WORLDNEWS
8
international
construction
january-february 2015
INDIA
The bC India exhibitionwas attended by 26,000 visitors. The event was
held fromDecember 15 to 18, 2014 at the India ExpoCentre inGreater Noida,
near to the capital, Delhi.
It was the third time the exhibition has been held, but the first time in
Greater Noida. bC India 2011 and bC India 2013 took place inMumbai. The
2013 exhibition attracted 28,000 visitors, and prior to the show bC Expo India
said it had hoped for numbers in the region of 30,000 for the 2014 edition.
For a full review of bC India 2014, see thismonth’s equipment pages,
starting on p. 52.
PANAMA
Consortiumwins
ruling
Adjudication board rules in favour of construction
group over PanamaCanal expansion disputes
A
dispute adjudication board (DAB) has found in favour of Grupo
Unidos por el Canal (GUPC), the contractor consortium working
on the expansion of the PanamaCanal.The board has ruled that the
client, the Panama Canal Authority (ACP), should payUS$ 234million to
GUPC and extend the contract period for sixmonths.
The dispute related to poor quality basalt, which was to be used for
aggregates on the project as well as a delay on ACP’s part in approving the
concretemix to be used on the project.
GUPC said the issue of basalt quality was raised as early as February
2011, when it said it discovered that the rockwas not of the same quality as
indicated in the bidding documents issued byACP.
On the issue of concretemixes,GUPC said themix design it presented in
2010wasrejectedbyACPdespitecomplyingwiththetechnical specifications
required in the contract and exceeding the durability requirement.
Commenting on the ruling, ACP, noted that the award of the DABwas
significantly less than the US$ 463 million claimed by GUPC. Similarly,
the consortium had asked for a 265 day extension to the contract, but was
awarded 176 days.
JorgeLuisQuijano, administrator ofACP said itwould analyse theDAB’s
decision before deciding whether to launch an appeal at the International
Chamber of Commerce (ICC).
GUPC is formedby Sacyr of Spain, Salini - Impregiloof Italy, JanDeNul
of Belgium andConstructoraUrban, SA (CUSA) of Panama.
QATAR
Carillion
response
UK contractor Carillion has
responded to allegations about the
poor treatment of migrant workers
employed by its sub contractors in
Qatar.The allegations weremade in
aBBCnews item.
Workers for an unnamed local
sub-contractor to Carillion said
wages were last than 25% of what
they were promised by recruiters.
Wages were said to be UK£ 150
(US$ 235) per month, plus a
UK£ 40 (US$ 90) food allowance
for a total of UK£ 190 (US$ 275),
theBBC reported.
Other alleged grievances included
salaries being paid late and poor
health & safety, with no personal
protective equipment such as gloves
and eye glasses being supplied.
Workers also said they were unable
to leave Qatar without their
employer’s permission.
Responding to the allegations, a
statement fromCarillion said, “We
do everything we can to safeguard
the health, safety and wellbeing
of our people in Qatar, including
employees of our subcontractors.
“We make it clear to all of our
subcontractors that they must
comply with Carillion health &
safety standards on our sites - the
same as those applied in the UK.
In addition, we also require our
subcontractors to comply with
the requirements set within Qatar
Labour Law in respect of payment
of wages, living conditions and
employment rights.
“Where we identify inappropriate
practices or subcontractors/sub-
suppliers notmeeting our standards
we will work with them to help
them improve. If they are either
not prepared or unable to do this,
we will engage alternative suppliers
who are able to.”
It added that its current workload
in Qatar included delivery of
phase 1B of the Downtown Doha
project, a mixed-use development
comprising retail, commercial,
residential, leisure, cultural and
community facilities. It said its
work on this scheme had won a
prestigious award for sustainability.
The company said it would
investigate theBBC’s allegations.
ASIAPACIFIC
Investment
pipeline
A report from market intelligence
company Timetric’s Construction
Intelligence Center (CIC), says
there are plans for more than
US$ 1 trillion in industrial sector
construction projects in Asia. The
leading light is India, which has
schemes valued atUS$ 411 billion.
The report also found significant
levels of investment in China and
Indonesia, which have plans worth
US$ 200 billion and US $124
billion respectively.
There were also positive results
from other emerging markets
including Vietnam, which has an
industrial buildings pipeline worth
US$ 56 billion.
Mining proved a core focus for
Australia, as its metal and material
processing plants producedprojects
valued at almost US$ 37 billion,
more than half the value of the
sector.
The research group’s study found
that of the US$ 1.08 trillion of
industrialprojectsprogressing in the
15 countries studied, themetal and
material production plants sector
is set to dominate with schemes
worth US$ 446 billion, followed
by manufacturing plants with US$
314 billion.
EUROPE
Positive signs
The German construction sector is
growing at a slower pace than in
recent years, according to a survey
of European architects, but there
arepositive signs in theNetherlands
and Spain that the worst is
over, according to the European
Architectural Barometer, produced
byArch-Vision.
Franceand Italyarenot recovering
as fast asexpected inearlierquarters,
according to the survey, which said
that this meant that many French
and Italian architects had been
struggling throughout last year.
The report is compiled from
1,600 architects in eight European
countries. It said the UK market
kept on improving, although at a
slightly slower pace than expected
in previous quarters.
