WORLD NEWS
8
SOUTH KOREA
Contractors barred
following Four Rivers
collusion
South Korean government bans ten companies
from public projects for up to 15 months following
price fixing allegations.
T
he South Korean state agency, the Korean Water Resources Corp.,
has banned ten contractors from being awarded government projects
for up to 15 months following allegations of price collusion. The
companies are accused of fixing prices on the Four Rivers Restoration project.
The most heavily penalised contractors are Daelim Industrial, GS
Engineering & Construction (E&C) and Hyundai E&C, which have been
barred from winning government contracts for 15 months. Lesser bans have
been given to Hanjin Heavy Industries, Keangnam Enterprises, Kumho
Industrial, Kyeryong Construction, Samsung C&T, Samwhan Corp and SK
E&C.
Several of the banned companies were charged last month by the Supreme
Prosecutor’s Office in Seoul for bid rigging on the KRW 22.2 trillion (US$
20.5 billion) project.
The Four Rivers Restoration project was a scheme to rehabilitate South
Korea’s main waterways, the Geum, Han, Nakdong and Yeongsan Rivers,
and their tributaries.
It was launched in January 2009 and reached completion in October 2011,
and was designed to secure water resources for the country, prevent floods,
improve water quality and protect river ecosystems. The scheme saw some
929 km of rivers restored and a series of 14 reservoirs constructed.
News of the bans by the Korean Water Resources Corp. come after
the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office in Seoul charged 22 individuals at 11
construction companies with bid rigging on the project.
UAE
Turner & Townsend has been awarded the contract for cost estimation,
scheduling and risk management on the expansion of Abu Dhabi International
Airport in the UAE. The project involves the construction of a state of the
art new terminal, the Midfield Terminal Complex (MTC), as well as the
redevelopment of existing terminal facilities and services to support the
airport. Developed by Abu Dhabi Airports Company, the MTC is expected
to have a total area of some 700,000 m
2
, including 20,000 m
2
of shops and
food & drink outlets. Construction on the project is already underway, with
completion expected in 2017.
international
construction
november 2013
CHINA
Climate
change
warning
China needs to invest in climate
proofing its infrastructure now or
face the consequences of losing
a landmass four times the size
of Hong Kong, warns the Asian
Development Bank (ADB) in its
report, Economics of Climate
Change in East Asia.
The report estimates that climate
proofing of all infrastructure
in China, including roads and
drainage, would cost up to US$ 44
billion a year between 2010 and
2050.
Rising sea levels place 4,000 km
of China’s coastline under threat
of submersion, according to the
ADB report, which notes that the
international port cities of Shanghai
and Tianjin and the business centres
of Guangdong and Jiangsu are
highly vulnerable.
EUROPE
CECE’s
10-point
manifesto
A manifesto for a 10-point
action plan to improve industrial
production in Europe has been
presented to the European
Parliament by the presidents of
the Committee for European
Construction Equipment (CECE)
and the European association
representing
the
agricultural
machinery industry (CEMA).
Johann Sailer (CECE) and Gilles
Dryancour (CEMA) handed over
the manifesto to MEP Malcolm
Harbour at the CECE-CEMA
summit held on October 16 in the
European Parliament.
The two associations said that by
doing this, the sectors underlined
their commitment to playing an
active role in reaching the European
Commission’s target of raising the
share of industry in Europe from
16% of GDP to at least 20% by
2020.
At the manifesto handover, Mr
Dryancour said, “We call on the EU
to make industrial competitiveness
the centre of EU policymaking, and
this is our contribution.”
He
added,
“Strong
and
competitive industrial production
in Europe is essential to drive
Europe out of recession and keep
our common economic area wealthy
and economically successful.”
The action plan calls for
the introduction of stronger
competitiveness-proofing and fitness
checks, and to ensure more coherent
EU policy-making. In addition,
ensuring EU legislation boosted
the industry’s ability to innovate
to remain ahead of competitors
was another point, followed by a
call to seek greater international
policy alignment to avoid technical
barriers to trade, and to reduce the
administrative burden of complying
with EU legislation.
The completion of the Internal
Market was highlighted, as was the
need to ensure fair competition
through better market surveillance.
There was a need, the manifesto
said, to invest massively in
infrastructure, and to deepen
partnerships for a skilled workforce.
GLOBAL
Infrastructure
trade to triple
Global trade in the equipment
and materials used to construct
infrastructure such as roads, railways
and power networks is forecast to
triple by 2030.
This growth will be fuelled by
increased investment from emerging
markets, according to HSBC’s
latest Global Connections report,
produced in conjunction with
Oxford Economics.
The report forecasts that trade
relating to infrastructure will grow
at an average of +9% per year
between 2013 and 2030.
China is set to become the top
importer of equipment as it invests
in manufacturing productivity
and moves into increasingly
sophisticated products. Its exports
of construction materials and
machinery
for
infrastructure
projects are also forecast to rise.
The report also forecasts that
Malaysia, Indonesia, Bangladesh
and Vietnam are set for rapid
increases in infrastructure-related
imports.
