Construction remains a male-dominated industry but there are signs that women are starting to become better represented in this sector – to its great potential benefit. Unsurprisingly, given the nature of the work itself, women are primarily making their mark in managerial and administrative roles, and a growing number of smaller construction companies are headed by women.Figures from the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) show that 48% of the country’s construction enterprises are owned by women. However, the vast majority of these are very small companies – 95% fall within…
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Flat-packed cities: wooden skyscrapers sprout over concrete concerns
For more than a century, countries have raced to build the world’s tallest buildings with concrete and steel. Now, a quiet contest in constructing tall wooden buildings, from Amsterdam to Tokyo, underlines growing environmental concerns over concrete. With rapid advances in engineered wood, and authorities relaxing building codes, wooden structures are sprouting across Europe, Canada, the United States, and in the Asia Pacific region. At 73 metres (240 ft), Amsterdam’s Haut building is said to be the world’s tallest wooden residential tower. Vancouver plans a 40-storey building it says will…
Read MoreSA cement producers apply for safeguards against imports
JOHANNESBURG – The Concrete Institute (TCI), representing cement producers, said on Wednesday it had applied to the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (ITAC) to investigate the surge in imports at low prices. Imported cement is undercutting the industry by at least 45 percent, TCI spokesman Bryan Perrie said. “When this is combined with unprecedented low levels of demand due to slowed economic growth, the industry is facing an existential crisis which threatens to undermine the industrial capacity of the country,” he said. Data shows that 350,441 tons of…
Read MoreCoega favoured as investments flow in
Despite the deteriorating local and global economic investment environment, which has resulted in most of South Africa’s special economic zones (SEZs) struggling to attract investment, Coega in Port Elizabeth is riding the investment wave. The SEZ, which is operated by the Coega Development Corporation, has secured an additional 18 new investments valued at R2.6 billion, creating about 3 000 jobs during the 2018/19 financial year, against a target of R693 million. Investments in aquaculture, which include an abalone farm and a land-based fish farming facility, represent a third of the…
Read MoreSouth Africa’s construction industry could become safer. Here’s how
Uniform policies around health and safety management within the construction industry is lacking. Patrick Nwabueze Okonkwo / 17 August 2019 00:15 Stakeholders like the Department of Labour, employer associations, labour unions, tertiary institutions and industry bodies need to come together to address the lack of suitably qualified and registered health and safety professionals. Picture: Moneyweb Construction is tough, sometimes dangerous work. Globally, the construction industry accounts for about 7% of employment. But it’s responsible for between 30% and 40%of all work-related fatalities. The figure is at its highest in developing countries. This is because contractor organisations…
Read MoreSteep rise in civil construction tender activity
The construction industry has received a sign of possible better times ahead, with the nominal estimated value of civil construction projects out to tender increasing by 42% in the second quarter of this year compared to the previous quarter. David Metelerkamp, senior economist at construction market intelligence firm Industry Insight, said the nominal estimated value of civil construction projects out to tender was up by “an encouraging” 38.6% on a year-on-year basis in the second quarter. “Following some improvement in the estimated tender values during the last two quarters,…
Read MoreSanral to issue R40bn in road-building tenders
South Africa’s crisis-ridden construction industry has received a boost, with the SA National Roads Agency (Sanral) reporting that it will issue major road construction tenders to the value of more than R40 billion over the next two to three years. Read: Construction industry in survival mode The expenditure commitment has been welcomed by various organisations and analysts, with Sanral confirming that its roads network forms the backbone of the country’s transport system and serves as a catalyst for balanced economic growth, business confidence, investment and the transformation of society. Louw…
Read MoreA jail term would send a strong message to violators of OHS in the construction sector
Department of Employment and Labour Director of Construction, Explosives and Major Hazards Installations (MHI), Phumi Maphaha says he wants to see a jail term as a form of sanction to violators of occupational health and safety (OHS) in the construction sector. Maphaha said this would send a strong message to contractors who are cutting corners. He was addressing a Department’s occupational health and safety conference. The three-day conference which started yesterday is being held at the Emperors Palace in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng Province. The theme of the conference is: “Strategic co-operation…
Read MoreSanral says R40bn road construction projects in the pipeline
JOHANNESBURG – The South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL) said on Thursday that it will issue major road construction tenders to the value of more than R40 billion to the construction sector over the next two to three years. Louw Kannemeyer, SANRAL’s engineering executive, said the new projects will include some 90 major capital works projects larger than R500 million each which will go out to tender during the three year medium-term period. National Treasury has allocated about R21.5 billion per year for the maintenance and improvement of SANRAL’s…
Read MoreDurban demolishes derelict buildings to unlock new development
Malaysian-based UEM Sunrise is pumping new energy into the multi-billion-rand development at the entrance to SA’s busiest port. Suren Naidoo / 30 July 2019 13:31 Construction underway on the R300m extension of Durban’s beachfront promenade to the Point Waterfront development near the harbour entrance. Picture: Supplied Durban’s multi-billion rand Point Waterfront urban regeneration development, which stalled until a few years back, is set to benefit from the eThekwini Municipality’s moves to demolish derelict buildings around Mahatma Gandhi Road (old Point Road) – the main thoroughfare to the waterfront and harbour entrance. The…
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