Austrian Forestry Authority To Expand Operations under Restructuring Programme

Austrian Federal Forestry Authority, Oesterreichische Bundesforste AG (OeBf), is planning to restructure its operations under its OeBf-Horizont 2010 programme, which will include the construction of bio mass facilities, small-scale water and wind-driven power plants and real estate operations, OeBf chairman Thomas Uher said on March 20, 2003. OeBf will also focus on expanding its forestry-related services. The restructuring is mainly due to the falling price of timber over dozens of years, Uher said. Currently, the authority generates up to 75 pct of its revenue from timber, 10 pct from hunting and fishing, and 10 pct from real estate operations. Due to cost-cutting steps that have been implemented over the past few years, the losses the authority had been making were brought under control, but now growth was the focus of its business activities, Uher said. The OeBf-Horizont 2010 programme will be officially presented by mid-2003, Uher said.