PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT, ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION

SOUTH AFRICAN NEWS

Property group slams competition red tape
Pretoria – The chairman of the SA Property Owners’ Association, Anthony Diepenbroek, lashed out at the Competition Commission this week for setting itself up as “the arbiter of property transactions”.
(©www.busrep.co.za)

State to save in property deal
Consortium to manage portfolio in contract that will also ease R10bn maintenance backlog. Government is to spend R9m to bring in a consortium of companies that will manage its R120bn property portfolio, in a move expected to realise significant savings. Public Works Minister Stella Sigcau said yesterday that government had a R10bn asset maintenance backlog and had decided to contract the consortium in a bid to rescue the situation.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Public works in Working Smart expenditure drive
Cape Town - The department of public works had launched a major Working Smart drive to ensure that it spent its full budget for the first time, cleaned up its leasing portfolio and speeded up payments to the private sector, Stella Sigcau, the minister, said yesterday.
(©www.busrep.co.za)

Inflation data brings relief to financial market
Johannesburg - Consumer inflation data released by Statistics South Africa provided much needed respite in the financial markets this week, a senior economist at Sanlam said on Wednesday.
(©www.busrep.co.za)

Spotlight on: Durban Waterfront
Durban needs to capitalise on its beachfront and the Point Waterfront project will create an ideal opportunity for the development a highly desirable, upmarket residential component.
(©www.news24.co.za)

Bloemfontein market ripe for clusters
Clusters are coming to Bloemfontein – and are set to take the local residential property market by storm.
(©www.news24.co.za)

Richway's property sale a winning move
Richway Retail, the property management subsidiary of retail specialist Vestacor, has sold assets worth R1,07bn to Primegro, Richway's CEO Peter Blanckenberg said yesterday. He was happy with the price received for the retail properties as Richway's share price had been trading at a discount to its net asset value, he said. Total assets were valued at R869,19m for the year ending June.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Primegro eats up Richway's retail
Pretoria - Primegro, the listed property loan stock company, has bought all the retail assets of Richway Retail Properties, also a listed property loan stock company, for R1,1 billion after costs.
(©www.busrep.co.za)

Rescue teams dig out buried construction pair
Scenes reminiscent of the rescue mission following the US twin towers terror attack unfolded at Johannesburg International Airport on Wednesday when hundreds of people watched in shock and disbelief as two men lay trapped under 3m of muddy earth.
(©www.iol.co.za)

R7bn of projects to revitalise Cape CBD
Projects worth at least R7-billion are under construction in central Cape Town, and a further R3-billion is expected to flow into the city in the next five months.
(©www.iol.co.za)

Regional economic growth set to improve says Absa
Johannesburg - Regional economic growth in South Africa looks set to improve after the recently released provincial economic growth estimates for 2000, Absa bank said on Tuesday.
(©www.busrep.co.za)

Absa says September rate cut would be 'negative for sentiment'
Johannesburg - A September interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank would be a mistake, Absa bank said on Wednesday.
(©www.busrep.co.za)

US attacks could harm SA construction sector
A QUESTION mark hangs over the future of the SA construction industry in the wake of last week's terrorist attacks in the US, says Brian Holmes, the chairman of Wilson Bayly Holmes. He was unveiling the group's results for the year to June, which showed a good rise in earnings to 113c a share, up from 88c in the previous year. Holmes said a great deal of construction work was done under long-term contracts and so, in the short term, events in the US "will not affect us much".
(©www.bday.co.za)

Trade Centre landlord envisions four new towers
New York - The operator of the World Trade Centre said he is leaning toward erecting four 50-storey buildings in place of the felled twin towers, as well as a memorial to people killed in last week's terrorist attack.
(©www.busrep.co.za)

New economic skyline may offer room to grow
As New York looks to rebuild its shattered downtown district, it will be the first time in history that technological infrastructure will be as integral to construction as bricks, cement and steel.
(©www.busrep.co.za)

Dark clouds for city skyscrapers
Los Angeles - The collapse of the World Trade Center's twin towers after last Tuesday's terrorist attacks on the US may herald an end to the construction of large, high-profile buildings, according to property executives and professors.
(©www.busrep.co.za)

R392m to improve Jo'burg roads
The Johannesburg Roads Agency, owned by the Johannesburg metropolitan council, has set aside R392m for the maintenance of existing, and the construction of new, roads. The project aims to improve the movement of commuters and goods in the Johannesburg area. Of the R392m, R120m will go to new capital projects and the rest to maintaining existing roads.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Basil Read looks set for another year of losses
For two years, construction group Basil Read has been haunted by problems in building contracts as a result of which it looks set to record its second successive loss. Interim results for the six months to end-June, which were published on Friday, showed Basil Read staying in the red with headline losses of 63,2c share.
(©www.bday.co.za)

WBHO's headline earnings gain 28% in ninth year of growth
Pretoria - Wilson Bayly Holmes-Ovcon (WBHO), the listed building, construction and engineering group, has lifted operating income before depreciation and amortisation by 23,5 percent to R96,95 million in the year to June.
(©www.busrep.co.za)

Wild Coast road plan resurfaces
Less ambitious project will see private sector finance, build and manage road for 30 years
Goverment has resurrected plans to develop a R6bn toll road between East London and Port Edward in Eastern Cape, a move it hopes will bring investment to and create jobs in the poverty-stricken Wild Coast region.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Are high-rise office towers a thing of the past?
In the chaotic, dust-choked aftermath of last week's New York atrocity, one fleeing survivor screamed at a television camera that this was her second escape; that she had been in the World Trade Centre when it was bombed in 1993.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Residential project focuses on conservation
Construction of a R500m development which combines a residential estate and nature preservation has started on a 140ha piece of land at Plettenberg Bay in Western Cape. This development, Brackenridge, is headed by the man who created Erinvale Golf Course and Country Estate in Somerset West David Gant. Gant says interest in property along the Garden Route has grown tremendously over the past 18 months.
(©www.bday.co.za)

SA needs to come to terms with road vs rail dilemma
National rail utility Spoornet is well known for its incessant cries for a level playing field, which will enable it to compete more effectively with road hauliers for bulky freight. The ordinary South African – now accustomed to seeing the parastatal’s complaints in the media every so often – must be wondering if Spoornet is not an insatiable cry baby which should be ignored.
(©www.engineeringnews.co.za)

SADC offering some construction hope
Despite the stagnant state of Southern Africa's economy, with many construction and related projects in the region having been delayed, significant opportunities in Southern African Development Community (SADC) do exist, maintains Concor CEO John Willmott.
(©www.engineeringnews.co.za)

SA petrochemical giant launches new branding strategy
Following its recent announcement of an 86% rise in headline earnings, Sasol, the petrochemicals giant, unveiled its plans to rebrand the group. Sasol deputy chairperson and CEO Pieter Cox says the move was driven by the belief that a strong global brand would further contribute to the group’s bottom line.
(©www.engineeringnews.co.za)

Exel innovates in race for 10% market share
Johannesburg - Exel Petroleum planned to grow its market share from 3,3 percent to a minimum of 10 percent within the next four years, Maurice Radebe, the chief executive of the black-owned oil firm, said last week.
(©www.busrep.co.za)

R994m Cape dam project still on
Water affairs minister Ronnie Kasrils has announced the ‘in principle’ approval of a R944-million Skuifraam dam and supplement scheme in the Western Cape. The dam will be located on the upper Berg river in the La Motte forest, about five kilometres west of Franschoek. It will be linked to the Theewaterskloof dam through the existing Riviersonderend tunnel system.
(©www.engineeringnews.co.za)

NEWS FROM AFRICA

Algeria mulls big petrochemical investments
Algerian state hydrocarbon monopoly Sonatrach is mulling over investing up to $1,5-billion to open two new petrochemical plants, a company official stated. “Talks are under way with international firms for the rapid finalisation of these projects, in which Sonatrach will privilege foreign partners who will join it,” the official APS news agency quoted the unnamed official as saying.
(©www.engineeringnews.co.za)

$610m sub cable on track
The $610-million fibre optic submarine cable system, with 17 landings in 16 countries connecting countries in Africa, Europe and Asia, will be ready for commercial service in February next year, reports Telkom senior manager for submarine cables development and operations Wouter Myburgh.
(©www.engineeringnews.co.za)

HOUSING NEWS AND LAND ISSUES

Housing industry to form body
The housing industry looks set to formally announce the establishment of a professional controlling body for the industry during next month's Institute for Housing of SA annual conference. The announcement will mark a major leap forward as it will assist in removing the stumbling blocks slowing the delivery of housing, and boost capacity and quality. The body will work with existing housing organisations to set appropriate industry standards.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Police block Hout Bay land invasion
Police fired rubber bullets in a clash with land invaders at Hout Bay on the Cape Peninsula on Wednesday night, police reported on Thursday. Police spokesman Cape Jacques Wiese said the incident took place at around 10.45pm. Police were told that some 350 "angry" residents of the Mandela Park informal settlement were damaging a fence around adjacent muncipal land. The property caretaker, who called the police, had said it appeared to be an attempted land invasion.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Land invaders march to Cape unicity offices
Residents of the Mandela Park squatter settlement in Hout Bay, who on Thursday tried unsuccessfully to invade municipal land, are set to march on the Cape Town unicity offices on Friday to hand over a memorandum to city officials.
(©www.iol.co.za)

Political parties jump into Hout Bay land row
The Cape Town city council of Thursday secured a court order against a bid by residents of an informal settlement at Hout Bay to take over neighbouring municipal land.
(©www.iol.co.za)

MK guerrillas win the struggle for low-cost housing
Former Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) comrades have turned successfully from war to finance and have devised a low-income housing scheme that the military hopes to use as a model in its demobilisation of up to 15000 soldiers.
(©www.busrep.co.za)

MINING NEWS

Study group to help miners
Eight areas have been identified that the mining industry needs to address. The mining industry is facing an increasingly complex operating environment as it bids to attract fresh investment, but a new initiative on mining and sustainable development may provide a solution. Independent study group Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development aims to help miners solve the paradox of how to supply the world's demand for minerals while addressing the social, environmental and community effect of mineral extraction.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Value of Saldanha the sticking point in rescue deal
Steel and mining group Iscor is at odds with the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) over the value of the Saldanha Steel plant, and this is holding up a deal on a rescue plan for the plant, it emerged yesterday. The IDC has announced it would be prepared to accept an earlier Iscor valuation of Saldanha, made public in March. That figure, computed by JP Morgan, was just under R2bn for the total value of a debt-free Saldanha Steel.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Angloplat ramps up its production
Anglo Platinum is ramping up production at its Rustenburg mines as it moves to lift its platinum production to 3,5-million ounces a year by 2006. The world's largest platinum miner will boost production at its Bleskopshaft to 80000 tons of reef a month by 2003 through the introduction of new technology in the form of what the industry calls trackless mining.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Australian miners could tempt offers from other bidders
Gold miners Delta Gold and Goldfields may have exposed themselves as a possible takeover target after disclosing details of their combined worth to the market when announcing their planned merger.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Gold price still volatile
The volatility of the gold price over the past week has raised hopes that gold could breach the magical $300/oz figure. However, this hope rests on a number of imponderables, and in the short term it seems unlikely that gold will find a new level until these questions are answered one way or the other.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Messina secures R345m loan for PGM mine
Johannesburg - South African platinum mining company Messina Ltd said on Wednesday it had secured 345 million rand in debt financing, which will enable it to complete the construction and start-up of its Messina Platinum Mines Ltd project in Northern Province.
(©www.busrep.co.za)

Richards Bay Minerals to prospect offshore
Durban - Richards Bay Minerals (RBM), the world's largest sand mining operation, expects to start offshore prospecting in January to establish the viability of mining heavy mineral deposits off the KwaZulu-Natal coastline. The company, jointly owned by Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, the newly merged global resources group, was confident the department of minerals and energy would approve its application for a five-year prospecting lease in the next month, it said yesterday.
(©www.busrep.co.za)

How rate cuts affect homeowners
The home loan interest rate cuts announced by all major mortgage lenders this week will translate, for existing homeowners, into a saving of R101.50 a month on a 20-year loan of R290 000 – the current average house price.
(©www.news24.co.za)

Renewed demand for coastal property
Demand for that proverbial 'cottage at the coast' is up, buyers are largely ignoring Capital Gains Tax, prices are still reasonable and investors and overseas buyers are back in the market.
(©www.news24.co.za)

Property24 right on target to be a 'millionaire'
The Property24 web site - South Africa's largest and most active residential property marketplace , is now on target to log more than 1-million page impressions a month by year-end.
(©www.news24.co.za)

Successful sales require teamwork
In property, as in many other enterprises, a successful sale is likely to owe as much to teamwork between the seller and his or her agent as to the individual efforts of either one.
(©www.news24.co.za)

Home loans advice for the self-employed
There is a perception among many self-employed people that banks are not that keen to have their home loan business. But, says Ascendant Mortgages CEO Mike Bester, this is not the case.
(©www.news24.co.za)

Forget ‘res, buy a student house
With matric pupils now in the run-up to final exams, the problem of finding suitable away-from-home accommodation is once again looming for many parents of university or college hopefuls.
(©www.news24.co.za)

GREENING" A PROFESSION
The architecture profession is experiencing tremendous pressure to change the ways it perceives and shapes the built environment. A growing awareness of environmental issues by both architects and owners is fueling this change. In five years, I predict, today's perception of "best practice" will be a source of amusement.
(©www.arcitectureweek.com)

FORENSIC DETECTIVES
Given the chaotic nature of construction sites, establishing exactly what happened at an earlier point when disputes subsequently arise seems impossible. But not for 'Forensic Project Managers'
(©www.industryclick.com)

Concurrent delays
When things go wrong on site, problems generally don't come one at a time — but all at once! iC's contracts expert Roger Knowles solves the problem of concurrent delays.
(©www.industryclick.com)

How to Gain a Competitive Edge
A comprehensive market analysis will help you identify key factors that may influence customers' buying habits in your target market. Understanding your competition and how they meet customer needs will help identify their strengths and weaknesses.
(©edge.lowe.com)

The Value of Project Management
We are nearing the end in our "Value of Project Management" Series we now take a look at:
9.0 Manage Quality
Definition: Quality is ultimately defined by the customer, and represents how close the project and deliverables came to meeting the customer's requirements and expectations.
The old adage about quality being in the eyes of the beholder is true. Quality is ultimately measured by your customer. Our goal is to meet or exceed the customer's requirements and expectations.
Click here to read on.
(©www.tenstep.com)

Remain updated on the BEP Convention
Have you registered for the BEP Convention next year?
Click here to find out more

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:

No new members were approved this week - there is a long list awaiting approval and we expect that these would be dealt with by 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.