With the occasion of the completion of the Olympic projects and 17 days before the official opening of the Olympic Games HERACLES is proud to present its participation and contribution to the works related to the Olympics .

In average, the last 5 years the domestic cement market consumed around ten million tonnes per year. The 20% was consumed by the public works while the rest by the private activity. The projects related to the Olympic Works represented on a year basis the 5% of the domestic cement market.

During the last five years, HERACLES delivered as accumulated 535,000 tonnes of cement for infrastructure projects related to the Olympics and during the last three years HERACLES supplied another 435,000 tonnes of cement to the Olympic Projects and sites.

HERACLES cooperated effectively with more than 40 contractors, supplying over than 29 major projects and sites either through its ready mix concrete affiliated company Lafarge Beton or through several independent major RMX producers.

Mr. Corcos, HERACLES Group Managing Director, stated that: ' We are very satisfied by the contribution we had to the Olympic projects and the excellent cooperation with all parties involved. For the post Olympics period a small decline is expected due to the completion of the Olympic works. However our export activity will be the lever to absorbe our production not consumed by the domestic market. . It is a good sign that the private construction activity continue to be strong and in the mid term, we bel ieve that infrastructure investments in Greece will continue helped by the 3rd Community Support Framework'

HERACLES Group of Companies, a member of Lafarge, has 3 cement plants in Greece. One in Volos, which is the largest cement plant in Europe, one in Halkis Evia and one in Milaki Evia. The total production capacity of the Group is 9.6 million tonnes annually, which makes it the largest cement producer in Greece. HERACLES Group is also active in the production and sale of ready-mix and aggregate products.

Lafarge is the world leader in building materials, and employs 75,000 people in 75 countries. The Group holds top-ranking positions in all four of its Divisions: Cement, Aggregates & Concrete, Roofing and Gypsum. Lafarge posted sales of euros 13.6 billion in 2003.