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Infrastructure News

Organisations call for responsible transformation in the construction sector

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 18th April 2019 The Black Business Council (BBC), the BBC in the Built Environment and the Forum for Radical Economic Transformation on Thursday condemned the disruption by local business forums of construction projects in South Africa. The parties met to discuss issues focusing on local economic participation... →

Contract awarded for LHWP II’s Polihali diversion tunnels

By: Simone Liedtke 18th April 2019 The Lesotho Highlands Development Authority has awarded the contract for the construction of the Polihali diversion tunnels to the SCLC Polihali Diversion Tunnel joint venture, marking another significant step in the implementation of Phase 2 of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project. The contractor... →

France to open redesign of Notre-Dame's spire to international architects

By: Reuters 18th April 2019 France will open the redesign of the Notre-Dame de Paris’ iconic roofline to international architects after Monday night’s blaze gutted the oak-framed structure and sent its 300-foot spire crashing through its vaulted ceiling, the country's PM said on Wednesday. President Emmanuel Macron pledged... →

Africa's sole nuclear plant undergoes revamp to extend lifespan

By: Bloomberg 18th April 2019 Eskom Holdings, the State utility that supplies 95% of South Africa’s power, is overhauling the continent’s sole nuclear plant with the aim of extending its lifespan by at least 20 years. The revamp of the 1 860 MW Koeberg facility comes as Eskom struggles to produce enough electricity to meet... →

Saice requests Ramaphosa’s urgent intervention to address construction site attacks

By: Nadine James 17th April 2019 The South African Institution of Civil Engineering (Saice) has joined other industry bodies in strongly condemning the recent spate of alleged “mafia-style” coordinated gang activity on project sites across the country. In a statement issued on Wednesday, Saice referred to pleas from the South... →

Nzimande requests George IPTN Phase 4B suspension

By: Nadine James 17th April 2019 Transport Minister Dr Blade Nzimande has requested the Western Cape provincial government to suspend plans to roll out Phase 4B of the George Integrated Public Transport Network (IPTN). This was in response to a letter sent by the Western Cape Transport MEC Donald Grant, informing Nzimande of the... →

Photo by Creamer Media
Transport Minister Dr Blade Nzimande

Eskom CEO says 'days of surprises' over as problems exposed

By: Bloomberg 17th April 2019 Almost 15 months into the job, and the boss of South Africa’s state-owned electricity company is getting to grips with issues spanning corruption to defective power plants that threatened to collapse the grid. “The days of surprises are over,” Eskom Holdings CEO Phakamani Hadebe said in an... →

Steel demand growth rates to moderate in line with slowing global economic growth

By: Nadine James 16th April 2019 Global steel demand is expected to increase by 1.3% year-on-year to 1.74-billion tonnes this year, the World Steel Association’s (worldsteel’s) ‘April 2019 Short Range Outlook’ shows. Demand is projected to grow by a further 1% in 2020 to 1.75-billion tonnes, the association added. →

Policy and regulatory malaise undermining efforts to address power deficit

By: Terence Creamer 16th April 2019 Lingering policy uncertainty and regulatory delays are continuing to impede the development of hundreds of small-scale embedded generation (SSEG) projects, which are seen at the quickest and cheapest way for South Africa to address its current electricity supply deficit. The South African... →

Cape Town in good position even if winter rains are poor – deputy mayor

By: News24Wire 16th April 2019 Dam levels are 10% higher than the City of Cape Town's projections for the end of summer so the city is in a good position even if the coming winter rains turn out to be below average, says deputy mayor Ian Neilson. "And the water consumption by Cape Town is well under the target we set of... →

Johannesburg Roads Agency suspends top management over tender irregularities

By: African News Agency 16th April 2019 Top managers at the troubled Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) including MD Goodwill Mbatha have been suspended for flouting tender regulations, the city's mayor Herman Mashaba said on Tuesday. The JRA's board on Monday adopted the findings of a series of forensic investigations which implicated... →

N1 highway pedestrian bridge to be ready for use soon

By: Simone Liedtke 15th April 2019 The new pedestrian bridge over the N1 at Erasmusrand will soon be ready for use by pedestrians and cyclists near Hoërskool Waterkloof, in Pretoria, says the South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral). The bridge, which was built in under 20 hours over this past weekend, only needs to... →

The new pedestrian bridge over the N1 at Erasmusrand will soon be ready for use by pedestrians and cyclists near Hoërskool Waterkloof, in Pretoria

BRPs initiate Group Five disposals

By: Marleny Arnoldi 12th April 2019 The business rescue practitioners (BRPs) for embattled construction company Group Five on Friday announced that they would start with a series of disposals to reduce financial liabilities as part of the company’s business rescue proceedings. The BRPs David Lake and Peter van den Steen of Metis... →

Tribunal dismisses collusive tendering complaint against WBHO

By: Marleny Arnoldi 12th April 2019 The Competition Tribunal this week dismissed the Competition Commission’s complaint referral against construction company WBHO Construction in which it was alleged to have colluded on a South African National Roads Agency tender. The matter stemmed from the commission’s industry-wide... →

Transnet to meet OEMs this month in bid to reach settlement on ‘unlawful’ locomotive contracts

By: Terence Creamer 12th April 2019 State-owned logistics group Transnet will, during the course of April and May, seek to secure “just and equitable” negotiations with the four original equipment manufacturers supplying it with 1 064 diesel and electric locomotives under a R49-billion procurement programme concluded in 2015.... →

Construction industry remains under pressure

12th April 2019 Creamer Media's Chanel de Bruyn speaks to Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor Irma Venter about the ongoing decline of the South African construction industry, what this means for the country in the long term and industry body, the South African Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors’ request... →

Construction industry remains under pressure

Kenya airports body sees land at $10bn on revaluation

By: Bloomberg 12th April 2019 Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) expects its land holdings to be worth more than one-trillion shillings ($9.9-billion) after a revaluation is concluded in a month, CEO Jonny Andersen said. “Since we’ll have a different balance sheet, we can go to the banks and ask for completely different financing... →

Lack of knowledge a concern in flooring industry

By: Thabi Madiba 12th April 2019 A lack of knowledge, specifically among structural engineers on specifications for concrete floors, poses a challenge to the industry, says concrete technical services provider The Concrete Institute (TCI) MD Bryan Perrie. “Concrete floors are effectively concrete pavements and should be... →

CONCRETE FLOOR SPECS Concrete floors must also be aesthetically pleasing, with minimal surface defects and cracking

Demand for concrete flooring continues to increase

By: Thabi Madiba 12th April 2019 The demand for concrete flooring continues to grow at a robust rate, as more commercial, retail and residential customers opt for polished concrete, says diamond tools and equipment manufacturer Diamond Products director Brian Clark. This robust growth is reflected in the company’s increase in... →

STAIN AND SLIP RESISTANT Concrete can achieve a high-quality and aesthetically pleasing polished finish

New machine collection for floor preparation launched

By: Thabi Madiba 12th April 2019 Floor grinders and dust extractors manufacturer HTC Sweden AB launched a new line of smaller grinders and dust extractors, the Start and Grind collection, to assist flooring contractors when preparing floors, earlier this year in Sweden. The collection will be launched in South Africa in the... →

QUINTIN BOOYSEN There is a huge lack of knowledge on industrial flooring requirements, which leads to small contractors delivering inferior-quality flooring

Tribunal dismisses commission’s application to amend West Cape referral

By: Marleny Arnoldi 10th April 2019 The Competition Tribunal on Tuesday dismissed an application made by the Competition Commission to amend and supplement a complaint referral relating to alleged collusion by construction companies on a tender for the South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral). The tribunal in August... →

M&R JV issued arbitral award in Dubai airport dispute

By: Marleny Arnoldi 10th April 2019 Murray & Roberts (M&R) has announced that an arbitral award has been issued in relation to a dispute between the Al Habtoor M&R Takenana (HMRT) joint venture (JV) and Dubai Civil Aviation (DCA) regarding a construction contract at the Dubai International Airport. The Dubai International... →

SME building and construction industry in the doldrums, says CIDB survey

By: Irma Venter 9th April 2019 The 2019 first quarter Construction Industry Development Board small and medium-sized enterprise Business Conditions Survey, released on Tuesday, suggests that the South African building and construction industry remains under pressure. General building confidence declined by one index point to 33. →

Construction industry in rapid decline as work wanes, ‘mafia’ takes over, warns Safcec

By: Irma Venter 8th April 2019 The South African construction industry is in a state of accelerated decline, says South African Forum of Civil Engineering Contractors (Safcec) CEO Webster Mfebe. This is caused mainly by a lack of new contracts flowing from government’s purse, as well as increased violence and thuggery on local... →

TPT sets its focus on African port concession opportunities

By: Shirley le Guern 5th April 2019 State-owned Transnet aims, through its Transnet International Holdings entity, to leverage its expertise to secure port concessions across the African continent. Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) growth and diversification senior manager Dr Darren Fraser told a special interest group gathering under... →

TPT CE stresses need for faster turnarounds of vessels, trains

By: Shirley le Guern 5th April 2019 It would no longer be business as usual at the Port of Durban, Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) CE Nozipho Sithole told the Transport Forum’s special interest group meeting, in Durban, on Thursday. Conceding that TPT was not yet where it wanted to be in terms of efficiency, consistency or... →

Clough JV awarded civil works contract for Australian hydropower project

By: Marleny Arnoldi 5th April 2019 The Clough Salini joint venture (JV) has been appointed as the contractor for the Snowy 2.0 hydropower project, in New South Wales, Australia. The JV’s scope of work on the project is valued at about A$1.8-billion, spanning over the next five years. →

Transnet execs seek balance between efficiency improvements, growth opportunities

By: Shirley le Guern 5th April 2019 It is not about pouring concrete and spending, it is a war of efficiency, Transnet group executive of new business growth and diversification Herbert Msagala told a select special interest group convened at the Transport Forum, in Durban, on Thursday. In what he ultimately labelled an “honest and... →

Transnet group executive of new business growth and diversification Herbert Msagala

Digital tech can improve client and project interaction

By: Cameron Mackay 5th April 2019 Professional services firm WSP is finding more opportunities to use emerging digital technologies in delivering engineering and infrastructure projects globally, points out WSP in Africa MD Mathieu du Plooy. This involves the managing of information and data, designing and collaboration efforts... →

MATHIEU DU PLOOY WSP’s focus on the African continent is more sector-based than geographical. We will follow the countries where the need is pressing

Consulting firm shifts to public-sector partner role

By: Cameron Mackay 5th April 2019 Multinational engineering consultancy Aurecon sees a need to shift the group’s role from that of consultant for engineering design and delivery to being more of a partner to government, specifically in the capacity of adviser and decision-maker on important infrastructural challenges. This will... →

GREEN BUILDINGS The next for green buildings will be the integration the Internet of Things and consistent use of technology through the life cycle of an asset

SME politics hindering civil projects, says consulting firm

By: Cameron Mackay 5th April 2019 Government efforts to motivate for the employment of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for civil engineering and construction projects are causing difficulties for local infrastructure projects, says engineering and construction company Hyson Cells CEO and founder Sally Hall. “The... →

SME OPPORTUNITIES The most successful projects in which Hyson Cells has been involved are where women-owned teams have been employed

Emphasis on STEM subjects at schools vital

By: Cameron Mackay 5th April 2019 The announcement by President Cyril Ramaphosa in his State of the Nation Address in February this year that government plans to introduce more technical subjects at high schools in South Africa, is long overdue, says consulting engineering and project implementation firm Hatch’s Sibongile... →

MEANINGFUL CONTRIBUTION Companies should create an inclusive environment for employees to enable them to contribute to the company and community

Education important for future of industry – Cesa

By: Cameron Mackay 5th April 2019 Consulting engineering association Consulting Engineers South Africa (Cesa) president Neresh Pather says introducing new technology subjects at technical high schools will play a critical role in preparing future generations for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and the general consulting... →

Consulting Engineers South Africa president Neresh Pather & Gauteng Road & Transport MEC Dr Ismail Vadi discuss education and technology in consulting engineering. Camerawork and Editing: Creamer Media's Nicholas Boyd.

Polymers can improve load-bearing, structural elements of roads

By: Schalk Burger 5th April 2019 Local polymer road solution company Romix has developed products that improve the performance of load-bearing and wear layers of roads while reducing the costs of construction and the impact on the environment, says Romix Africa MD Vijian Naidoo. “Our soil-fix product is used in a liquid form... →

Uptick in demand for water-sector consulting

By: Cameron Mackay 5th April 2019 Despite subdued demand for consulting engineering services in South Africa, engineering consulting firm SRK Consulting South Africa has noted an increase in demand for the group’s water-sector consulting services. “As the country faces a backlog in water infrastructure maintenance, it must also... →

THE MATZIKAMMA MUNICIPALITY The Matzikamma municipality coastline was deemed suitable for land-based aquaculture farming

Lack of road maintenance could cost South Africa millions of rands – SARF president

By: Simone Liedtke 4th April 2019 Roads that are not properly and timeously maintained are costing South Africa millions of rands, as well as negatively affecting the economy and society, says South African Road Federation president Saied Solomons. Solomons is also the CEO of the Southern African Bitumen Association. →

Nigeria to build seaports to ease gridlock on Lagos's shore

By: Bloomberg 4th April 2019 Nigeria is building a new deep-sea port and considering two additional facilities to ease congestion in the main harbors of the commercial capital, Lagos, which currently handle about 80% of all shipping traffic in Africa’s biggest oil producer. A new facility is already under construction in the... →

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Two people injured as military helicopter crashes in Centurion