Austrian state to invest $2bn

The Austrian state of Upper Austria will invest almost 2 billion U.S. dollars in 2014, in part as an impetus for the labor market, Governer Josef Puehringer announced Thursday. Puehringer said the financial crisis had been largely contained in Austria in recent years, but that the relatively large investment sum was necessary for continued growth, ORF reported. The Upper Austrian state government plans to invest the funds in many companies it either owns or partly owns. The funding is expected to flow into areas such as construction of new retirement homes, the renovation of power plants, road construction and transport, social welfare and housing assistance, expansion of tourism infrastructure, and renovation and construction of municipal buildings. Energy firm Energie AG is one of the larger beneficiaries of the new investments, and will have 335 million dollars to invest in network expansion and the modernization of power plants, while 210 million dollars will go toward Upper Austrian hospitals. The largest part of the investment fund will come directly from the state budget, which will give the state an investment ratio of 17.7 percent.