basically for me, what's the most important is to make sustainable this performance. It's true that we're working on that because we make it sustainable by continuing our strategic plan. We have teams working more and more collectively that are the ambassadors of the right solutions with the customers. This is a long-term construction. If the volume improves, the underlying will come and support the improvement of the profitability of the margin. The first target is to make sustainable and to remain being attractive to invest in organic and external growth.
When you invest in organic growth, you invest and you penalize the immediate margin, but that's how you develop the hydroelectricity, and we're doing nothing on that, and we're very active on that. There's a real creation of volume and value in the long run. The teams are very glad to have reached the target we collectively set five years ago, and they like it. We go on working. Any other question?
Yeah. A subsidiary question about Energy Systems. The German revenue was EUR 130 million on this branch. What is it now?
Now it's closer, much closer to EUR 200 million.
Thank you. The major issue of Eiffage Énergie Systèmes compared to competitors, you can name them, SPIE, VINCI, have a higher activity and a higher margin.
Can we foresee that someday, in spite of the private equity funds, Eiffage Énergie will strengthen itself in this country?
Absolutely no ambiguity whatsoever. Many ways of strengthening oneself. When we started in Netherlands, we acquired a well-positioned player, and we created a platform to do organic and external growth. In Germany, we have a certain amount of companies, entities who are very performing, but we do not have the firing power for a future development, and we're favorable and to be able to create it one day. You're talking about Germany, we could talk about our Spain. We all have our strong points, our specialties, right? If there's no more questions in the room, we'll take questions online.
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Hello. Thank you for taking my question. I'll have two. Can you get back on the external growth? You gave us a roadmap, but you talked about energy. It's obvious, of course. You talked about bolt-on. Bolt-on is behind us. So what remains in the sector? It's a very fragmented one. What do you think about bolt-on acquisition type or what? To move the margin higher, to reach in the leading players on this sector, shouldn't you do more acquisitions? What is the landscape? What can you say about that? Second point, Getlink. Can you give us your vision? Where do you stand between 5% and 10%? What is the vision on Getlink in the medium range? Third, update on your dividend policy. Thank you.
On external growth, obviously many people look at the very big players, but the market is really in small bits and pieces.
When you look at the 12 acquisitions we made, we never found the great consolidators of the market you all know in competition because the market is so split that most of those acquisitions are known through a specialty, through a territory, and it's our teams who know them and who bring them. It's bolt-on, bolt-ons that are not risky, that integrate easily and generating value because they are acquired on multiples that have nothing to see with the major acquisitions. You're saying a very large acquisition to improve the margin. Well, there was a tremendous amount of work. We wanted to do it. Of course, there was enormous work for the margin be positive of Eiffage Énergie Systèmes. It would have taken some years. I think that the two are not to be compared.
What I would say is that when Equans, it was possible, we dealt with it, and we tried to do it, but it's not the alpha and the omega. We go on working in organic and external growth because there are a lot of entities of very small, medium-sized and sometimes larger, which are national players or regional players, in a certain amount of the countries where we're present, who seem to us very good to speed up, accelerate our development on the business of energy. On Getlink, no change. We didn't move our position. You have it, as an addendum on what we have, 5.6% of the capital. No discussion. We didn't change our vision. We remain. I mean, it's a long-term concession.
We're convinced that with time, in time, the industrial support will have more importance because the infrastructure is getting older, and there's gonna be more operational topics closer to our historical, our legacy. It's an action which is rated, which is on the market. It's, it's just the price to decide whether or not we choose to strengthen us, ourselves there. No evolution on our positioning. Christian?
On the dividend, we have no policy as such. We always told you that we will be able to have it evolve with the results. That's what we try to do. It's very important at the same time to distribute the dividend, but to keep capacities. Because there are opportunities, and we're convinced that we should have the means and the agility to seize them.
It's in this view that we positioned ourselves with the board on the suggestion that we'll make to the general assembly.
Thanks a lot.
If you wish to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone. Your first question comes from the line of Luis Prieto from Kepler Cheuvreux. Please ask your question.
Good evening. Thanks for taking my question. I had a question on capital allocation, and how, in particular, we should think about the end of the APRR concession. What I mean by this is what is the potential for noticeably extending the concession life in exchange for CapEx programs in the future or even on a sustained basis. The second part of this capital allocation question is what potential concession projects are out there that could be of interest to Eiffage. Thank you.
Who is asking the question, please?
It's Luis Prieto from Kepler.
Regarding the end of the APRR concession, I mentioned something. Well, it. There are two aspects. Number one
Clearly, we will try and push for a change in regulation, and we have been working on this. We have these planned contracts that do not provide for extensions and but for which the regulation is such that it ensures that capital expenditure is based on expectations of returns, where we agree with the government on what the rate of return will be, as Philippe just said. The important thing for myself and our teams, regardless of the regulation, our end customers are our best allies because if we provide more services, if we show that we understand the weight and use of motorways in the territory.
Well, of course, we do not know what the choices will be, but will we be closer to, say, airport type regulations or others? Regardless, we need to keep working and making ourselves desirable, and make sure that we are the right partners to provide the right CapEx to improve the quality and indeed bring excellence to French motorways. You have the first concessions coming to an end in 2031, in our case, 2035. Of course, when that happens, by then, there will be changes in infrastructure, in mobility, new technology. Obviously, there will be massive capital allocation in the years that will follow that. Also we might be just looking for maintenance contracts rather than concession contracts.
We don't know yet. That is why, well, of course, we are looking into extending the contract and be part of the development part of the contract so as to maybe extend them. Meanwhile, we're still working to develop new concessions in our portfolio. By the way, the new concessions, such as A79, well, the only way to provide a fund without subsidies was to use a model that provides a rate system that can be sustained for a long period of time. Otherwise, we would not have been able to to ensure the necessary cash. Having said that, these issues are to be discussed with the government, and what's being said today by the authorities may not be the same as in 10 years' time.
Let's focus on our end customers, the drivers who use the motorway, and make sure that we really are the partners of these territories. When we're seen to be providing services to these territories, the program that Philippe was telling you about is happening precisely because local authorities do want this sort of rollout of infrastructure. Of course, the central government is more than happy to use our capacity to speed up the rolling out of such services. May, can you repeat the second question? I'm sorry, I'm not quite sure I heard or understood it.
Yes. The question is what potential concession projects are out there in the market that could be of interest to Eiffage? Future projects.
The question is, what are the opportunities out there, where we could bid for. Maybe Cécile can take that.
Good evening. Well, regarding concessions we might consider bidding for, of course, they have to be in our lines of business. There are a few concessions that will be up for grabs. Indeed some of them, the A412 is already there. There's also possible bidding on the A154 and the beltway around Rouen. There are a number of railway projects as well, because of course, this is, well, with the BPL high speed line, we can look into as well as smaller railways in the countryside.
Some regional airports, local airports, that's that may be available. Then there are concessions that might come in the pipeline for renewable energies. Of course, we first need to develop what we have in our own hand before we start expanding.
Thank you, Cecile. Well, one last thing about motorways. At this point, the French government gives out about one concession a year and calls for bids on one concession a year. For the housing development, this is something we're not used to, but it is a concession in as much as there's significant capital allocation for that to happen.
There are a number of other government agencies and ministries doing the same, because you have situations where civil servants who have been sent to work in a certain part of the country for the ministry, they had housing issues and so, and the existing stock is aging, and so there's a real call for modernizing, upgrading the existing and developments and create new housing developments. Indeed, the Minister of Defense , the present Secretary of Defense has been bringing that forward, and maybe other ministries will follow suit.
We have Nicolas Mora from Morgan Stanley. He has a question as well.
Good evening. I had a few questions left.
First, the RCEA APRR deal you expect transferred by the end of the year. Can you give us details as to the amount of the transaction? I mean, we know some items, but not the price tag. EUR 400 million for APRR. Can you tell us more about that in terms of where the funds will be allocated? You're talking about the free-flow, the electric car charging stations, getting ready also for autonomous driving. So what's the budget and how might it be, well, allocated, and how might it grow over time? Another question about local authorities. You said that local authorities were somewhat reluctant to spend in 2021. How...
I mean, how do you see things developing in 2022, 2023? Do you expect those local authorities whose cash positions are sufficient you think you might invest more and also in particular in the road business? Now for the holding company, the cash position, I know you want to keep cash for possible acquisitions, and that's why you're keeping some of the cash. Now at the end of the year, you have a cash position of above EUR 1 billion, which is more than comfortable. Do you need to have more as a sort of reserve, or might you revisit your policies? I mean, you're talking about dividends, but there's also share buybacks that could be profitable to the shareholders.
Thank you, Nicolas. Question number one, this is an operation that was planned. That is why indeed there is a contract between Eiffage and APRR. There was an agreement between the two. APRR will be buying this back at its historic cost, including the concession and the contracting. Right now that will be 100% on Eiffage's balance sheet, and it will be transferred to APRR's. You know that APRR is the present operator of the new A79 motorway and will remain its operator. That was the way to leverage our know-how by bringing our resources together in terms of operations with APRR. That put us in a good position.
Indeed, it will be the full cost with a refinancing package for APRR. Philippe?
What we said earlier, the capital allocation plan that is now being implemented will be sort of a window for what may happen on a wider scale later. The EUR 400 million include lanes for carpooling, some for public transportation, multimodal transportation, parking lots for carpooling vehicles. We have 4,000. We'll have upwards of 8,000 parking spaces in a couple of years. We also have free flow access to a significant portion of the motorway network, but we keep the traditional toll gates. And there's also,
we will be providing an extension of the A86 motorway, where we will be renovating the roadworks and improve also the environmental dimension. That could be included as part of a wider plan on our low carbon motorway and ecological transition framework. That's what we're doing for this motorway. We might do it for a broader network of motorways in the medium term.
Yes. Well, that's the one thing you have to keep in mind. The issues that Philippe mentioned were based on the work that had been done jointly with the French government when we were considering a much wider plan.
As a result of this first round of talks, they came up with this plan, which is now being examined by the regulatory authorities. Regarding the local authorities, maybe Laurent can say something about road CapEx.
Well, FNTP in H2 2021, well, things didn't happen exactly the way we planned. There was much less business, and we felt that the local authorities were not exactly forthcoming with orders. Things are coming back to normal, as it were. One good thing is there are many projects out there. Well, the stimulus package that is coming through, the fourth call for bids that is part of that. The ecological or environmental transition is something that will need actual projects.
Tomorrow at the FNTP forum, we'll be discussing this. Now, local authorities are all right, especially for small municipalities. I mean, they are the bulk of the local authorities, and projects will be coming online, and we are reasonably optimistic for 2022. We're pretty confident for the years 2023-2025. 2025 will be, of course, a pre-electoral year, so we'll have to see. Regarding the profit margin, well, of course, hoping that there will be more business. We hope to have higher margins if we can keep our fixed costs under control. We're not too worried about that.
I think in the road business, the profit margins should rise gradually in the years to come.
Right. Well, thank you, Laurent.
Christian, maybe on this, the cash position.
Well, yes, cash in the holding company. Benoît mentioned the dividend payout policy. Right, we do have a comfortable cash position now. If a big deal comes online, and we're looking at huge amounts of cash, then you can very quickly tip over into the red. Cash generation should be continued because if you have the cash, you can then secure a big deal. Then, if you do that, very often you tip back into the red, as I said, with net.
For two years running, you had EUR 500 million cash year- on- year simply because WCR was well- controlled. Things can turn around. I'm not saying this is going to happen, but you have to keep some of these horses in the short run. We can't afford not to have short-term cash. On the buyback of shares, in 2021, we were opportunistic. We increased our share of our hold of Treasury shares. Of course, that was an opportunity we had to take.
Regarding the capital allocation plan for APRR, I mean, EUR 400 million in capital expenditure is a big chunk. What's the trade-off? I mean, you're going to have rate increases as you had in the motorway around Montpellier.
Are you gonna do the same?
Well, right now the ART is still examining the application, so we cannot get into the details of financial details. To give you some light, we are looking indeed at adjustment of rates rather than extending. There are various ways in which that may be done, but of course we're waiting for official blessing before we can say more. Thank you.
In addition, last year, we still have rate increase from the recovery plan, so those are compensations that will be post 2023 to avoid any too important increase in the rates. Any more questions?
Your next question comes from the line of Gregor Kuglitsch from UBS. Please ask your question.
Good evening. I'll keep it to maybe two questions if that's okay. The first thing, can you on the EUR 400 million CapEx for APRR just maybe lay out for us what the compensation mechanism would be for that if it goes ahead? And then just to maybe summarize on the contracting margins, I think you just said gradual improvement in infrastructure, perhaps some upside in energies. Construction, I'm not sure whether you've commented, but maybe summarizing it all, do you expect contracting margins to step up in 2022 versus the 3.7% or be more stable? Thank you.
For the allocation plan of EUR 400 million, we gave the elements, the basics.
And will be done in order to get some extension of network. We will have some massive investment in order to rebuild part of the road, which is from Paris at the beginning of APRR. There are a certain number of other things which are environmentally related as well as facilitating new way of mobility, car sharing scheme and others. That basically is the mainstream. As far as compensation is concerned, we're saying that we cannot go into great detail because it's not yet reviewed by the regulatory authority. In the meantime, we are using basically tariff increase compensation mechanism, and there will be no extension.
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The question on the various margins of construction of works, what's interesting, it's in a relative summary way, if I take Eiffage Construction, big exposure to housing and construction. Regarding housing, as we said, there are less building permits. There will be no impact in 2022 on the housing activity because we are building and selling reservations of the past. The reservations that we do not do today will lead to a decrease of volume as of 2023 on the housing. We have also operations, third-party operations that may offset these issues. On the construction, many renovation works, many tertiary public procurement, public equipment. Those are public procurement. We're protected. We have inflation protection. The total volume should help us to improve slightly the housing margin.
It's facing the probable decrease of the housing margin, making that there is a resilience due to the fact that we consider that we're able to maintain the levels of margins we reached today, and the structuring may change in time. On the road side, Laurent was very explicit, so no need to add an extra layer. On the steel work, there is a visibility which is very important, so we see no reason to go on improving those elements. On the civil engineering, it's mainly the decrease of volume that will impact its profitability. As Guillaume said, we have a certain amount of places on intermediary projects and regions, but also in Germany, that must probably enable us to amortize the decrease of volumes.
Its global underlying make it that we are confident in a capacity to maintaining the margin or to have it progress. Energy, I said a word about it lately. Earlier, I mean.
Thank you very much.
Your next question comes from the line of Marcin Wojtal from Bank of America. Please ask your question.
Yes. Good evening. Thank you for taking my question. The first one, I just wanted to come back on your reinvestment strategy. Would you be open to expand into new types of infrastructure assets, let's say, related to electricity generation, electricity transmission? I think renewables were mentioned in one of the previous answers. I was just wondering, you know, have you been thinking about it a little bit, and are you a bit more open to perhaps explore new areas for growth? My question number two, if I may, it is on your Grand Paris construction contract. I think the first contract was awarded in 2018, and that was a large contract, almost EUR 2 billion of revenue.
Can you just give us reassurance that you expect this contract to be, let's say, relatively, you know, relatively good in terms of profitability? 'Cause obviously, probably prices of materials have increased quite dramatically over the last two years. Can you just give us some reassurance on that large contract? Thank you.
Regarding your first question about the reinvestment, about the business of electricity generation and transportation, we are important players of works on the transport and distribution in France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, and globally speaking, Africa. It's something that we will go on doing, but we never ramped up, and our aim is not to go into the business of distribution of electricity and interconnection. We remain in our core business. On the part photovoltaic are expressed in the presentation. We are extensively present. We are also. We were minority investor through Eiffage Concessions in photovoltaic power plants in Senegal or in Chile. It's always been in support of the works teams facing a project that was financed with an intrinsic weakness of the developer.
It was important to take a minority stake to make sure that if there were problems of connection to the network, like it happens sometimes, we would know it beforehand upstream and help them to solve, rather than to face a customer which is not present in the country and who might not go to the very end of it. You have it in addendum, 10% here, 15% there in photovoltaic power plant, because Eiffage Concessions was only a supporter towards the good end of the works, and we always expect the good end of those works. About half of our roads, we see some capacity to create photovoltaic power plants on the plots that are not used. We are minority partners of these development companies, and we make sure that these companies are being operated and maintained by us.
We are a major installator and maintenance of those power plants. That pushed us towards a thinking, enabling us to get back to the value chain to speed up the greening of our production in our own capacity of acquisition of electricity within the group. Because eventually we have all the components, and we consider that we're able to get back onto this value chain in the short range. There are teams focusing on that in the teams of Cecile. On the wind farm offshore, we are not at all in that. We remain focused. We are one of the three major steel constructor, builder on all the fields, but we have no vocation whatsoever to get on the value chain. Sums and the balance sheets are in scales totally different from ours.
Pardon.
No more questions from the phone. Yes, there was a second question about the Grand Paris. Indeed, our contract of EUR 2 billion is always in the pipes. I mean, the risk part of the project is not behind us, but it moved forward nicely. What remains, two-thirds of our tunnel borers, we dug 60% of the tunnels. We have one TBM under the tunnel du Landy, which is under the tracks of many, many trains reaching Paris. Then we shall finalize the largest train station of the Grand Paris Express, which is the train station of Saint-Denis. It's the Société du Grand Paris, and the RATP need this train station to operate the extension of the line 14. It should be available for the Olympic Games. We're focused.
This project is developing well, expanding the way we expect it, so you might be reassured about our capacity to operate according to what the customer wishes us to do. On inflation, yes, there were also inflation of the price of raw materials. It's public contracts where we enjoy revisions, so the risk of inflation is totally different from what you may have on some private markets. The French public contracts are very balanced with the reliability of the KPIs that has always proved its efficiency through the economic cycles. Additional questions.
Could we have. I don't see this in the presentation. The magnitude of the revenue offshore of façade and Éole. We talk about delays and overcosts. Where are you? Where do you stand there?
Offshore, EUR 400 million- EUR 500 million of current activities.
For the steel construction, we may have some contracts forthcoming with the systems. It's between EUR 400 million and EUR 500 million. Façades, EUR 150 million, more or less. We do a lot of things. There are contracts on the renovation of the tracks and the tracks themselves on which we're working and now we're also partners of the contract of EOLE going through Porte Maillot. Guillaume? Yes. In addition, the project EOLE, we're on top of it. We have two lots of tunnels, one coming from La Défense up to the Saint-Lazare, with Boulogne-Billancourt and the Porte Maillot. It's a contract that is managed directly by the SNCF, the train. We're moving forward in the negotiation. The only thing we can say is that this project is moving classically. The tunnel is almost finished. We'll go on the discussions with the customer.
It's true that in the media, there were discussions about the overcosts of the projects. It's not only for civil engineering's fault. We are getting the tunnel borer out. Well, the operation, the commissioning is something different. I have an eye on the date the tunnel borer will have to get out from there. In terms of discussion with the SNCF, it's beginning of 2022, we should be out of the tunnel, and it will come out end of January, beginning of February. What Guillaume may add is that you have, within this project on the Porte Maillot, a will to connect Eole in a much more important way with the Palais des Congrès, the Congress building. That was not in the plans. There was a major evolution, customer-sized, of what he wanted to do during the operation, during the building, during the construction.
Well, when you have a station there and a congress palace nearby to make it more interconnected. The vision you have in the media is the consolidated vision of all of the program. This has nothing to do with our contract per se. Even if sometimes it may have an impact because forcibly, we make the box where this kind of station will be located. There's no major problem with the customer about our operation.
Any more questions?
More questions? Well, thank you all for having been with us, and I do regret that we cannot extend with a cocktail party. Hopefully for the next time.