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London is at the top of a list of ‘construction mega cities’ with total project values close to $426bn, according to a new report.
Indian infrastructure giant Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has announced that its construction unit has won contracts worth INR19.26bn ($282M) across its business units.
The Costain Skanska joint venture (CSJV) environmental team working on the Crossrail Bond Street station in Central London has won one of the programme’s sustainability awards.
UK-based construction and engineering company Costain highlighted the importance of preserving the environment and biodiversity in an initiative last month.
Costain’s London Bridge redevelopment project team has won a gold Green Apple Award due to its positive contribution to the built environment.
The UK construction industry will converge in Birmingham next month, as the UK Construction Week event combines nine shows at the NEC venue from 18–20 October.
The European and Indian construction machinery markets have shown growth this year, while other regions have seen a slow-down, according to Germany’s engineering association the VDMA.Latest research from the Construction Equipment and Building Material Machinery arm of the VDMA suggests that the machinery sector has grown in regions including France, Germany and India. The Middle East and North America, on the other hand, have registered drops in machinery sales, in addition to the weak markets of Latin America, Africa and parts of Asia. After five years of recession, China still hasn’t recovered from a loss of an accumulated 80% of its volume, says the report.The research also anticipates a drop in the global construction machinery sales due to regional developments, even though German manufacturers are set to register a slight turnover increase of 3%.Johann Sailer, VDMA chairman, said: “This is primarily due to the strong European market.”However, growth might not be equal for all manufacturers, added Sailer: “Depending on where a company’s focuses lie individual results could still be on the negative side.”Building material machinery updateThe report from the VDMA also examines the building material plant and machinery business.The sector is subject to less instability than the construction machinery sector. Nevertheless, manufacturers depend on long-term stable growth markets and these are deficient at the moment — due to the Russian market breakdown. Only Central Europe, India and North America are rated as satisfactory.Overcapacities also present a challenge for manufacturers. When it comes to this, the sector automatically thinks about China, says the association.“We don’t expect suppliers from China to flood the market with their equipment but the trend is clear – when domestic markets are weak companies shift to export markets,” said Sailer.In addition, political and economic uncertainties are present in many sectors. “We don’t want to just keep talking about crises and many current issues do not even have a direct impact on the construction sector. But obviously, news of this kind always affect the investment climate among our customers,” said Sailer.Overall, the VDMA concluded that “the construction equipment and building material machinery industry is indeed a growth sector”.
Sheffield City Council has announced a 60-year partnership agreement with Chinese firm Sichuan Guodong Construction to develop the UK city. The £1bn deal is set to be the biggest Chinese investment of its kind to be made outside of London. The first investment, worth about £220M, will fund four or five Sheffield city centre projects over the next three years.Councillor Julie Dore, Sheffield City Council leader, said: “This is the biggest Chinese investment deal to be made by a UK city outside of London. And perhaps more importantly it is first deal of its kind to be made by a UK city. This is a real partnership.“The projects funded by this investment will be determined by Sheffield City Council, and the 60-year commitment secures a stream of investment into our city for the next generation, and means a whole range of projects become viable because of the long-term nature of the relationship.”Councillor Leigh Bramall, deputy leader of Sheffield City Council, said: “We are clear that this will create hundreds, if not thousands, of additional jobs for the people of Sheffield. The investment comes from China, but the workforce on these projects will be British.”Sheffield has also signed, recently, co-operation trade agreements with the cities of Daqing and Nanchang.
The UK construction industry is expected to experience major downside risks to growth following UK’s vote to leave the European Union, according to a new report.Timetric’s Construction Intelligence Center (CIC) new report, entitled ‘Brexit and the Impact on Construction in the UK’, concluded that the UK construction industry growth is expected to fall from 3.4% to 2.8% this year.The findings reveal the great deal of uncertainty as to what the full implications of Brexit are for the UK’s construction industry.Danny Richards, leading economist at CIC, recognizes that the industry growth started being affected during the EU referendum campaign.“Construction output growth had already started to slow ahead of the referendum, in fact output was down by 1.9% in the first quarter on a year-on-year basis, and the uncertainty that will prevail in the coming months following the referendum suggests that investment flowing into new projects will slowdown, and some works could be put on hold,” he said.Furthermore, the pace of growth in the UK construction industry in 2017 is expected to slow from 4% to 1.5% — reflecting a sharp downturn in investment as the government embarks on a two-year process of negotiating its exit from the single market.“The downwards revisions to our growth forecasts for construction output mean that the UK’s construction industry’s output in 2017 will be £4.8bn lower than what it would have been had the outcome of the referendum been in favour of the ‘remain’ campaign,” said Richards.
A survey of UK construction recruitment firms has highlighted the shortage of construction workers and resultant high wages, with some bricklayers taking home £1,000 a week.
Construction experts remain optimistic in the strength of the industry, according to a new report, despite the first quarter of 2016 being marked by a decline in confidence levels.Timetric’s Construction Confidence Report concluded that the industry’s current confidence levels have declined from 61.5 points in Q4 2015 to 61.2 points in Q1 2016, following a downward trend that started in 2014.Even though this is the fifth successive quarter of decline, the score remains above the 50-point mark which indicates a positive outlook regarding growth prospects — and the industry is optimistic regarding growth expectations for the next six months.Danny Richards, leading economist at Timetric’s Construction Intelligence Center (CIC), recognises the positive findings, but states that the decline has had an impact in construction companies. “Although still optimistic over the potential for growth, the decline in the Current Confidence Index suggests that the level of optimism is weakening, and that it is becoming more challenging to win contracts,” he said.<iframe src="https://timetric.com/c/MBEPE5U/chart/" style="width:500px;height:350px;border:0;" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>
A new report from Timetric’s Construction Intelligence Center has identified four national markets as key growth regions for the construction industry to 2020.
The state government of Victoria, Australia has allocated $1.46bn in 2016 state budget towards the completion of the Western Distributor project.With no funding from the Commonwealth Government, Victoria will undertake the $5.5bn project on its own.The project will provide a second river crossing connecting the West Gate Freeway with Citylink, cut travel times, reduce congestion and improve the living conditions in Geelong and Melbourne's West.The expected reduction in congestion in Melbourne's West will help lower the cost of doing business and enable workers to access job locations easily. It is anticipated that about 5,600 jobs will be created during the project's construction phase.Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews decision to set aside $1.46bn over four years to complete the project has been welcomed by the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, for whom the progression of the project is a priority.
The construction unit of Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has won contracts worth INR22.71bn ($343.1m) across its various businesses.L&T's buildings and factories business has secured a turnkey contract valued at INR15bn ($226.6m) to build a mixed-used development in New Delhi.The contract will include the construction of a convention centre, a business centre tower and two hotel towers as part of the overall development. L&T's scope of work will also involve civil, structural, architectural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing and finishing works.L&T has also won an INR4.5bn ($68m) contract for the expansion of Hyderabad's Air Force Academy. The project will include the extension of the main runway and parallel taxi track, widening of tracks, earth filling and allied works.The company’s power transmission and distribution business has secured new orders worth INR3.21bn ($48.4m) in both the domestic and international markets. On the domestic front, the company has received an EPC order for 765kV double circuit Bhuj Banaskanta transmission line (part-1) from Power Grid Corporation of India Limited, which is associated with Green Energy Corridor.In the overseas sector, L&T has won a contract from Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) for the engineering, procurement and construction of 500kV Transmission Line for Thai/Laos Border Crossing.
Global construction output will reach US$10 trillion by 2020, driven by Asia-Pacific and emerging markets, according to a new report from Timetric’s Construction Intelligence Center.The Global Construction Outlook 2020 report forecasts that expansion will increase by an annual average of 3.4% from 2015 to 2020, leading to the overall market value growing from $8.5tr to $10tr. In the previous five years annual average growth was 2.4%, with output increasing from the 2010 total of $7.5tr.Emerging markets will account for more than half of the global construction output in 2020, rising to 51.9% from its 43.9% share in 2010, despite the annual average rate of growth slowing to 4.2%, from 5.2% in 2011-2015.Growth in the Asia-Pacific region is set to slow, due in part to the slowdown in China’s construction sector, exacerbated by a glut of new residential property being completed. However, the region will still account for the largest share of the global construction industry, with South-East Asia investing heavily in new infrastructure projects funded by private investment.Western European markets will continue to recover, the report states, although investor confidence is fragile due to ongoing troubles in the Eurozone, and the crisis involving Russia and Ukraine. The German construction industry will remain slow, due partly to the government’s focus on austerity.
The University of Edinburgh has received a £200m loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) for the development of its campuses.
Developer Hammerson has announced that work on the £1bn Whitgift shopping centre redevelopment project in Croydon, London is now pushed back to 2017.
Real estate groups RocaPoint Partners and The Georgetown Company have broken ground on a new $370m mixed-use development in Georgia, US.
Bouygues UK has secured a contract from Bristol City Council to build the £90m ($129.7m) Bristol Arena next to Temple Meads railway station in Bristol, UK.
CLS Holdings has received approval from Lambeth Council Planning Committee for the revised £400m Vauxhall Square mixed-use project in London.
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