PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT, ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION

Lower rates a plus
Lower interest rates and higher capitalisation rates are making commercial property a viable investment option again, says Rode CEO Erwin Rode. The substantial decline of interest rates over the past two years made positive gearing possible in the first year of an investment, a situation last experienced in the early 1970s, he said at the Rode conference in Johannesburg last week.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Murray & Roberts believes SA is rife with opportunities
Durban - Murray & Roberts (M&R), the construction and engineering company that turned its fortunes around in financial 2001, plans to plough more capital into South Africa despite flat market conditions. Keith Smith, an executive of M&R's supplies and services businesses, said although the company's rebuilding strategy had yielded good financial results, it was only at the beginning stages and would continue for another couple of years.
(©www.busrep.co.za)

Old Mutual renames Gateway
Registration of the term "shoppertainment" as a trademark by a North American developer has forced Old Mutual Properties to rename its R1,4bn retail and leisure development at Umhlanga KwaZulu-Natal Gateway Theatre of Shopping. Old Mutual Properties MD Ian Watt says the decision to switch from Gateway Shoppertainment World was prompted by The Mills Corporation's registration of the term. Mills has a portfolio of top retail and entertainment destinations in North America.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Proposal for Howick hospital venture approved
All his working life, Dr John Hyslop dreamt of building a hospital for his community. That dream has come a step closer to reality with the approval of his proposal to develop a 26bed hospital in the KwaZulu-Natal midlands town of Howick. Developer Hykel has secured a licence for the two-theatre facility, and Hyslop and his business partner in the venture, Charles Kelmanson, are now raising the R15m required to build it.
(©www.bday.co.za)

A grand rail plan
It has taken more than 18 months to get off the ground, but it was worth the wait. Gauteng premier Mbhazima Shilowa's high-speed train, linking Johannesburg, Pretoria and Johannesburg International Airport, is a truly grand scheme which with a bit of luck and careful planning could bring significant benefits to the province and the country.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Shilowa Express has big investor potential
Johannesburg - The Gautrain Rapid Rail System, dubbed The Shilowa Express, could see R4 billion a year in new business investments, Gauteng premier Mbhazima Shilowa said yesterday. The capital inflow related to the construction of the R7 billion rapid rail system linking Sandton, Pretoria and Johannesburg International Airport was also expected to create close to 40 000 jobs. The 80km track will go through 11km of underground tunnels and over 5km in bridges.
(©www.busrep.co.za)

LTA acquisition helps to double revenue at Aveng
Johannesburg - Aveng, South Africa's largest construction group, more than doubled revenue to a record R10,3 billion for the year to June, mainly because of last year's acquisition of LTA, Carl Grim, the group's managing director, said yesterday. The R1,4 billion LTA acquisition pushed the share of revenue earned outside South Africa up to 35 percent from 20 percent while helping to grow operating income by 72 percent to R430,8 million. Earnings before interest and tax climbed to R598 million from R409 million, with earnings a share up to 81,6c from 75,4c previously.
(©www.busrep.co.za)

Northern areas surge ahead
The area north of Durban is emerging as one of SA's strongest property investment nodes, with high sales volumes in the commercial and industrial sectors. The key behind these developments is Moreland, the property division of the London and Johannesburg-listed ongaat-Hulett group.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Acsa to work on airport parking itself
Bidders outraged at the waste of time, money. Several companies tendering for two lucrative parking tenders at SA airports expressed outrage yesterday at a decision by the Airports Company of SA (Acsa) to cancel the process and undertake the work itself. The companies said they spent much time and money putting their bid together for the parking contracts at Johannesburg and Durban international airports.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Funds needed for Joubert Park revamp
The plan to build the People's Environmental Centre in Joubert Park, Johannesburg, as part of an inner city regeneration project is on track, but there are signs the R26m project may come unstuck because of a lack of funds. The plan, known as the Greenhouse Project, was conceived several years ago by Earthlife Africa to transform part of the park in central Johannesburg into an environmentally friendly "support base" for residents.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Tenders issued for Durban port berths
As part of the R1,34-billion Port of Durban Development 2005 project, National Ports Authority will be building five new deep-water berths to replace under-utilised shallow-water berths, reports port engineer Patrick Raw.
"The Port of Durban is experiencing a continual growth in the volume of containers it handles," he points out.
(©www.engineeringnews.co.za)

Audit lifts lid on myriad public works irregularities
..... An audit had uncovered irregularities in the bank accounts of agents employed for community-based public works programmes, unauthorised payments for the maintenance and repair of equipment, inadequate supporting documents for journal entries, claims totalling R5,8 million being paid to the incorrect service providers, incorrect account allocations and a lack of supporting documents for payments made to city councils for rates and taxes. In addition, payments worth about R8,1 million for construction and erection could not be verified.
(©www.busrep.co.za)

Firm attempts biggest shutdown ever
South African synthetic fuels (synfuels) giant Sasol Synthetic Fuels (SSF) is gearing up for the largest shutdown it has ever executed, consisting of more than 80 000 activities and 600 000 workhours, reports shutdown co-ordinator Raymond Owen. "The company's 2001 shutdown, to take place this month, will involve all plants associated with phase four on the eastern side of the complex, involving some 36 separate operating plants," he tells Engineering News.
(©www.engineeringnews.co.za)

Transformation hits engineering sector
Transformation has finally reached the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) with the appointment of Sharoda Rapeti as vice-president of the council. It is the first time that a woman has been elected to the position. She is the manager of the digital technology department at the SABC.
(©www.engineeringnews.co.za)

PPC deepens regional footprint with strategic Zimbabwean acquisition
Johannesburg - Pretoria Portland Cement (PPC) had acquired a Zimbabwean cement firm for $54 million, shrugging off that country's deepening economic and political crisis, the firm said yesterday. PPC chief executive John Gomersall said the acquisition of Portland Holdings (Porthold) from Anglo American Zimbabwe was a strategic move to expand the company's regional footprint.
(©www.busrep.co.za)

Lafarge profits fail to remain firmly cemented
Paris - The French construction materials group Lafarge reported Tuesday net profit of €242 million in the first half of the year, a three-percent decline from €250 million a year earlier. Lafarge said in a statement that it expects "reasonable growth" for 2001 "in the current context of economic uncertainty," but did not provide figures.
(©www.busrep.co.za)

Ticor-Iscor deal tipped to deliver the goods
Richards Bay - Ticor SA - a joint venture launched yesterday between Kumba Resources, Iscor's mining arm, and Australian firm Ticor Limited - is the biggest Australian investment in South Africa, with the potential to earn R2 billion a year in foreign exchange. The sand mining project near Richards Bay will attract R1 billion in foreign investment over two years.
(©www.busrep.co.za)

NEWS FROM AFRICA

Algeria awards $120m hydrocarbon project
French engineering and construction firm, Entrepose, won a $120-million deal to build a hydrocarbon-processing unit in Algeria’s Menzel Ledjmat North (MLN) site, State-run hydrocarbon monopoly Sonatrach said.
(©www.bday.co.za)

HOUSING NEWS AND LAND ISSUES

Markets rally on Zimbabwe land deal
The South African currency and bond markets had likely already reached the height of their rallies as a result of the positive developments in the Zimbabwe land crisis, and were now on hold, local economists said. Market participants would now be waiting to see if President Robert Mugabe held to his promises, which, if he did, could see some further rand and bond market strength over the medium-term.
(©www.bday.co.za)

MINING NEWS

Avmin faces tough decisions
Mining house Anglovaal Mining (Avmin) faces a dilemma. Its ambitious expansion and development programme, along with associated glitches and the opportunistic Iscor intervention, have left it with debt totalling R2bn at end-June after being net-cash positive a year earlier. And, if the decision to pass the dividend is anything to go by, its bankers might seem to be getting edgy.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Iscor must do deal or delay
Steel and mining group Iscor will have to strike a deal this week with the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) on the rescue of Saldanha Steel, or it will be forced to delay unbundling plans until next month, analysts said yesterday. Iscor plans a separate listing for its mining division, which has been renamed Kumba Resources, once there is a deal on the recapitalisation of Saldanha's R5,6bm debt and on a merger between Iscor's steel division and Saldanha, which is a 5050 partnership between Iscor and the IDC.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Strike threatens to shut Northam mine
A three-and-a-half-week strike at Northam Platinum mine by the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) reportedly threatens to shut down the mining outfit, which is losing nearly R1,7m a day as a result of the strike. Mine spokesman Bernard van Rooyen said yesterday that continued strike action could "kill the mine" and result in the loss of nearly 6000 jobs. With practically no production taking place, workers lose R500000 a day in wages.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Angloplat to invest R2,7bn in new mine
Anglo Platinum is to invest R2,7bn in a new platinum and palladium mine in Northern Province as it works towards achieving its target of 3,5-million ounces of platinum a year by 2006.The mine on the Twickenham, Paschaskraal and Hackney farms on the eastern limb of the Bushveld igneous complex will produce 250000 tons of UG2 ore each month.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Bargain time for buyers
You've never had it so good, say experts. Banks do not plan to follow this week's one percentage point cut in the repo rate with an immediate drop in their published home loan rate of 13,5%. But intense competition for lending to property buyers means the best borrowers are already paying only 11,5% and could soon be paying as little as 10,5%, a rate not seen since 1974.
(©www.fm.co.za)

Soweto bargains reverse trek to suburbs
Relative bargains in Soweto's housing market are luring buyers back from formerly white suburbs, according to Eskel Jawitz Real Estate. Its Soweto agents, Gordon Sithebe and Thabo Mtambo, say there has been a reversal of the drift to the suburbs, with "a solid stream of inquiries" from families looking to return to their roots. The reason is the relative bargains that can be found.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Pensions to secure home loans
Parliament's finance portfolio committee has approved draft legislation that seeks to allow pension funds to provide guarantees for their members as security for home loans.
(©www.news24.co.za)

Land in Knysna going fast
Environmental debate continues as developers snap up remaining level areas. Commercial property developers are snapping up the little remaining flat land available for development in Knysna, one of Eastern Cape's most popular tourist towns. A large part of the town's flat land is already developed, and most of the rest has been reserved for nature conservation, leaving little available for development. Demand has pushed land prices sky high.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Digging Deep
There is no construction activity which doesn’t involve foundations at some stage. Kate Price talks to soil specialist Fugro.
AS INTERNATIONAL consultants go, Fugro is amongst the biggest and the best. With 200 offices in 50 countries employing a total of 6,000 staff it has certainly made an impact on the global market. Boasting market capitalisation of $740mil. at the end of 2000, the company has come a long way since it was established in 1962.
(©International Construction)

Blind faith
Pro forma projections help provide potential investors with answers to a variety of questions ranging from “Is this shopping center project feasible?” to “Can a potential tenant succeed in this center?” to “Is rent restructuring warranted?” But in the end, how reliable are these statements?
(©Shopping Center World)

Sars not ready for CGT, says tax expert
Johannesburg - The SA Revenue Service (Sars) had neither the infrastructure, the labour nor the expertise to deal with the introduction of capital gains tax (CGT), Patrick McGurk, a tax partner at accounting firm KPMG, said at the weekend.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Updates in the CUG
Documents recently added to the ASAQS Closed User group:

• The January 2000 engineering fee scales as published by SAACE have been added for reference purposes.
• Practice notes 3.1.1 to 3.1.6 deal with issues arising from the interpretation of the Standard System of Measuring Builders Work : Sixth Edition (Revised). The notes are also available in afrikaans and come are bundled together for easy reference. Download them to your hard disk and keep them handy when measuring.
• The Model Bills of Quantities for Small or Simple Buildings have been added in English and Afrikaans. You may also download a WinQS backup file to restore to your WinQS library.
• The latest rates for typing, travelling, etc. as published by the Department of Public Works on 01 September 2001 are now available in the New Document Section.

Remain updated on the BEP Convention
The Association of South African Quantity Surveyors (ASAQS) together with other built environment professional associations are jointly organising a conference in May 2002. The theme is “Sustainable Development” and on of the main objectives of the convention is to formulate a joint opinion from the professional in anticipation of our participation in the “Earth Summit” (Rio + 10) which will be held in South Africa in September 2002.
Click here to find out more

CPD SEMINAR
The Gauteng Chapter are also presenting a CPD seminar shortly:
When? 18 September 2001 at 14:00 18:00 (13:30 for 14:00)
Where? Room 3-3, Boukunde Building, Main Campus, University of Pretoria Lynnwood Road, Pretoria
What? VALUE MANAGEMENT: CREATING BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES
How long? Four hour afternoon lecture Points?
Category 1: 4 hours - 8 points
How much? R150.00 per delegate
Browse to http://www.asaqs.co.za to dowload the full program.

The Value of Project Management
Continuing with The Value of Project Management Series we now take a look at the next step in the management process:
7.0 Manage Risk
Definition: Risk refers to future conditions or circumstances that exist outside of the control of the project team, that will have an adverse impact on the project if they occur. In other words, whereas an issue is a current problem that must be dealt with, a risk is a potential future problem that has not yet occurred. Successful projects try to resolve potential problems before they occur.
Click here to read on.
(©www.tenstep.com)

New members to the CUG
A warm word of welcome to the following members who have joined us in the CUG during the past week:

David Mills
Manie Lemmer
Hedley Pougnet
Stèfan van Jaarsveld
Pusetso Makote
Neil Duncan
Monty Keevy
Francois Swart
Don Reid
Elma Pieterse
Jacobus Cillie
Marthinus Meiring
Siegfried Trümpelmann
Mark Cridlan
Sanjay Ishwarlall
Arthur Petersen

Please note that your registration to the CUG will remain in force as long as you remain a member of ASAQS and there is no need to register every year. If you have not received an e-mail confirming your registration contact ASAQS.

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Did you see?

Rooikrans Black Eagles

Time to check back to see how the Rooikrans Black Eagles are getting along with their new offspring... Lovers of the wild will find the new Africam Folklore section interesting. In Western culture, the dove is considered the bird of peace. But in African lore, it is the lilac-breasted roller Read about birds in African folklore. Credo Mutwa is the storyteller