WORLD NEWS
8
GLOBAL
World Bank to change
procurement rules
Empahsis could change to focus on whole-life-
costs of Bank-funded projects
T
he World Bank’s executive directors have approved a new framework
for the way projects are procured. If adopted as policy, this could
change the way contracts for Bank-funded construction projects are
awarded and administered
The Bank said its vision was, “Procurement in Bank operations supports
clients to achieve value for money with integrity in delivering sustainable
developments.”
This could signal a change in several aspects of how contracts are awarded,
and the stance the Bank will take towards fraud and corruption. A key
change in that in considering the economic value of bids, the Bank says in
its proposal that it will consider initial price along with competitiveness,
quality, life-cycle costs and benefits. This implies a move away from ‘lowest
price wins’ policies.
The Bank has also signalled a desire to do more on the issues of fraud and
corruption. It says it will help the national institutions through which it acts
to develop better procurement procedures that are open and transparent. It
has also said it wants procurement to reflect the scale and risk of projects,
which could signal less complicated procedures for smaller contracts.
There are also indications that the Bank will look to introduce harmonised
international standards in its procurement work.While national procurement
procedures (country systems) seem likely to remain a mainstay, the Bank has
acknowledged they are not appropriate for every situation.
The framework document was produced following a consultation process
with some 2,000 stakeholders which began in May 2012. The Bank will now
develop details of how these principles can be implemented, with a view to
securing final approval from its Board next year.
According to the Bank, it signed 8,082 contracts in the 2013 fiscal year to
the end of June, worth some US$ 9.37 billion. Some 1,051 of these were for
civil works, with a total value of US$ 6.15 billion.
NETHERLANDS
Brookfield Multiplex’s JW Marriott Marquis Hotel in Dubai,
UAE, won the inaugural International Construction Project of the Year
award at the first International Construction Economic Forum (ICEF).
Picture receiving the award are Graham Sonley (l) and David Miller (r) from
Brookfield Multiplex, with
iC
editor Chris Sleight. For more news from ICEF,
see p. 14.
international
construction
december 2013
INDIA
Infrastructure
support
approved
A string of loans have been approved
by development banks to support
road construction throughout
India, as well as help with disaster
recovery efforts in Uttarakhand.
The World Bank has approved two
loans totalling US$ 660 million to
support the development of India’s
road network. The largest loan
of US$ 500 million will be put
towards India’s National Highways
Interconnectivity
Improvement
Project.
The scheme will upgrade and
widen about 1,120 km of existing
single/intermediate lane National
Highways to two-lane in the states
of Bihar, Orissa and Rajasthan
and in less developed regions of
Karnataka and West Bengal.
A further US$ 160 million loan
will support the Rajasthan Road
Sector Modernisation Project. This
scheme plans to construct 2500
km of rural roads, connect around
1300 villages and also undertake
preparatory studies for improving
700 km of priority sections of the
state’s highways.
Separately,
the
Asian
Development Bank (ADB) is to
provide US$ 200 million to help
the Indian state of Uttarakhand
recover from unprecedented floods
and landslides that affected close to
a million people.
In mid-June 2013, heavy
rainfall, and floods washed away
several towns, with the districts of
Bageshwar, Chamoli, Pithoragarh,
Rudraprayag, and Uttarkashi worst
affected. Almost 600 people lost
their lives and more than 5,400
people are missing.
The ADB loan will be used to
rebuild 2,400 km of state roads,
repair or reconstruct 16 damaged
bridges and rehabilitate water
supply facilities.
A joint damage and needs
assessment by the government of
Uttarakhand, ADB, and the World
Bank estimated the preliminary
cost of rehabilitation at close to
US$ 700 million. However, the
final cost could rise to more than
US$ 1 billion.
SWEDEN
Volvo CE
president
Volvo Construction Equipment has
appointed Martin Weissburg as its
new president, effective 1 January,
2014.
Currently president of the Volvo
group’s customer finance company,
Volvo Financial Services (VFS), and
a member of the group executive
team, Mr Weissburg replaces Pat
Olney, who announced in October
that he would be stepping down at
the end of this year.
Mr Weissburg has been president
of VFS since 2010, and prior to
that he served as president of Volvo
Financial Services Americas from
2005 to 2010.
Volvo said it had begun its search
for a replacement for Mr Weissburg.
BRAZIL
Crane
accident at
stadium
Two workers died when a crane
collapsed on the construction of the
Arena Corinthians stadium, in São
Paulo, Brazil.
The Liebherr lattice boom crawler
crane collapsed while installing
a prefabricated steel section of
the roof around lunch time on
Wednesday 27 November. The
cause of the accident was being
investigated as
iC
went to press.
The incident may delay delivery of
the completed stadium scheduled
for 31December. Arena Corinthians
is due to host the opening match
and five further games in the 2014
football World Cup.
Covering a total area of200,000
m², the BRL 800 million (US$ 393
million), 66,000-seater stadium is
in the heart a favela (slum) district.
