Tuesday, February 2, 2010.

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I'm Shannon de Ryhove.

Making headlines today:

The affordable housing division of Nedbank Corporate Property Finance will fund a new 200-million-rand development to be built by the Cosmopolitan group, in Mapleton, near Vosloorus, in Gauteng.

The banking group says that the affordable housing development will entail the construction of 522 residential stands, 270 of which would be completed as part of phase one by the end of February.

Stands averaged at 250 square meters, with houses ranging in sizes of between 40 and 70 square meters.

The entry-level house prices would start at 370 000-rand and packages will include all costs, such as professional fees, conveyancing, bond registration, council connections and approval fees.

National carrier South African Airways has published a request for bids for consultants to advise it on the restructuring options for its maintenance and repair wing, SAA Technical (SAAT). This could, eventually, lead to the introduction of private equity partners at the unit.

The inclusion of a possible strategic equity partner at the SAA subsidiary has been considered ever since April 2000, when SAAT was set up as a separate and distinct company. However, there have been several false starts since then, despite initial indications that a sale was likely during 2008.

In the intervening period, the maintenance repair and overhaul division has been actively seeking to expand its third-party customer base, so as to decrease its reliance on SAA, which remains a key client.

SAA spokesperson Vimla Maistry said that the tender formed part of a process of unbundling the business unit, which itself formed part of the broader restructuring of the State-owned airline, which began in May 2007.

Also making headlines:

Honda South Africa recalls its previous generation Jazz.
The Kagiso Purchasing Managers Index increases for a sixth consecutive month.
Truck assembler Nissan Diesel South Africa forms an alliance with Wesbank to facilitate financing for its customers.
And, Africa's telecom sector will have private investments of more $70-billion by 2012.

That's a round up of news making headlines today. For more on these and other stories please visit engineeringnews.co.za.

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