Latest:
NEWSBRIEF
00:00 04 Aug 1999
|
GIZA JOB
Costain International's local company in Egypt has been awarded a contract for the construction management of the Pyramids Heights development in Giza, worth £124 million. The development - a mix of commercial, hotel, retail, leisure, and residential - is set on high ground overlooking the Pyramids of Giza and the city of Cairo. Access to the leisure and residential areas of the development will be from a new road being built to the north of the existing site boundary.
CONSTRUCTION BUILDS ON STRENGTH
The Construction Forecasting and Research (CFR) group claims that construction output will outstrip gross domestic profit (GDP) growth in 1999 and 2000. Growth in the construction industry is expected to settle at 2.4 per cent this year and next, before slipping to 2 per cent in 2001, when total output would exceed £60 billion. The main positive adjustments are in private housing, both new build and repair, maintenance and improvement (RM&I), and commercial work. The forecast has been lowered for public housing new build and RM&I, infrastructure, and public non-housing repair and maintenance (R&M).
STRIKE ACTION AVERTED
Construction on the Channel Tunnel high-speed rail link was threatened with strike action on Monday (2 August 1999) before the GMB was able to secure the jobs of 12 workers who were due to be sacked. The 12 GMB members, who were working as scaffolders, had refused to work more than the agreed 48 hours. The GMB claims that the main contractor Amec/McAlpine had threatened to dismiss the subcontractor Cheema, which employed these workers, if they did not agree to do overtime.
PFI EXCELLENCE AWARD
The Class 98 consortium, led by Ballast Wiltshier and Falkirk Council, has received a 1999 PFI Award for the £340 million project which provides five new schools in Scotland. The competition was open to all PFI projects signed before 22 January 1999, and 80 schemes were entered for this years' awards. The award recognises the number of obstacles that the consortium had to overcome to complete the project, such as signing the deal in a record-breaking 13 months.
BOVIS FLOATS EARLY
The flotation date for Bovis has been brought forward from March 2000 to October or November of this year. Conglomerate P&O expects to raise £350 million from the move. Shares will be listed in London rather than New York. Mike Betts, construction analyst with JP Morgan, said Bovis currently makes £8.7 million from interest, suggesting a cash reserve of over £100 million. "At float off, will P&O take that money out?" he asked.
JARVIS ON THE RIGHT TRACKS
Jarvis is close to announcing a deal with Railtrack worth around £400 million for the track renewal of the entire length of the West Coast Main Line. Once awarded the status of preferred bidder, Jarvis would then work out a final price within a partnership deal.
LONDON PROMISED £800 MILLION INVESTMENT
Minerva, the property developer, will this week unveil two of the biggest development projects in the City of London since the 1980s. Andrew Rosenfeld, the group's chief executive, is applying for planning consent to build two showcase office buildings with a combined value of £800 million - making him the Square Mile's leading entrepreneurial developer.
Costain International's local company in Egypt has been awarded a contract for the construction management of the Pyramids Heights development in Giza, worth £124 million. The development - a mix of commercial, hotel, retail, leisure, and residential - is set on high ground overlooking the Pyramids of Giza and the city of Cairo. Access to the leisure and residential areas of the development will be from a new road being built to the north of the existing site boundary.
CONSTRUCTION BUILDS ON STRENGTH
The Construction Forecasting and Research (CFR) group claims that construction output will outstrip gross domestic profit (GDP) growth in 1999 and 2000. Growth in the construction industry is expected to settle at 2.4 per cent this year and next, before slipping to 2 per cent in 2001, when total output would exceed £60 billion. The main positive adjustments are in private housing, both new build and repair, maintenance and improvement (RM&I), and commercial work. The forecast has been lowered for public housing new build and RM&I, infrastructure, and public non-housing repair and maintenance (R&M).
ADVERTISEMENT
STRIKE ACTION AVERTED
Construction on the Channel Tunnel high-speed rail link was threatened with strike action on Monday (2 August 1999) before the GMB was able to secure the jobs of 12 workers who were due to be sacked. The 12 GMB members, who were working as scaffolders, had refused to work more than the agreed 48 hours. The GMB claims that the main contractor Amec/McAlpine had threatened to dismiss the subcontractor Cheema, which employed these workers, if they did not agree to do overtime.
PFI EXCELLENCE AWARD
The Class 98 consortium, led by Ballast Wiltshier and Falkirk Council, has received a 1999 PFI Award for the £340 million project which provides five new schools in Scotland. The competition was open to all PFI projects signed before 22 January 1999, and 80 schemes were entered for this years' awards. The award recognises the number of obstacles that the consortium had to overcome to complete the project, such as signing the deal in a record-breaking 13 months.
BOVIS FLOATS EARLY
The flotation date for Bovis has been brought forward from March 2000 to October or November of this year. Conglomerate P&O expects to raise £350 million from the move. Shares will be listed in London rather than New York. Mike Betts, construction analyst with JP Morgan, said Bovis currently makes £8.7 million from interest, suggesting a cash reserve of over £100 million. "At float off, will P&O take that money out?" he asked.
JARVIS ON THE RIGHT TRACKS
Jarvis is close to announcing a deal with Railtrack worth around £400 million for the track renewal of the entire length of the West Coast Main Line. Once awarded the status of preferred bidder, Jarvis would then work out a final price within a partnership deal.
LONDON PROMISED £800 MILLION INVESTMENT
Minerva, the property developer, will this week unveil two of the biggest development projects in the City of London since the 1980s. Andrew Rosenfeld, the group's chief executive, is applying for planning consent to build two showcase office buildings with a combined value of £800 million - making him the Square Mile's leading entrepreneurial developer.
ADVERTISEMENT
Most Viewed Articles
ADVERTISEMENT