international
construction
october 2013
WORLD NEWS
UK
The next Plantworx equipment
exhibition will be held from 2 to 4 June
2015 at Bruntingthorpe Aerodrome in
Leicestershire, UK. The inaugural event
took place at Stoneleigh Park in May
and attracted 11,000 visitors. The new,
333,500 m
2
(gross) venue comprises a
1,450 m long runway and taxiway with
a grass area for live demonstrations and
digging in between them.
EUROPE
New EU public procurement
directives are “lengthy and
complicated” and do not solve some
of the key challenges that contractors
face in the real world, according to
the European Construction Industry
Federation (FIEC). It criticised the new
directives, saying important targets had
been missed, including the issue of
abnormally low tenders.
MENA
The Islamic Development
Bank has approved US$ 747 million
in financing for development projects
across the Middle East and Africa. At
US$ 200 million, the largest single
award will support construction of
Tunisia’s Rades-C combined cycle
power project, while Burkina Faso will
receive financing of US$ 100 million for
the construction of new airport in the
capital Ouagadougou.
ARGENTINA
The Inter-American
Development Bank (IDB) has pledged
loans worth US$ 1.5 billion to Argentina
for work on the country’s railroads.
Schemes include electrifying 52.6 km
of the General Roca Railroad, in the
Buenos Aires metropolitan area.
UK
Construction output in the UK in
July rose +2.2% from June, largely as
a result of an increase in new work and
repair and maintenance. The figures
from the Office for National Statistics
revealed strong positive signs of a
sustained recovery in construction
output in the country, according to Dr
Noble Francis, economics director at the
UK’s Construction Products Association.
IVORY COAST
The Islamic
Development Bank has signed off on
US$ 170 million in funding to support
infrastructure projects in the Ivory
Coast. US$ 162 million will be used to
finance the construction of North-West
Region Roads project, while US$ 8.6
million will support the post-conflict
reconstruction of a school in Odienne.
HIGHLIGHTS
SOUTH KOREA
Price-fixing charges
on US$ 20.5 billion
Four Rivers project
Seoul prosecutors say 11 contractors including
Daewoo, Hyundai and Samsung could have
inflated prices by as much as US$ 3.5 billion
T
he Supreme Prosecutor’s Office in Seoul, South Korea has charged
22 individuals at 11 construction companies with bid rigging on the
KRW 22.2 trillion (US$ 20.5 billion) Four Rivers Restoration project.
The project was spearheaded by former South Korean president Lee Myung-
bak, who was chairman and CEO of Hyundai Engineering & Construction
(E&C) in the 1970s and 1980s, one of the accused companies, prior to his
2008 to 2013 term in office.
The other companies implicated are Daelim Industrial, Daewoo E&C,
GS E&C, Hyundai Development, Kumho Industrial, POSCO E&C,
Samsung Construction & Trading, Samsung Heavy Industries, SK E&C
and Ssangyong E&C.
The individuals charged are former and current employees of these
companies and include former Hyundai E&C CEO Kim Joong-kyum and
former Daewoo E&C CEO Seo Jong-uk.
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.
Prosecutors say that companies colluded to rig bids for individual contracts
within the Restoration Project, and that this may have inflated prices by as
much as KRW 3.8 trillion (US$ 3.5 billion).
Eight of the contractors involved have already been fined by the South
Korean Fair Trade Commission for bid rigging on the project.
6
SOUTH AFRICA
Construction
strike ends
A three-week strike by 90,000
construction workers in South
Africa ended in September with
a +12% pay deal agreed between
the South African National Union
of Mineworkers (NUM) and
the South African Federation of
Civil Engineering Contractors
(SAFCEC).
Negotiating for construction
workers, the NUM had demanded
an increase from the minimum
monthly wage from ZAR 4,400
(US$ 440) to ZAR 5,500 (US$
550), a +25% increase. Although
lower than the +12% increase that
has been agreed, the union has
described it as a “major victory.” The
union had previously rejected +8%
and +10% pay offers.
For its part, SAFCEC has said
that any wage increase must be
accompanied by an increase in
productivity. SAFCEC president
Norman Milne said, “The industry
is at a tipping point. Normally better
wages equals better production.
In our case productivity gains do
not keep pace with wage increases
and are actually declining. We are
paying more for our employees to
do less.”
The strike is reported to have
halted work on projects by
contractors including Aveng, Group
Five and Murray & Roberts.
GERMANY
Putzmeister names new CEO
Dr Gerald Karch has been
named CEO of German concrete
equipment
manufacturer
Putzmeister. He will also sit on the
board of Chinese parent company
Sany.
Dr Karch succeeds Norbert
Scheuch, who has left the company
by mutual agreement after four
years as CEO. Dr Karch joined
Putzmeister at the end of 2008 and
was appointed to the Management
Board in early 2010. He previously
held a series of management
positions during a 14-year career at
component manufacturer ZF.
