international
construction
march 2015
6
WORLDNEWS
NIGERIA
Salini Impregilo haswon the
contract for Phase II of the upgrade of
theSuleja-Minna highway inNigeria.
The project to expand101 km of the
road to a dual carriageway is valued at
€
112million (US$125million). This
arterial road connects the capital of
Abuja to the northwest of the country.
Salini Impregilo is also involved in the
construction of Phase I of theSuleja-
Minna road, now70% complete.
GERMANY
Revenues for construction
equipmentmanufacturers inGermany
grew+8% to
€
8.4billion
(US$9.5billion) in2014, according
theConstructionEquipment &Building
Material Machinery Association of
theGermanEngineering Federation
(VDMA). Revenues inEuropewere up
+15%, with improvements inPortugal
andSpain. However, the sales in
Francewere reported to beweaker and
revenues fromRussia fell -37%.
EUROPE
Construction output in the
EU increased+3% last year, according
to estimates fromEurostat, the
EuropeanCommission’s statistical arm.
However, figures comparingDecember
2014 against December 2013 showed
a decline of -0.5%. Thiswas attributed
to a -1.6% fall inbuilding construction
and+3.8%growth in civil engineering.
ITALY
Construction equipment sales
in Italy grew+11% in2014 according
tomanufacturers’ trade association
UnioneNazionaleAziendeConstruction
Equipment &Attachments (UNACEA).
Earthmoving equipment saleswere up
+11% t, while the roadbuilding sector
saw a+12% increase.
IRELAND
The European Investment
Bank (EIB) is to lend
€
76million (US$
86million) to the
€
150million (US$
170million) development ofMaynooth
University’s campus. The project will
include the construction of academic,
research and residence facilities. It
is the first step in a plan to expand
the university from10,000 to13,000
students by 2020.
ITALY
The European Investment Bank
(EIB) is to lend
€
950million
(US$1.07billion) toRete Ferroviaria
Italiana (RFI) to improve rail routes in
Italy. A large amount of thework being
financedwill in theMezzogiorno region
of southern Italy.
HIGHLIGHTS
CANADA
Criminal charges
for SNC-Lavalin
Company to plead not guilty in corporate
prosecution linked to 2012’s Libyan bribery and
corruption scandal
T
he Royal Canadian Mounted Police National Division (RCMP) has
charged the SNC-Lavalin Group and two of its subsidiaries with
corruption and fraud in its business dealings inLibya.
The charges relate to a period from 16 August 2001 to 20 September,
2011, when it is allegedCA$ 47.7million (US$ 38.3million) ormorewas
agreed or offered to public officials in Libya to obtain commercial business
advantages.
TheMontreal-headquartered company is also chargedwith fraud totalling
CA$130million (US$104million).This was in relation to theGreatMan
MadeRiverProject inLibyaandothergroups including theGeneralPeople’s
Committee forTransport and theCivil AviationAuthority of Libya.
The alleged wrong-doing first came to light in 2012 when a series of
suspect payments inLibya came to light through an internal audit at SNC-
Lavalin.The resignation and arrest of company CEO Pierre Duhaime and
vice president RiadhBenAïssa followed.
SNC-Lavalin has said it will enter a not guilty plea against the latest
charges filed by the RCMP. It stressed that it had introduced a new ethics
code in thewake of allegations against the company.
President and CEO Robert G Card said, “The charges stem from the
same alleged activities of former employees from over three years ago in
Libya,which arepubliclyknown, and the companyhas co-operatedonwith
authorities since then.
“Even though SNC-Lavalin has already incurred significant financial
damage and losses as a result of actions takenprior toMarch2012, we have
always been and remainwilling to reach a reasonable and fair solution that
promotes accountability, while permitting us to continue to do business
and protect the livelihood of our over 40,000 employees, our clients, our
investors and our other stakeholders.”
US
NewYork
arrests
NewYorkCity police have arrested
50 people in connection with a
two-year construction bribery
investigation.
Those
arrested
include building inspectors and
housing officials employed by the
city, along with property managers
& owners, contractors & engineers
and facilitators to the alleged
crimes. Charges include bribery,
receiving bribes, falsification of
records, tampering with records
andmisconduct.
According to the New York
Department
of
Investigation
(DOI), the case began in 2013
as an investigation into a single
Department of Buildings (DOB)
inspector. It has since found
evidence of some US$ 450,000
being paid in bribes involving 16
city officials on one side, and 22
property owners &managers, two
contractors, one engineer and six
go-betweens.
It is alleged the city officials
took bribes to waive permit
requirements, clear code violations,
complaints and stop work orders,
including instances with safety
implications.
Local media reports have said
some of those arrested have links to
organised crime.
BalfourBeattyhas appointedPhilip
Aiken as its new non-executive
chairman. His previous role was as
non-executive chairman of power
engineering software group Aveva,
and he is also a non-executive
director of National Grid and
NewcrestMining.
Leo Quinn, who joined as chief
executive last month, said, “Philip
has many years of highly relevant
international board-level experience
at the top of industry. We look
forward tohis valuablecontribution
to the business including areas
of paramount importance to the
group, such as safety.”
UK
Balfour Beatty’s new chair
The company’s current chairman,
Steve Marshall, will depart on
March 25 having previously
announced hewill stand down.
