PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT, ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION

Landmark hotel in final liquidation
The Van Riebeeck Hotel in Gordon's Bay is now in final liquidation after a failed attempt by the hotel's previous directors to appeal the final liquidation order granted by the Cape High Court in October 2001
(©www.news24.co.za)

Property value complaints persist
Complaints from irate Helderberg residents about the draft property valuation roll continued this week, with callers to the DistrictMail asserting once again that none of their properties had been visited by a data collector or valuer.
(©www.news24.co.za)

Property rates: Pay first and object later
They may disagree with their property valuations, but Helderberg residents will be billed on them from July 1 when the City of Cape Town's new rates policy is implemented.
(©www.news24.co.za)

Property prices on the rise again after downturn in last quarter
The downward trend in property prices evident in the last quarter of 2001 has reversed itself, with most areas showing strong growth in January.
(©www.news24.co.za)

JHB Council to sell property
The Johannesburg Metropolitan Council will sell the Johannesburg City Hall for R20-million to the Gauteng Legislature. City Hall is one of the 20 000 redundant properties the council wants to put to good use to generate revenue for itself.
(©www.engineeringnews.co.za)

Trouble could be looming for the property sector
The list of property companies which have reported muted earnings growth is getting longer, indicating that the listed property sector of the JSE Securities Exchange SA is heading for trouble.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Numsa threatens engineering sector
Outstanding issues from last year's steel and engineering pay talks have re-emerged with the threat of strike action in the engineering sector. This would be the first strike in the engineering sector in nearly four years. The National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) yesterday threatened to mobilise more than 200000 members in the sector to strike over "unsatisfactory" severance packages.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Roads revamped ahead of world summit meeting
THE roadworks causing chaos in and around Sandton, north of Johannesburg, are part of a major infrastructural revitalisation rushed through to cater for the world summit meeting scheduled for August
(©www.bday.co.za)

Aveng hopes to work on the Coega project
SA's largest construction group Aveng hoped that it would be awarded work on the building of the harbour wall and on the disposal of sand for the Coega deepwater port project in the Eastern Cape, CE Carl Grim said yesterday.
(©www.bday.co.za)

New shopping mall for Maritzburg
Maritzburg's town and regional planning commission has approved a rezoning application for a new shopping centre to be built on the city's landmark old brickworks site. The multimillion-rand shopping centre, to be called Chase Valley, is a joint project between Investec Property Group and RMB Properties.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Cementation likely to delist' as Skanska boosts stake
Construction firm Cementation is likely to be delisted this year, says company secretary Bruce Hancock. He said yesterday that Swedish group Skanska already held 55% of the SA company, and intended to convert its preference shares into ordinary shares in July, increasing its ownership of Cementation to 79%.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Alstom unveils restructuring
Paris Battered Anglo-French engineering group Alstom SA unveiled a widely expected restructuring plan yesterday aimed at raising à 2,1bn within a year through a capital increase and the disposal of noncore assets.
(©www.bday.co.za)

R475m finance for coal terminal expansion
South Africa’s South Dunes Coal Terminal (SDCT) has secured R475-million in financing to help expand the country’s Richard’s Bay coal export terminal (RBCT).
(©www.miningweekly.co.za)

North West splits roads workload
The North West government is to split its transport and public works and roads department into two new departments in a bid to deal with huge infrastructure development backlogs in the province
(©www.bday.co.za)

Old Mutual Properties to spend R1bn on upgrade
Old Mutual Properties is to spend R1bn expanding and refurbishing its properties for clients, the group said yesterday. MD Ian Watt said urban renewal was gaining momentum in SA's big cities and the group planned to use the opportunities this presented.
(©www.bday.co.za)

State increases low-cost housing subsidies
Cabinet had approved a "significant" rise in the subsidy it gives to low-cost housing from April 1, Housing Minister Sankie Mthembi-Mahanyele announced on Monday. She would announce details soon, she told a media briefing at Tuynhuys, Parliament. Currently the government provides a maximum of R16000 per family or R4000 per single person.
(©www.busrep.co.za)

Subsea oil pipeline for Congo
French oil major TotalFinaElf is building a subsea oil pipeline from its declining Nkossa field to the Djeno field in an effort to rationalise production in Congo Republic.
(©www.engineeringnews.co.za)

Scrap over aluminium scrap
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), metal recyclers and others in the industry have resolved to explore ways of encouraging the effective management of aluminium scrap to the best benefit of the country.
(©www.engineeringnews.co.za)

Coming attraction: Cape film studio
With Cape Town growing in stature as a location for film shoots, the demand for a large-scale studio, which would come with a price tag of between R150-million and R200-million, is becoming apparent.
(©www.engineeringnews.co.za)

Engineering group plans more dispoals
The chairperson of embattled ABB said the industrial engineering group could announce asset sales within six months. “I think you will see some results within the next six months,” said Juergen Dormann.
(©www.engineeringnews.co.za)

China's steelmakers face tough year
China’s steel makers face a tough year as steel prices are expected to drop further in the first half and eat into the profits of firms already suffering from the global slowdown in 2001, analysts said.
(©www.engineeringnews.co.za)

R549m SA – EC deal for black empowerment
The South African government and the European Commission (EC) concluded a R549-million agreement aimed at supporting job creation in the private sector through black economic empowerment (BEE).
(©www.engineeringnews.co.za)

Nuclear project catches world's attention
The lead investor in South Africa’s nuclear-power initiative, known as the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR), reveals that worldwide interest has grown to such an extent that additional investors may be brought into the project in due course.
(©www.engineeringnews.co.za)

Steel price increases start to bite
Steel merchants and engineering shops will suffer massive job losses in the face of Iscor increasing its flange and profile cutting plate price, says PL Steel Services director Peter Elsmore.
(©www.engineeringnews.co.za)

THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT PROFESSIONS CONVENTION ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT 1-3 May 2002 Sandton, South Africa Click here to register

BOE's real surprise for property market
While the sale by BOE / NBS of its home loan book could hardly be described as startling after weeks of rumours and speculation on the deal, the banking group’s next move probably will surprise.
(©www.property24.co.za)

Mortgage rates to rise again
The home loan interest rate rises announced by all major mortgage lenders yesterday translates into an increase of more than R220 a month on a 20-year home loan of R303 000 – the current national average home price.
(©www.property24.co.za)

Rate raised to curb spending
The South African penchant for spending rather than saving is at least as much to blame for the latest interest rate rise as the fears for inflation in the light of a weaker rand.
(©www.property24.co.za)

Spotlight on: Paulshof
It’s rare, these days, to find any suburb of Sandton where commerce has not encroached at least to some extent, but Paulshof is such an area, and its purely residential character is proving to be a major drawcard for homebuyers.
(©www.property24.co.za)

The buck still stops at the landlord
An owner who puts a house or flat for rent in the hands of an estate agent is not absolved of responsibility for the way the property or the lease is managed.
(©www.property24.co.za)

How big should your home loan be?
One of the great things about buying property is that you can gear the purchase – or use someone else’s money to finance most of the purchase price, and then keep the profit made on the entire asset when you decide to sell.
(©www.property24.co.za)

New homes at: Golf View
More than R5-million worth of stands in the new Golf View development at Thornhill have been sold in the past three months, as Gauteng buyers continue to seek secure and central locations for homes of their own design.
(©www.property24.co.za)

Designing schools for the future
Education in South Africa is a rapidly changing field, with new educational initiatives, such as the introduction of new curricula and new forms of teaching and learning, as well as the increasing emphasis on information technology and lifelong learning, necessitating a reassessment of the educational infrastructure in South Africa.
(©www.csir.co.za/akani/)

The Practice of Knowledge Management
In his article The Practice of Knowledge Management, J.T.Franks asserts that knowledge management is not about technology; It is about culture.
(©www.projectmagazine.com)

We continue the series on MsProject 2000 this week:
In this lesson we will learn to customize how information in Project is displayed, format and modify views (refer lesson 1 for a recap on views) and print the finalized schedule. We will see how project files can be saved as web pages and create hyperlinks to navigate to other files and web pages.
Lesson 4 - Formatting Views, Publishing Projects on the Web or Intranet, Hyperlinks
(©www.stylusinc.net)

Click here to purchase one of the remaining copies of MsProject 2000 from the ASAQS Webshop at half price! Quantity surveyors should be capable of contoling project duration as part of their cost control service - an impossible task without a program such as MsProject.

ASAQS Calendar
Seen on the Calendar : Project Management Demystified starting on 18 March 2002. The course has been approved for CPD points. It will be held at the Saint George Hotel, Irene on the 18-19 March 2002. For more info contact Terry Deacon at 082 557 3119.
Have an upcoming event? Remember you may use the ASAQS Calendar free of charge if the event will be of interest to the built-environment.

ASAQS Classifieds
Seen in the Classifieds this week:
Senior QS with with MRICS qualification required for top position in Doha, State of Qatar. Tax free salary plus benefits offered.
and
Qualified QS/Estimator seeks employment in Kwa-Zulu Natal. Experienced in major new build, refurbishment and minor works. Computer literate in computer aided taking off and estimating.
and
Hobie 16 in good condition wanted

JBCC SEMINARS - The premier presentation on the JBCC contract documentation is being held at the Johannesburg Country Club in Auckland Park on 19th and 20th March 2002. Peter Bold is the presenter.
Various options and costs are available from the JBCC office – telephone 011 646-074.

CPD PRESENTATIONS - AAAMSA
This presentation will address the legal obligations of Professionals, Contractors and suppliers and offer guidelines to ensure compliance with National Building Regulations in respect of aluminium, glass and partitioning installation thereby eliminating the risk of litigation.
Theme – Safety First – Avoid Litigation
Venue – Saint George Hotel, 58 Old Pretoria Road, Rietvleidam
Date – 18 April 2002 starting at 17h00 through to 19h30
Cost – R 50.00 payable at the venue
RSVP – AAAMSA (fax 012 664-5659 or e-mail exdir@aaamsa.com

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

New members wil be announced next week.

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.