WORLD NEWS
2013
BICES 2013
October 15 – 18 , 2013
Beijing, China
International Construction
Economic Forum (ICEF)
November 20 – 22, 2013
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Excon 2013
November 20 – 24 , 2013
Bangalore, India
MS Africa & Middle East
December 9 – 12, 2013
Cairo, Egypt
2014
Intermat Middle East
January 14 – 16, 2014
Abu Dhabi, UAE
World of Concrete
January 21 – 24, 2014
(Seminars 20 – 24 January)
Las Vegas, US
ConExpo-Con/Agg 2014
March 4 – 8, 2014
Las Vegas, US
SMOPYC 2014
April 1 – 5, 2014
Zaragoza, Spain
Samoter 2014
May 8 – 11, 2014
Verona Exhibition Centre
Verona, Italy
APEX (Access Platform
Exhibition)
June 24-26, 2014
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
IRE (International Rental
Exhibition)
June 24-26, 2014
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
DIARY DATES
7
october 2013
international
construction
JAPAN
Due for completion in 2019,
the 80,000 seat Kasumigaoka
National Stadium will be built on
the site of Tokyo’s 1964 Olympic
Stadium, ahead of the 2020 Summer
Games. Construction of venues
and infrastructure for the 2020
Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan
is expected to cost US$ 4.54 billion.
Tokyo, which previously hosted
the summer games in 1964, beat
alternative bids from Madrid, Spain,
and Istanbul, Turkey.
BELGIUM
Penalties
for cement
industry
The Belgian Competition Council
(BCC) has imposed fines totalling
€ 14.7 million (US$ 20 million)
on three cement producers and two
associations for restricting access to
the Belgian market for new entrants.
The BCC said that Belgian
subsidiary of Heidelberg Cement,
CBR, together with the Belgian
subsidiary of Italcimenti, CCB,
had colluded with fellow producer
Hoclim and the Federation of
the Belgian Cement Industry
(FEBELCEM), as well as the
National Centre for Technical and
Scientific Research for the Cement
Industry
(CRIC/OCCN),
to
restrict competition.
They are accused of deliberately
delaying the adoption of a license
allowing the use of ground
granulated blast furnace slag
(GGBFS) in ready-mixed concrete.
FEBELCEM said it would
investigate the BCC decision in
detail, adding that it was possible to
launch an appeal within a month.
Holcim said its Belgian subsidiary
would consider an appeal. CBR said
it planned to appeal, adding that
its lawyers considered the actions
of FEBELCEM and its members
as within the limits of normal
lobbying.
However,
Donal
O’Riain,
managing director of another
producer, Orcem, welcomed the
decision. “The tactic of competition
discrimination in cement markets
via manipulation of technical
standards by the established
industry leaders is widespread in
Europe,” he said.
Poland’s Treasury has been forced
to push back the completion date
for construction of a new liquefied
natural gas (LNG) terminal by
six months after a contractor
bankruptcy and additional costs
delayed the project.
It said the 5 billion m
3
per year
LNG Terminal in Swinoujscie on
the Baltic Sea was now expected to
be completed at the end of 2014
instead of mid-year.
The Ministry said the key reason
for the delay was the, “Rising and
current crisis in the construction
market,” as well as the bankruptcy
A UAE sovereign wealth fund is
planning to invest up to US$ 5
billion in Russian infrastructure
projects over the next seven years.
The deal between the Abu Dhabi
Department of Finance and the
Russian Direct Investment Fund
(RDIF) is expected to be formalised
by the end of the year.
A joint venture will be formed to
develop Russian roads, ports and
bridges. Projects earmarked for
funds include the modernisation of
the Trans-Siberian railway, a high-
speed train line connecting Moscow
and Kazan, and upgrades to the ring
road on Moscow’s city limits.
RUSSIA
UAE plans to invest in Russia
POLAND
Contractor crisis hits LNG
RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev
said, “We are pleased to welcome
our partners from Abu Dhabi’s
Department of Finance. Their US$
5 billion contribution is the largest
investment from the Middle East
ever made into Russia as well as one
of the largest into an infrastructure
fund globally.”
Chairman of the Abu Dhabi
Department of Finance Hamad
Mohammed Al Hurr Al Suwaidi
added that the agreement was a
testament to the department’s
belief in the returns that could be
generated from investing in Russian
infrastructure.
of Polish company PGB, one of
the members of the consortium
building the project. The other
members of the consortium are
Saipem, and Technit.
Polskie LNG, the state-controlled
client, said a further € 67.5 million
(US$ 91 million) had been added
to the cost of the original € 714
million (US$ 965 million) contract.
A wave of bankruptcies have
affected Poland’s construction
sector, with around 300 companies
going bust in 2012. On top of
this, contractors complain of weak
procurement controls.
