WORLDNEWS
8
international
construction
december 2014
MALAYSIA
SamsungC&T
has startedwork on the Star
Development inKuala Lumpur,
Malaysia. The US$ 310million
project for AlpineReturn, a joint
venture betweenUnitedMalayan
Land andSymphony Life, will
comprise residential, shopping
and entertainment facilities in a
complex including three 250m+
towers.
Once completed, the single
57-floor, 251m tower and two
58-floor, 265m towerswill be
among the tallest residential
structures in the country. Theywill
be built inKuala Lumpur’s business
district, near the Petronas Towers,
whichSamsungC&Twas also
involved in building.
MEXICO
Landmark
ChinaRailway
Construction
contract cancelled
High-speed rail workwithdrawn due to concerns
over bidding process
T
he Mexican Ministry of Communications and Transportation has
cancelledaMXP59billion (US$4.4billion) contract for aconsortium
ledbyChinaRailwayConstructionCorp. (CRCC) tobuild a 210km
high-speed rail link.The cancelation came just three days after the contract
was originally awarded.
On November 3 CRCC announced that a consortium comprising itself,
Chinese rolling stockmakerCSRCorporation, and fourMexican companies
had won the contract to build the 210 km high-speed rail link between
MexicoCity andQueretaro.
The schemewas to comprise a 40-month constructionperiod, followed by
just under five-years of operation andmaintenance. Of the overall contract,
some 60% of the construction value and all of the operational maintenance
work – a total of someMXP 39 billion (US$ 2.7 billion) –was attributable
toChinaRailwayConstruction.
However, onNovember 6 theMexicanMinistry of Communications and
Transportation cancelled the contract, reportedly over criticism of how the
bidding process hadbeen carried out.
Other companies to initially show interest in the project had included
Siemens, Alstom and Bombardier. However, some had reportedly said they
were not given enough time to prepare bids. As a result, when the contract
was awarded, theCRCC consortiumwas the only group left in the running
for the project.
The projectwas tohave been thefirst high-speed rail line inLatinAmerica,
and it would also have been the first foreign high-speed rail project built by
aChinese company.
US
Blockgrowth
Demand for bricks, blocks and
pavers in the US is forecast to rise
+8.8% a year from a low base in
2013 to US$ 8.9 billion in 2018
according to a new study bymarket
research company The Freedonia
Group.
The company said growth would
be due to the broad construction
market recovery, although it added
that the current rebound in new
house construction was particularly
significant. It noted that bricks were
used most intensively in single-
family residential construction.
However, The Freedonia Group
said structural blocks were the
biggest segment of the market,
worth some US$ 2.95 billion last
year out of a total bricks, blocks &
pavers market of US$ 5.8 billion.
It said demand for structural blocks
is concentrated in non-residential
markets, where they are used both
in foundations and in above-grade
walls. The structural block segment
is expected to rise toUS$3.7billion
by 2018.
In the pavers sector, the
company said increasing interest in
aesthetically pleasing features such
as terraced landscaping and paver
patios andwalks would continue to
support demand for these products
across many markets. It added that
interest in ‘green’ buildingmaterials
suchaspermeablepaversorproducts
made from recycled plastics were
also significant.
BELGIUM
NATObill
An additional € 85 million (US$
105 million) has been agreed to be
paid over the building of NATO’s
new headquarters in Brussels,
Belgium.
The Belgian Ministry of Defence
has agreed to pay the sum to the
Bam-led consortiumworkingon the
project, after a claim for additional
costs and a new time frame was
submitted at the endof 2013.
The additional payment to Bam
Alliance and building partners is
compensation for additional work
and services, and completion of
the project is now expected in the
summer of 2016.
SAUDI ARARBIA
Kingdom
Tower cranes
Liebherr has won the contract to
supply four HC-L series tower
cranes to the Kingdom Tower
project in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Three 280 HC-L cranes will be
used to build the side wings of the
KingdomTower, withhook heights
reaching some 400 m. Meanwhile,
a 357 HC-L will be on the main
tower, with a hook height of some
1,000m.
When completed, the Kingdom
Tower will be the first structure in
theworld to be over 1,000mhigh.
The 170 storey skyscraper is
intended as the centrepiece of the
Kingdom City urban development
project to the north of Jeddah,
Saudi Arabia.
UK
Crossrail 2
Proposals have beenput forward for
a UK£ 20 billion (US$ 31 billion)
upgrade toLondon’s central railway
system, known asCrossrail 2.
The scheme, which would run
north-south through the city,
would build on the initial UK£ 15
billion (US$ 24 billion) Crossrail
project that is being built between
Heathrow in the West, through to
AbbeyWood in the south east of the
capital. This is due for completion
in 2018.
If approved by the Government,
work on Crossrail 2 would begin
in 2017 - making journey times
across the heart of the city up to 20
minutes faster for commuters.
It would make use of existing
stations including Euston, King’s
Cross, Angel, Tottenham Court
Road and Victoria, and be capable
of carryingup to90,000people into
central London at its planned peak
operating capacity once opened in
the early 2030’s.
