international
construction
april 2015
6
WORLDNEWS
RUSSIA
RussianRailways has
launched the tenderingprocess for
theRUR20.8billion (US$360million)
Moscow-Kazan section of theMoscow-
Kazan-Yekaterinburghigh-speed rail
route. The770 kmpublic-private
partnership (PPP) project will follow
a route includingMoscow, Vladimir,
NizhnyNovgorod andKazan. It is
believed to be the largest infrastructure
scheme inRussia.
US
Online auctioneer IronPlanet
has namedDebbieSchleicher as its
new chief financial officer (CFO). She
previouslyworked as the national
partner in charge of accountant
Grant Thornton’s Tax and Finance
Optimisation andGlobal Compliance
Reportingpractices.
GERMANY
The results of February’s
PurchasingManagers’ Index (PMI)
survey indicated a return to growth for
theGerman construction sector. The
index increased from49.5 in January,
to a three-monthhigh of 53.1 (with
scores over 50 representingpositive
growth). Respondents to the study,
whichmeasures company construction
output, indicated that favourable
weather hadbeen a factor in the
improvedposition.
US
Dr JDonBrock, chairman and
former CEO of Astec Industries has died
following a battlewith cancer. Hewas
76. Dr Brock and four others founded
Astec in1972. Today the company has
annual revenues of nearlyUS$1billion,
with18 subsidiaries in theUS and
abroad. Dr Brock’s son, BenBrock, is
president andCEO of Astec Industries.
UK
Negotiations are opening over
support for aUK£1billion (US$1.48
billion) project to create theworld’s first
energy-generating tidal lagoon in the
UK. The company behind the project
–Tidal Lagoon (SwanseaBay) – said
it would cost up toUK£15million(US$
22million) to achieve a development
consent order – theMinisterial approval
required for infrastructure projects of
national significance.
FRANCE
PhilippeBonnave has
been appointed chairman andCEO of
BouyguesConstruction. He succeeds
YvesGabriel, who is retiring after 13
years at the head of the group, having
reached statutory retirement age.
HIGHLIGHTS
GLOBAL
Equipment
revenues down
-2.6% in2014
Yellow Table study showsmarket decline
levelling out
T
he world’s 50 largest construction equipmentmanufacturers saw their
revenues fall -2.6% last year toUS$159billion.The fallwas less severe
than the -12.2%drop in revenues seen in last year’sYellowTable,which
was basedon2013 revenues.
Althoughbuoyancy inNorthAmerica and a return togrowth inEuropean
markets helped lift some manufacturers’ revenues, weakness in emerging
economies – particularly China – and the continued slowdown in global
mining activity, proved to be greater headwinds.
At US$ 159 billion, revenues last year for the global equipment top 50
were some -15% lower than the all time high of US$ 186 billion, seen in
2012.Theywere also lower than the pre-crisis high ofUS$168billion seen
in 2008.
In terms of the rankings, Caterpillar and Komatsu retained their no.1
and no.2 positions, as they have done over the 13-year history of the
YellowTable.
Elsewhere in theTop 10, Volvo andHitachi swapped places compared to
last year, although there is very little in it - just US$ 5million in revenues
separated the two companies. Terex and Liebherr also traded places, but
again the gapwas small.
More significant was XCMG’smove into theTop 10, which establishes it
as China’s largest construction equipmentmanufacturer ahead of Sany and
Zoomlion.The company’s three-place rise reflects the increase in revenues
following its acquisition ofGermany’s Schwing.
For full details of this year’s YellowTable survey, see this month’s News
Report.
Feyenoord football stadium and
a consortium led by Bam have
ended negotiations on a project to
increase the capacity of the venue,
also known as De Kuip (the Tub).
The parting is due to disagreements
on costs.
According toBam, Feyenoordhad
set a budget of € 206million (US$
222 million) for the project, but
Bamhadbudgeted for€215million
(US$ 232 million) construction
costs, excluding inflation.
The stadium currently has a
capacity of some 51,100. Plans for
the latest round of improvements
included increasing the capacity to
around 70,000 seats and adding
a retractable roof. The proposed
NETHERLANDS
Stadium stop
timeline was to begin work this
summer, with completion in 2018.
The project was developed by the
Feyenoord Founders Consortium
(FFC), which comprises Bam, its
buildings and real estate subsidiary
AM, and Siemens.
The company said, “Bam would
like to express its appreciation
for the good cooperation with
Feyenoord, and especially for the
constructive contributions from
the municipality of Rotterdam and
Feyenoord supporters. We remain
prepared to offer Feyenoord the
experience gained with the (re)
construction of stadiums around
the world, to carry out the (re)
construction plans of Feyenoord.”
QATAR
Worker row
French pressure group Sherpa has
launched a campaign against Vinci
for allegedmistreatment ofmigrant
workers in Qatar. The contractor
has denied the claims and launched
a defamation lawsuit against
Sherpa.
Sherpa has made allegations of
forced labour and other illegal
practices against QDVC, which
is a Qatari construction company
49% owned by Vinci. It says it
has collected “Damning evidence
on working conditions on QDVC
construction sites.”
A statement fromVinci said, “We
have repeatedly welcomed unions,
internationalNGOs and journalists
onto our building sites. They have
ascertained that we do more than
merely comply with local labour
law and respect fundamental rights.
All QDVC employees are free to
retrieve their passports at any time,
and we strictly observe working
hours and rest time.
“Vinci strivesto improveemployee
working and living conditions
throughout the world. This is the
case in Qatar, where we have built
new housing facilities this year to
provide our workers with better
living conditions. Moreover, 70%
of our workers returned to QDVC
and signed new two-year contracts
when their previous contracts
expired.”
