"We do of course take this very seriously," says Senior Vice President Communication Kai Krüger Henriksen at Veidekke. "We have not had further communication with the Competition Authority after their short visit to our offices in Uppsala, but we will naturally do our utmost to assist, if and when they need documentation".

The Competition Authority's suspicion is based on information about possible tender cooperation between companies in the region in the period of 1999 - 2002. Veidekke Stockholm AB, which is the parent company of the operations in Uppsala, was founded in 2000. The operations have been organically developed, and 2001 was the first year of operations of any substance.

"We are thus a new player in the market in this region. Our activities include normal building and construction operations," says Kai Krüger Henriksen. "We were awarded our first big contract in September 2001 when we won the tender competition for the first phase of a new highway E-4 near Uppsala. This is a project that we have undertaken in a 50/50 partnership with Vägverket Produktion. The contract price is approximately 1.4 billion SEK," adds Mr. Krüger Henriksen.

Expected turnover for Veidekke Stockholm AB this year is approximately 700 million SEK. The company has a total of 330 employees.

Veidekke has an established common compliance program covering all three Scandinavian countries to ensure that all employees in the Group abide by prevailing rules and regulations.

Further questions may be directed to Senior Vice President Communication, Kai Krüger Henriksen,

phone +47 21 05 77 04 or +47 905 19 360