ICON Q2 2011

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COMMENDED, SUBSCRIPTION MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR 2010 INTERNATIONAL BUILDING PRESS AWARDS 02 QUARTER 2011 / WWW.ICONREVIEW.ORG

INTERNATIONAL CONSTRUCTION REVIEW

Floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, revolution and civil war: how the world changed for millions in the first quarter of 2011, and the profound implications for construction

PLUS Behind the scenes building South Africa’s World Cup stadia

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CONTENTS

06

IN THIS ISSUE

14

18

26

28

06 GLOBAL ROUND-UP

18 REBUILDING JAPAN

26 KICKED WHEN DOWN

London’s Olympic stadium completed; Japan plans new hill-top mini-cities; Historic evacuation from Libya; China overtakes US in academic publishing

Calvin Payne reports on the second, and far more deadly, earthquake to hit New Zealand in six months

12 JASMINE JITTERS IN THE GULF

Japan’s contractors will be spending much of the next five years repairing damage, which the World Bank estimates could amount to US$235bn. But, as Kristina Smith reports, there isn’t a country in the world better prepared

Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have been badly rattled by spreading popular unrest

22 AFTER THE FLOOD

14 FAREWELL, LIBYA

Libya construction veteran Andrew Payne describes the bribery, nepotism and dysfunction that plagued the country’s ambitious development plans

As Queensland, Australia recovers from one of the worst natural disasters in its history, David Smith reports on how the state’s strict builders’ licensing laws may hamper reconstruction, and how some insurers are reluctant to pay out

28 SOCCER NATION

Behind the scenes at the construction of three award-winning stadia you may remember from South Africa’s 2010 FIFA World Cup 34 ETHICAL CONSTRUCTION

Can we find a balance between personal ethics, professional obligations and business? John Bale says we should try

COVER: GETTY IMAGES/JONATHAN WOOD; AP/PRESS ASSOCIATION IMAGES; KYODO NEWS/AP/PRESS ASSOCIATION IMAGES; CALVIN PAYNE THIS PAGE: ODA; UN PHOTO/UNHCR/P. MOORE; KEICHI NAKANE/AP/PRESS ASSOCIATION IMAGES; CALVIN PAYNE

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LEADER

RETHINKING RISK Remember way, way back in December 2010? It was more or less business as usual.

The slow clawback from the financial crisis appeared to be in train. Nakheel’s negotiations with its creditors were grinding on. Stalled projects in the Gulf were sputtering back to life. On December 6, Goldman Sachs’ managing director of global investment research, Jan Hatzius, said the world economy could expect “another strong year of growth in 2011”. The three main risks, he said, were the Eurozone’s debtridden economies, a further slippage in US house prices, and US public debt.

With the devastating first quarter of the year behind us, he was quite accurate – about those risks, anyway. There was no way he could have foreseen that on December 17, in an impoverished town in Tunisia, a municipal official would so enrage a 26-yearold fruit vendor that he would set himself on fire in front of the governor’s offices, nor that the effects of this probably routine confrontation would sweep eastward along the Mediterranean and into the Gulf region, changing in a matter of weeks the entrenched political realities of decades.

In 2009 iCON analysed the risks foreign firms faced in Libya, identifying payment delays, corruption, an opaque and shifting legal framework and the unpredictability of the man in charge, Muammar Gaddafi. We

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specifically did not identify the risk of a population rising up spontaneously against a repressive regime. It was as if we thought that sort of thing didn’t happen anymore.

But the unthinkable, as it has a marked propensity to do, went ahead and happened.

After the upheavals of this quarter the rethinking of risk is sure to be a thriving industry, for the insurance sector in flood-hit Australia and earthquake-damaged New Zealand, and for the global nuclear sector following events in Japan.

International construction firms should also rethink the risks associated with doing business in the Middle East. The so-called Jasmine Revolution has highlighted the deep, criss-crossing fault lines caused by issues such as political exclusion, economic disaffection and sectarian division. Nervous or downright embattled rulers on the Arabian Peninsula have rushed to paper over those fault lines with a mix of cash, crackdowns and concessions. The West, including former colonizers Britain, France and Italy, appear at a loss over how to wield their usual influence. From where we stand now it’s not clear at all how sustainable the current, febrile balance of affairs is.

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GLOBAL ROUND-UP EARTHQUAKE

JAPAN PLANS NEW HILLTOP CITIES FOLLOWING DISASTER JAPANESE contractor Kajima is setting up camps in preparation for building hilltop mini-cities to rehouse the homeless in areas destroyed by the earthquake and tsunami in March, according to reports.

Architects have drawn up plans for homes to be clustered around schools, hospitals and smallscale powers stations in high locations and with greater seismic resilience, the UK’s Times newspaper reported April 4.

“It is impossible to move every house uphill,” Kiyoe Myashita, professor of urban planning at Hosei University, is quoted as saying. “But public buildings, commercial centres and apartment

blocks can be built in strategic locations at standards to withstand earthquakes.”

The first job, however, is to clear approximately 15 million tons of debris. The Times said officials must also work out how many homes will be needed, given that the number of dead or missing is believed to be more than 25,000.

Before the quake the coastal areas affected, in northern Honshu on Japan’s main island, had been seeing a steady exodus of people and an ageing population. Experts say some towns and communities will never be reinstated. iCON l See more coverage of the quake and tsunami damage in Japan on page 16

HEALTH & SAFETY

Controversial homicide trial of New York construction managers gets underway dismantling the building’s standpipe Graffagnino Snr said he believes THE trial of three construction prosecutors should have spread the system, which was the only way managers and one company firefighters could have accessed blame more widely, including charged over the deaths of two water in the building. among city officials responsible for firefighters in the 9/11-damaged Prosecutors say the accused inspecting the building.

Deutsche Bank building in New knew the standpipe was inoperable The Deutsche Bank building at York is finally underway. but failed to report this to fire safety 130 Liberty St, near Ground Zero, The trial, expected to be one of authorities, which they should have was heavily damaged on 9/11. It the most complex criminal trials in done. The late discovery of this fault was in the process of being slowly recent memory at Manhattan State meant the firefighters were in the deconstructed when a construction Supreme Court, will set out to building for 61 minutes before water worker’s discarded cigarette discover whether the defendants was available to douse the flames. sparked a massive blaze. are guilty or not of manslaughter An earlier report from the District Prosecutors say contractors and criminally negligent homicide in Attorney’s office also levelled blame eliminated any chance of survival the 2007 fire that killed firefighters against the Fire Department of New for the first responders by Robert Beddia, 53, and Joseph York, however. The FDNY’s own “15Graffagnino, 33.

Day Rule” requires that firefighters If found guilty the three men – inspect buildings undergoing Salvatore DePaola, 56, foreman construction and demolition at least for the demolition subcontractor every 15 days and to focus on John Galt Corporation, Mitchel 18 conditions, including Alvo, 52, Galt’s director of standpipe systems. But from asbestos abatement, and Jeffrey Jeffrey Melofchik the time of the attack on Melofchik, 49, safety manager for the World Trade Center, the the general contractor Bovis Lend Deutsche Bank building was Lease – could face up to 15 years never thoroughly inspected by in prison. The John Galt Mitchel Alvo the FDNY. The investigation Corporation faces fines of up to found that this was because the 15US$10,000.

Day Rule was “a rule almost The father of Joseph Graffagnino universally ignored”. has told reporters he would shun The investigation also found that the trial in protest: Joseph Salvatore DePaola

the FDNY failed to develop a special firefighting operations plan for the Deutsche Bank building, despite numerous recommendations that it do so.

The District Attorney also blamed the city’s Department of Buildings (DOB), whose inspectors were charged with ensuring the contractor complied with regulations regarding the standpipe and access between floors.

Despite these findings only the three men and the John Galt Corporation have been charged, which has led Edward J. Little, lawyer for Melofchik, to claim his client was being made a scapegoat: “We are confident that Jeff will be vindicated,” he told iCON in 2009.

Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Rena Uviller said she’d limit the number of witnesses that would be presented at what is expected to be a four-month trial.

“Let me just say this: we all have to get a grip. This is going to be a long trial and there’s not going to be three to four hundred witnesses in this case,” she said during a pretrial conference. iCON

‘EXPECT THE NEW NORMAL TO BE QUITE A CHALLENGE…’ RRLIBYA MELTDOWN, PAGE 14 www.iconreview.org

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QATAR BOOMS AS CRISIS LOOMS

Japan: the aftermath

LIBYA

Historic evacuation of Chinese and Turkish workers as protests turn into a civil war

Chinese nationals evacuated from Libya on the southern Greek island of Crete

AS the battle between forces loyal to Col Gaddafi and rebels intensified in Libya, countries like China and Turkey, who had tens of thousands of citizens working there, launched historic evacuation operations.

On March 5 Xinhua news agency reported that a total of 35,860 Chinese had been evacuated from from Libya – which, just days before, was one of the world’s hottest construction markets. Xinhua reported that 20,745 Chinese were already home thanks to what it described as the largest and the most complicated overseas evacuation conducted by the Chinese government since 1949.

Turkey, with its close ties to Libya and many construction companies active there, had evacuated 18,375 citizens by March 1, according to press reports, in what is being described as that country’s largest evacuation operation ever.

The Turkish evacuation included the body of Yunus Emre Çelik, 28, a worker who was shot dead in the violence in Libya. Prior to the unrest, Turkey had about 25,000 citizens and more than 200 companies involved in construction projects in Libya currently worth more than $15 billion.

Some of the construction sites have come under

02 QUARTER 2011

attack by protesters.

According to Turkish newspaper Today’s Zaman Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Er doğan personally phoned embattled Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi twice to get the Turkish evacuation underway.

China’s Ministry of Commerce has said that about 75 Chinese companies were operating in Libya, involving about 36,000 staff and 50 projects.

The ministry said at least 27 Chinese construction sites or camps had been attacked and robbed.

As well as chartered planes, China hired four ocean liners in Greece and Malta and about 100 buses from Egypt to evacuate Chinese nationals from the country, the foreign ministry said.

China State Construction Engineering Corp. Ltd. (CSCEC), is one company with a big stake in Libya.

Company sources said it has signed construction contracts amounting to 17.6 billion yuan (2.67 billion U.S. dollars) in Libya since 2007. More than half of the projects are still underway.

“The unfinished projects have been suspended and their future development remains uncertain,” said a spokesman of the company. l More on Libya, page 14 iCON

WHILE unrest was flaring up dangerously in the Middle East this year, peaceful Qatar, with a per capita income at nearly US$75,000, was announcing plans to spend over US$125 billion in the next five years on construction and energy projects.

The economy of Qatar, an oil exporter and the world’s top liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter, will reap the benefits of high energy prices and enjoy double digit growth in the next two years, according to the emirate’s new national development strategy, released March 28.

“This year, it (economic growth) is going to be very high. Next year it will be less, but still in double digits,” the emir’s economic adviser Ibrahim al-Ibrahim told reporters, according to Reuters.

The document, which outlines Qatari plans for 2011-2016, forecast 15.7 percent growth in 2011, less than an 18 percent prediction last week by the central bank governor. An earlier forecast for 2012 of 7.1 percent growth may need adjusting upwards, as it assumed an average oil price of $86 per barrel. US crude was near $104 per barrel on the day of the strategy release, thanks to unrest in the MENA region.

Qatar plans to invest over $35.7 billion in 2011-2016 through its state-linked companies, including about Qatar Diar for residential and business construction projects.

Qatar Petroleum and its units should spend approximately US$24 billion, while state infrastructure spending will amount to over $67 billion including roads, port, power and water, the document showed.

Daniel Kaye, senior economist at the National Bank of Kuwait, told Reuters: “This spending program could be financed through a combination of existing reserves, borrowing and revenues from LNG production. I’m sure financing will not be too much of a problem.”

Qatar plans to boost infrastructure spending in the runup to the 2022 soccer World Cup, which it will host. iCON

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GLOBAL ROUND-UP

COMPANIES

Consultant WYG seeks growth outside “profoundly difficult” UK

Paul Hamer

WITH shrinking revenues and profits at home in 2010, UK-based consultant WYG Group has announced a fresh overseas focus following a period of restructuring.

The company said March 31 that in 2010 group revenue decreased by £31.5m to £83.7m and that operating profit decreased by £3.6m to £0.1m.

But on the plus side it increased its international order book by £12.6m to £89m during the six months to 31 December 2010.

In that period it opened local entities in Syria, Croatia, Bosnia and South Africa.

WYG, which employs around 1,800 people in over 40 countries, has also restructured into four key market segments to exploit international opportunities: buildings and critical infrastructure; transport solutions; energy, sustainability and environment; and risk and assurance services.

The company said the new structure has already led to international business wins, including a €1.5m contract with the European Union to facilitate a policy dialogue programme in South Africa. WYG has also been appointed by the UK Ministry of Defence to assess utilities and infrastructure at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan, which is the main operating base for British forces there.

Paul Hamer, Chief Executive Officer, WYG Group, said: “After nearly two years of major restructuring, we now have an appropriate operational and support structure. The latter stages of this restructuring have been undertaken against a backdrop of profoundly difficult and uncertain market conditions in the UK, particularly in the public sector, and significant volumes of work have been cancelled, reduced or deferred.

“However, the overseas markets in which we operate have remained relatively resilient.

Following the restructuring, we have a more efficient globally organised business and our focus is now on growing our global revenues through key relationships and strategic partners.” iCON

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NEW ISO STANDARDS AIM TO CLEAN UP INTERNATIONAL PROCUREMENT A NEW series of ISO standards claims to offer the international construction industry – the developing world in particular – tools to ensure fair competition, reduce corruption and improve predictability in procurement outcomes.

The ISO 10845 series of standards are designed to help public, private and international clients and their main contractors align their procurement systems with international best practice.

“This series will be an invaluable tool for promoting international trade, in particular for developing countries who may lack experience and instruments in this field,” said Dr. Ron Watermeyer, project leader of the new series.

The new standards were developed by ISO technical committee ISO/TC 59, Buildings and civil engineering works. iCON

Test events to start in the summer

EDUCATION

China to overtake US in academic p A STUDY by the UK’s Royal Society has come to the conclusion that China is on course to overtake the US in academic publishing possibly as soon as 2013.

The figures are based on the papers published in recognised international journals listed by the Scopus service of the publishers Elsevier.

In 1996, the first year of the analysis, the US published 292,513 papers - more than 10 times China’s 25,474. But by 2008, the US total had

increased only slightly to 316,317 while China’s had surged more than seven-fold to 184,080.

Previous estimates for the rate of expansion of Chinese scientific publishing had suggested that China might overtake the US sometime after 2020. But this study shows that China, after displacing the UK as the world’s second leading producer of research, could go on to overtake America in as little as two years’ time.

Professor Sir Chris Llewellyn

Smith, chair of the report, told the BBC he was “not surprised” by this increase because of China’s massive boost to investment in R&D. Chinese spending has grown by 20% per year since 1999, now reaching over $100bn, and as many as 1.5 million science and engineering students graduated from Chinese universities in 2006.

But some have questioned whether the volume of published papers is an accurate indicator of scientific leadership.

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OLYMPICS

ODA

LONDON’S LIGHT-WEIGHT OLYMPIC STADIUM COMPLETE – ON TIME AND UNDER BUDGET THE last piece of turf on the London 2012 Olympic Stadium’s field of play has been laid, marking the completion of the flagship venue.

The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) said that construction of the stadium started just under three years ago, in May 2008, and has been completed on time, under budget and with an exemplary safety record.

ODA chairman John Armitt said: “To complete a complicated project such as this in less than three years is testament to the skill and professionalism of the UK construction industry. I would like to thank the Team Stadium consortium and all of the workers for their hard work and commitment. It is thanks to them that we can today celebrate this huge milestone for the London 2012 project and be proud of what can be achieved by UK plc.”

The final surface of the running track isn’t on yet because preparations for ceremonies before the games may require cranes, which could damage it.

More than 240 UK businesses won contracts to build the stadium and 5,250 people worked on the project over the past three years, with the operative workforce peaking at 650.

Organising committee chairman Sebastian Coe said: “By summer, the stadium will be a working venue ready to host a test event before it becomes the centre piece of next summer’s Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. The innovative design coupled with fantastic crowds will provide an electric atmosphere at Games-time.”

The design and construction team was led by Sir

Robert McAlpine, with Populous as the Architect and Buro Happold as the designer of the civils, structural and building services work. Hyland Edgar Driver were the Landscape Architects. The Planning Consultant was Savilles Hepher Dixon. Sir Robert McAlpine also worked on the Arsenal Emirates Stadium, the Millennium Dome and its transformation into the O2 Arena. Populous were the architect on the Olympic Stadium for the Sydney Games.

The total Stadium island site covers an area of 40 acres. Five major new bridges will lead spectators into the site.

With around 10,000 tonnes of steel, it will be the lightest Olympic Stadium to date. Thirty-three buildings on the site were demolished and over 800,000 tonnes of soil was taken away before construction could begin.

More than 5,000 reinforced concrete columns were driven into the ground, up to 20m deep, to provide the foundations. 112 steel rakers and 12,000 pre-cast concrete terracing units hold the spectator seating in place.

The roof compression truss is made up of 28 steel sections, each one is 15m high by 30m long and weigh 85 tonne. A 1,350-tonne super lift crane was assembled in the field of play to lift them into place between January and July in 2009.

The roof is covered by 112 panels of white material, totalling 25,000 m². The fabric was fitted by a team of 23 expert abseilers.

The Stadium is lit by 532 individual floodlights housed in 14 towers. The top of the towers reach 70 metres above the field of play. iCON

‘THE AILING KING MADE A RARE TV APPEARANCE AND NEARLY TRIPLED HIS EARLIER LARGESSE...’

Dr Cong Cao, associate professor at Nottingham University’s School of Contemporary Chinese Studies, agrees with the assessment that the quantity of China’s science is yet not matched by its quality. A sociologist originally from Shanghai, Dr Cao told the BBC: “There are many millions of graduates but they are mandated to publish so the numbers are high. It will take many years for some of the research to catch up to Western standards.”

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The report itself acknowledges that a growing volume of published papers does not mean an increase in quality.

One indicator of the value of research is the number of times it is quoted by other scientists. Although China has risen in the “citation” rankings, its performance on this measure lags behind its investment and publication rate.

The UK’s scientific papers are still the second most-cited in the world after the US. iCON

China: massive investment in R&D

ISTOCKPHOTO.COM

emic publishing in two years: report

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GLOBAL ROUND-UP

UAE’S ARABTEC PROMOTES CHRISTOFIDES TO HEAD UP CONSTRUCTION DIVISION ARABTEC Holding Co, the UAE’s largest builder by market value, has promoted major-project veteran Grigoris Christofides to the role of CEO of its construction division.

He replaces Thomas Barry, who has retired but who will remain on the board of directors of Arabtec Construction, the company said in a statement on March 24.

Christofides started his career in 1986 with Bechtel in the USA. In 1989 he joined Ove Arup & Partners in the UK as a Structural Design Engineer. Early in 1992, Mr. Christofides came to the UAE and later joined W.S. Atkins & Partners in 1994 as a Construction Manager working on the Jumeirah Beach and Burj Al Arab Hotels. He joined Arabtec Construction in 1996 as a Project Manager and has been an Executive Director since 2006.

Mr. Christofides holds a BSc Engineering degree in Structural Engineering from McGill University in Canada, and an M.Sc in Civil Engineering Concrete Structures from Imperial College in the UK. Arabtec reported a full-year net profit of AED307.1m ($83.61m) for 2010, down 38 percent from a year earlier, but is actively expanding overseas to diversify away from Dubai’s once-booming property sector.

The company won contracts worth AED356m ($96.92m) to build an underground car park in Abu Dhabi and residential villas in Egypt in January.

In February a joint venture between Arabtec Construction and Kuwait’s Combined Group Company PLC, of which Arabtec owns 60%, won a contract worth just over US$400million to build for new buildings at the Sabah-Al Salem University in Kuwait. iCON

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SKILLS

India: ‘To train 33 million workers by 2020, we need a plan’ INDIA’S finance minister Pranab Mukherjee has called for the establishment of a construction skills council to train the millions of workers needed to carry out the country’s massive building plan.

Speaking January 23 at a convention organised by the Builders Association of India (BAI), Mukherjee urged the construction industry to set up a skills council to equip the workforce, estimated to grow to 3.3 crore, or 33 million, by 2020.

To address this need he said the industry should cooperate with the National Skill Development Corporation and contribute to skill creation in the sector.

He said the evolution of a skills policy was essential as government had earmarked billions of dollars in its 12th five-year plan, commencing 2013, for infrastructure and housing improvements. iCON

Industry urged to set up skills council

PROPERTY

Chilly winds cool Mumbai’s hot market for apartments for the new super-rich AFTER a period of sustained euphoria in the market for topend luxury housing in Mumbai, the chilly winds of stagnation are starting to be felt.

An estimated 40% of luxury apartments coming up in India’s financial centre are unsold, wrote Shefali Anand in the Wall Street Journal on February 15. These apartments cost anywhere from US$1 million to US$12 million, and range from 5,000 square feet to 13,000 square feet in size.

According to the Merrill LynchCapgemini World Wealth Report, the number of millionaires in India increased from 84,000 to 126,700 in just one year, between 2009 and 2010.

The demand in Mumbai for luxury homes among the emerging super-rich there has been so high that, like in Dubai pre-2008, high-end apartments have normally been sold off-plan, prior to construction.

But sales have slowed dramatically in the last three months thanks, it is thought, to the steep prices masking developers’ huge mark-ups. In December, the number of

Trump targets India apartments registered in Mumbai – an indicator of sales – fell 50% from the same month the previous year, Anand reported, quoting research from investment firm Prabhudas Liladhar Pvt. Ltd. While this data includes nonluxury apartments as well, real estate brokers and consultants say luxury home sales have been similarly affected.

“Sale volumes have dipped in pretty much every market in India,” the writer quoted Gulam Zia, of Knight Frank India Pvt. Ltd., as saying. Analysts say that if sales continue to remain slow, developers may have to cut prices or offer perks such as free parking to lure buyers.

Around 3,700 luxury apartments are currently under construction in Mumbai and its suburbs with a price tag of $1 million or more, Anand reported, quoting Delhi-based research firm P.E. Analytics Pvt. Ltd. Of these, around 1,440 are unsold.

Developers are not feeling the pinch yet, however. Anand describes how many of them bought their land at very low rates and are charging 10 times those rates for the apartment building, so that they need only sell a few to recover their costs.

For them it’s now just a waiting game.

Meanwhile, legendary developer Donald Trump has decided to get in on the act by building just such a luxury offering, the Trump Tower Mumbai. It will be Trump’s first real estate venture in India. The Trump Organisation will work alongside Indian property developers Rohan Lifescapes to construct the three-million square foot complex featuring 45 apartments, a luxury spa, gymnasium and minitheatre. iCON

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Torrential rains have killed more than 900 people

ENVIRONMENT

BRAZIL OFFICIAL BLAMES ILLEGAL HILLSIDE CONSTRUCTION FOR MUDSLIDE FATALITIES THE tragic loss of life in landslides in the mountains surrounding Rio de Janeiro was caused by “the criminal occupation of hillsides,” the state’s environment secretary has said.

Landslides and flooding have so far claimed the lives of more than 900 people after torrential rains fell on the old towns of Nova Friburgo, Petropolis and Teresopolis, located in the rocky, mountainous region surrounding the megalopolis of Rio De Janeiro.

State officials have confirmed that many of the homes and buildings washed away by avalanches of water and mud were constructed precariously in steep mountain valleys.

“This is a national tragedy,” said Carlos Minc, Rio de Janeiro’s state

‘THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH TRADESMEN IN NEW ZEALAND TO UNDERTAKE ALL THE WORK’ RR CHRISTCHURCH EARTHQUAKE BLOW, P12 02 QUARTER 2011

secretary for the environment, in a live telephone interview broadcast January 13 on the O Globo network. “It shows how difficult it is for local mayors to impose unpopular measures on the population.”

He said the tragedy was amplified by construction on deforested land in the area.

Building codes are rarely enforced in Brazil’s rural and poor areas, which are riddled with quickly constructed shantytowns and other buildings, many of them perched on steep hillsides above wealthier areas.

Minc said the state government would now implement a programme to stop what he called the “criminal occupation of hillsides”. iCON

JCB targets emerging Brazil and India as sales bounce back in 2010 HEAVY machinery maker JCB has revealed a 48 per cent rise in sales and major investments in Brazil and India as the global construction sector returns from the doldrums.

JCB chairman Sir Anthony Bamford has revealed that the UK-based firm’s revenue in 2010 was £2 billion, up from £1.35 billion in 2009. In 2010 JCB sold 51,600 machines compared to 36,000 in 2009.

Sir Anthony said the company is building a new £63 million factory in Brazil which will produce excavators and backhoe loaders, while JCB India has invested £19 million in a new engine plant in Delhi.

He said: “One thing that sets us apart as a privately-owned, family company is that we take a

long-term view and can make decisions quickly.

With markets growing so rapidly, the time is now right for us to enhance our already strong presence in Brazil and as a result I’m delighted to announce that we are building a new factory in Brazil for the production of excavators and backhoe loaders.

“Similarly in India, a successful market for JCB for more than 30 years, we have invested in an engine production facility which means our Indian customers now benefit fully from the performance and reliability of JCB’s world-beating engine for the first time.”

Sales in India played a major role in JCB’s upturn in fortunes, as it sold more than 21,000 machines in the subcontinent. iCON¨

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UPHEAVAL 2011 MENA UPRISINGS

JASMINE JITTERS IN THE GCC Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have been badly rattled by the political upheaval across the Middle East and North Africa. It bodes ill for the Gulf region’s long-term stability, argues Rod Sweet

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he so-called “Jasmine Revolution” that started in Tunisia in December has had a muted effect on Qatar, UAE and Kuwait. And while Oman saw weeks of demonstrations that erupted into several days of violence and vandalism, ruler Sultan Qaboos emerged from the crisis apparently as secure and popular as ever, having responded with a comprehensive suite of measures including private sector pay hikes, 50,000 new jobs and legislative powers for the parliament. But Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, two kingdoms of strategic and economic importance to the region and the world, have been badly rattled by the events.

In Bahrain the unrest spreading from North Africa snagged on the rift between the Sunni minority who rule the small, oilrich kingdom and the Shi’ite majority of approximately 60%, whose activists claim economic and political discrimination.

After a month of demonstrations in Manama during which the Shi’ite parliamentary opposition group, Wefaq, demanded a constitutional monarchy and the resignation of the current government, the state, blaming Iranian influence, called in troops from Saudi Arabia and the UAE to help restore order on March 14. The BBC reports that 30 people have died as a result of the clashes and that as many as 400 have been detained.

Having adopted a hard line on dissent, with a three-month period of martial law imposed March 15, ‘business as usual’

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BAHRAIN BUSINESS AS USUAL? l

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50,000 new housing units, plus a new mortgage lending market New “multi-billiondinar economic and industrial city” Reduced business confidence and a deeply divided society

is a main priority for the government. That’s because Manama is a regional financial services hub, with the banking sector accounting for 25% of the economy of a country keen to reduce its dependence on oil.

But bankers don’t like unrest. On March 17 Reuters reported that there had been substantial outflows of funds from Bahrain. Banks in Manama’s financial district closed on the day of the crackdown and the stock market stopped trading. Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor’s have cut their rating of Bahrain’s sovereign credit by two notches to BBB, citing political risks. One banking source, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, estimated 15 to 20 percent of deposits and investments of high-level Bahraini citizens in private banks had been withdrawn.

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LEFT: Predominantly Shi’ite protesters in Bahrain at an anti-regime rally in Manama in the weeks before security forces, including troops from Saudi Arabia and the UAE, used force to reclaim the focal point, Pearl Square

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The government has taken a hard line on pessimism as well, decreeing it would open the mortgage market to foreign banks by allowing them to own real estate temporarily, and denying that banks were thinking about leaving. “Bahrain’s standing as a top financial hub has been given the seal of approval by global and national banking chiefs,” reported Bahrain News Agency (BNA) on April 13, a day after representatives of major banks allegedly met at the Gulf Hotel to pledge their commitment to stay.

However on April 14 rating agency Capital Intelligence downgraded the National Bank of Bahrain’s foreign currency ratings and assigned them a ‘negative’ outlook, citing increased political risk and the risk of non-performing loans in the small- to medium-sized business sector.

The effect on construction activity will be harder to gauge.

Major projects came to a temporary halt at the height of the unrest, such as the North Manama Causeway project and the Isa Town Interchange and many foreign consultants evacuated staff, though most have returned.

DEEP AND TOXIC RUPTURES In one of several moves to mollify the population the government announced a US$6.63-billion plan to build 50,000 social housing units over five years, ArabianBusiness.com reported April 13. But a CB Richard Ellis report quoted by the news portal cast doubt on the government’s ability to “meet the housing demands of a rapidly growing, relatively low-income population of nationals.”

It pointed out that the waiting list for social housing is already well above 50,000 and some Bahrainis have been waiting for 17 years for a home.

On April 12, the government also announced a feasibility study into a new multi-billion-dinar “economic and industrial city” that would employ “thousands of Bahrainis”.

Industry and Commerce Minister Dr Hassan Fakhro told newspaper Gulf Daily News that “a reputed international company will begin the feasibility study on the project, which is in line with His Majesty King Hamad’s vision”.

Dr Fakhro said a major international building and construction company had decided to make Bahrain its headquarters after having scoured the Middle East and North Africa region for a base.

“They are investing a very large sum of money over the next few years and that will also employ a large number of Bahrainis,” he said, but declined to name the firm.

Order has been restored but the ruptures in Bahraini society remain deep and toxic. The government moved to ban Shi’ite parliamentary opposition groups, but pulled back after protests from US and UK. State news agency BNA announced April 16 that 111 education ministry employees had been suspended and face legal action for their part in a call to strike by the Bahrain Teachers’ Society. At least one funeral march for the growing number of detainees who have died in custody after the protests has been loud, emotive and overtly political.

Whether Bahrain experiences more unrest remains to be seen but the island kingdom has clearly entered dangerous waters. On one hand it needs to restore a business-friendly climate. On the other it risks locking itself into a struggle against a significant segment of its own population, which is rarely good for business. iCON 02 QUARTER 2011

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$66.67 billion allocated for 500,000 new homes Foreign firms expected to build them New ‘Saudization’ scheme on the cards 60,000 new police jobs Unemployment and social instability highlighted

Iranians protest Bahraini deaths in front of Saudi Arabian embassy in Tehran

While protests in the largest Gulf economy have been limited, the regional unrest highlighted the vulnerabilities of the kingdom and triggered a spectacular pre-emptive strike of investment largesse.

Even though Saudi Arabia is awash with funds, sitting as it does on a fifth of the world’s oil reserves, it also sits on a fast-growing, young population with nothing to do. The total population is expected to reach 30 million in 2017, double what it was 30 years ago, according to Euromonitor International.

Many of those are expats. Of the country’s indigenous population of 18.5 million, 47% are 18 years old or younger, and some 39.3% of 20-24-year-olds were unemployed in 2009, according to John Sfakianakis, chief economist at Banque Saudi Fransi.

It’s a peculiar set of circumstances.

Although the economy in the Kingdom is booming, only one in 10 private-sector jobs is held by Saudis. Historically, employers have preferred expats because they accept lower pay, are seen to be better educated, and will do jobs Saudis won’t. Although this trend has shown signs of reversing, successive regulatory attempts at “Saudization” have been acknowledged to have failed.

Dissatisfaction boils under the surface.

Protests are forbidden but on January 8, 250 unemployed Saudi university graduates gathered in Riyadh, demanding jobs. Other demonstrations followed around the country, including one in Jeddah on January 29 where hundreds gathered to demand better infrastructure after floods. Some protests, and reported dissent expressed on the Internet, have been overtly political in nature. On March 10 police used force to

disperse Shi’ite protesters in the eastern region of Qatif, a day before a Webfomented countrywide “day of rage”.

On February 23, after three months abroad receiving medical treatment, 87year-old King Abdullah returned to the country to announce a surprise, US$36billion (SR135-billion) suite of goodies for the people, including a fund for home loans, cash for home repairs, extra welfare pay-outs and more money for students.

Then, three weeks later on March 18, the ailing King made a rare appearance on state television and nearly tripled his earlier gift with a US$93-billion (SR350 billion) housing, job-creation and general cash bonanza.

US$93-billion is a big spree, equal to some 20 percent of the country’s GDP and some 56 percent of total government spending in 2010, according to the National Commercial Bank (NCB), quoted in the Saudi English daily, Arab News. It included even bigger homeloans, unemployment benefits and, for job-creation, 60,000 new police posts in the Interior Ministry.

For construction, $66.67 billion (SR250 billion) was allocated to construct 500,000 new homes to address a shortage that will reach one million by 2014, according to the government, and 1.6 million by 2015, according to property analysts.

And who will build these homes? Not out-of-work Saudi young men (although, on March 26, yet another “Saudization” plan was promised by the Labour Ministry within two weeks), but more expatriates, perhaps from the Gulf region but more likely from Korea, according to Samba Financial Group, one of the principal Saudi banks. In its Economic Monitor for April, it said: “To roll out this number of units in a reasonable time frame, the authorities will need to use private sector developers. These contractors could come from the Gulf, but for speed and cost effectiveness East Asian contractors (especially South Korean) seem likely to be utilized.”

So far the House of Saud has managed to keep a lid on dissent, but these measures – particularly the 60,000 new police jobs – show how nervous Saudi rulers are. iCON

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UPHEAVAL 2011 LIBYAN CIVIL WAR

WHAT IT WAS REALLY LIKE IN LIBYA Andrew Payne is one of thousands of construction professionals who find themselves back home, reeling from the implosion of the Libyan construction market. With the chances of a quick return to normal looking slim, he tells Kristina Smith about the bribery, nepotism and dysfunction that plagued the “mind-boggling” development plans

J

ust a few months ago, Libya looked like one of the most promising places on earth for construction firms.

Billions of dollars were being pumped into public infrastructure projects, hotels and commercial developments, attracting contractors and consultants from around the world.

The international melting pot Libya had become was typified by its mind-boggling university building programme (see iCON, issue Q410), which saw contractors from China, Kuwait, Turkey, South Korea, Italy, Portugal and Spain working simultaneously on 25 brand new campuses around the country.

Now the melting pot is in meltdown.

Among those still reeling from the sudden implosion of what appeared to be the construction market of a lifetime was Andrew Payne. When his UK construction and development company was floored by the recession in 2008, he looked to Libya and was recruited to head up Libyan construction firm Hud Hud. Then, a year ago, working with colleagues he had met over there, Payne set up Waterfall Business Solutions, a specialist project management firm which embedded project managers, construction managers and site supervisors in Libyan firms to help them run contracts and improve their skills base.

Things were looking promising until 16 February this year when dissatisfied Libyans began their battle against Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, Libya’s leader for 42 years. Now Payne, and most of the other foreigners who were working on the country’s many construction projects, is back at home, worrying about the Libyans he has been working with and hoping that he can return to his business when the dust has settled.

Speaking in the garden of his home in the picturesque village of Alfriston, near the UK’s south coast, Payne, who has worked on projects for the leading family – about which he is tight-lipped – provides an insider’s view of Libya’s construction market and the challenges faced by those eager to return.

The uprising in Libya took Payne, who by coincidence had flown to Malta two days earlier to meet his wife, by surprise.

“At that time Tripoli was calm and I discussed with colleagues whether they would leave before the day of action. But, as Colonel Gaddafi had said he would lead the parade in Tripoli, we all took it as a publicity stunt.”

The situation turned from protest to all out war before anyone expected it to. For Payne’s colleagues and the other foreigners working in offices and construction sites around

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Libya, there was a scramble to leave the country. Those from richer countries left by planes or boats, organised by their companies or by their embassies. Workers from neighbouring countries fled by foot. The estimated 60,000 Bangladeshis working on construction sites around Libya were left to fend for themselves.

Peter Fairhead, Payne’s colleague and chairman of Waterfall, left via the Egyptian border in a jeep. The journey was not without event, as rebels mistook the Syrian workers they were carrying in the back of the vehicle as Gaddafi mercenaries and shot at them. But as a seasoned veteran, with 15 years’ experience working in various African countries, Fairhead remained unruffled, Payne says.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS The fleeing contractors have left behind them a plethora of unfinished developments and outstanding bills. Libya was a notoriously slow payer. All invoices had been processed using hand ledgers rather than computers, and everything had to be authorised from the highest point.

Turkey, China and South Korea have all been big players in the Libyan market. And they have more than unpaid bills at risk: many of the big government-funded projects were done on a joint venture basis, with the overseas partner stumping up the higher proportion of funding.

Turkey had over 200 companies in Libya, most of them construction, and 25,000 citizens. Its combined business interests there are worth around US$27 billion, according to the Turkish Foreign Ministry.

Turkish contractors have a project backlog of $15.3 billion in Libya, Foreign Trade Minister Zafer Caglayan said on February 21.

For Renaissance, a huge Turkish-run contractor which is registered in Russia, Libya is its second biggest market with a reported $2 billion of business interests in the country and 1,800 people employed there. Its projects range from hotels to football stadia to high-end mixed use development.

TAV Construction, a subsidiary of airport operator TAV, had to abandon the construction of Tripoli airport which it has said is around 50% complete. And Tefken Construction left behind its work on the second phase of the Great Manmade River project to bring water from aquifers under the Sahara desert to the Mediterranean coastline.

China’s Ministry of Commerce said that there were 75 Chinese firms, 12 of them state-owned, operating on 50 joint

Libyan rebels fire rockets at troops loyal to Libyan leader Gaddafi on the road between Ajdabiya and Brega

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venture projects and employing over 36,000 workers.

According to the National Business Daily, Chinese contracts signed last year in Libya were worth $1.8 billion, some of these in the energy sector.

The China State Construction Engineering Corporation said in a statement that only half of its $2.68 billion–worth of residential construction projects in Libya were completed. And the China Railway Construction Corporation reported that it has left $4.24 billion of unfinished projects behind.

South Korean contractors had 53 projects on the go, worth $10.7 billion according to the International Contractors Association of Korea. Major players Hyundai Engineering & Construction and Daewoo Engineering & Construction are both heavily involved in infrastructure, power station and hospital projects. Daewoo has said it expects to receive compensation for lost days.

UNDERLYING RESENTMENT For most of the overseas contractors, there is no way of knowing what has happened to their sites. Obviously those located along the coastline where the fighting has been taking place, among them 14 of the 25 university sites under construction, are at the greatest risk of vandalism and looting.

Turkish authorities reported that 14 construction premises had been looted early on in the troubles and China’s Ministry 02 QUARTER 2011

of Commerce reported that 27 construction sites or camps had been robbed. South Korean projects suffered too.

Attacks on sites and camps had begun before the uprising, some reports suggest, due to the underlying resentment of Libyans at the better conditions of overseas workers. Some Indian and Bangladeshi workers trying to flee the fighting also suffered violence at the hands of the rebels.

The university site at Darnah in the east was probably one of those that came under attack, with contractor’s accommodation destroyed, according to Andrew Hinkins, project manager for Hill International, a consultant on the universities programme. At the university site in Tobruq, run by China Building Group, local Libyans have been hired to guard the project, according to project manager Shi Zhifei, who spoke to the Global Times.

One contractor with a project situated in a town where fighting has been fierce, who asked not to be named, told iCON: “As far as we know, our site its safe, but we do not know what will happen tomorrow. Telephones there are not working.

We cannot contact the client’s representatives and the only contact we have is with our Libyan people in Tripoli.”

“You can only monitor what’s happening by using your local people, and the key to keeping them loyal is making sure their salary gets paid every week or every month so that they can look after their families,” says Simon France, MD of UK RR

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UPHEAVAL 2011 LIBYAN CIVIL WAR

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RR firm Trango, which specialises in disaster planning and management. It helped companies evacuate from Libya and hopes to help them get back in.

Many companies have large items of plant in Libya, some of which are fitted with trackers so that they can at least be located, but which are constantly at risk from being stolen or vandalised. “If a riot or demonstration moves through an area, it’s not reasonable to expect a company guarding things to stay and put up a robust defence,” says France.

WHAT IT WAS REALLY LIKE It is difficult to get a true picture of the value of construction work stalled by the events in Libya, because business deals there could be described as opaque at best. According to organisers of Infrastructure Libya, an exhibition planned for October this year in Tripoli, the country’s National Development Plan allocated $56bn to be spent between 2010 and 2012 alone on housing, power, water, sewerage, schools, hospitals, ports, airports and railways.

Now that the bonanza is over people like Andrew Payne are talking about what it was really like to work in Libya, and the picture is less than rosy.

Companies looking to win government work had to find a sponsoring individual in the government body responsible for that programme, bodies such the Housing Infrastructure Board (HIB) and the Libyan Investment and Development Corporation (LIDCO), which was involved in many of the JV deals with foreign firms. This sponsor would look after your interests and hopefully help you win the work – for a fee.

“Last Easter, I had a queue of people outside my office.

They all had projects they were trying to sell,” recalls Payne, “for example a big highway resurfacing contract that was www.iconreview.org

being punted round everybody. What they want is 8%. They’ve got a cousin or a nephew working in that department.”

This approach starts at the top and carries on down the system, adding what Payne refers to as ‘on-costs’ at every level. “A project is suggested with an original cost of a hundred million dinars. By the time it gets done and all the on-costs have been added, it could well be two hundred million dinars,” says Payne. “That extra one hundred million dinars goes to ease the passage of the project through the Libyan bureaucracy.”

Because of this way of doing things – which, Payne points out, is legal in Libya – nepotism is rife. As a result, relatively small construction firms can end up with major projects on their books.

“Because of the system in Libya, you can end up with a Libyan company with a turnover of 50,000 dinars winning a five, fifty or five-hundred-million contract,” says Payne. “Most of them know how to build, but not how to run a contract.”

Waterfall’s solution for these Libyan firms was to offer a management consultancy service to work out what changes the companies need to make and to embed management staff to help them implement the changes.

One of the biggest hurdles for such contractors is pinning down the client’s requirements. “Scope of works is one of the things that falls down in Libya and Africa,” says Payne.

“Probably one of the most important things is to ask: what do you actually want at the end of this? We sit down and develop the scope as far as we can before drawings become necessary. And we explain that things can be changed, but that those changes will cost.”

Another challenge is the practice of tendering on price per square metre for the whole building, common in the Arab

Refugees from Libya at the Egyptian-Libyan Border

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world. This is an impossible proposition in complex buildings such as laboratories or hospitals where expensive equipment is involved and can lead to expensive problems for contractors down the line.

Payne recalls sitting down with representatives from one of the government quangos and a South Korean company to talk about a 10-billion-dinar development which had no infrastructure detail at all. “They would have had to build a power station, sewage plant, utilities, but the approach was to say ‘just add 30%’. In the end I advised [the South Korean company] to walk away and they did. No one would commit or could commit on that.”

Payne also tells of visiting an 800-house development south of Tripoli in the empty quarter where a Turkish contractor was building houses with absolutely no infrastructure because that hadn’t been part of the contract.

“These houses were being built in an earthquake zone so they had specially constructed concrete floors, so it would have been difficult to put services through at a later date. I said ‘why don’t you put a bit of duct in anyway?’ The cost would have been minimal. But he said, no, it wasn’t in the contract.

“I went back one year later and they had stopped building.

The show houses that had been built had been inhabited by local people: they were living in tents in the gardens and using the houses for their animals.”

For any contractor brave enough to enter Libya’s construction market, there is little legal recourse. “There are no disputes,” says Payne. “You just don’t get paid. Or you find out that your visa has expired.” There is a legal system but if invoked it moves very slowly.

This situation calls for a pragmatic approach, says Payne.

“We are used to working in an environment where we try to do things non-contractually, more gentlemen’s type arrangements, trusting people and maintaining incredibly powerful communications so that we know what’s going on.”

FALL-OUT Many foreign professionals have found themselves out of a job. Brian Greenhalgh, FCIOB, who was working as a commercial manager for French firm ADPi on the construction of new passenger terminal buildings at Tripoli airport, reports that his contract has been suspended. Others will be seeking employment where they can.

Many firms have suffered heavy losses in Libya. Aecom,

which was advising HIB on its $50bn-plus social housing programme, says it has lost $10m so far. Nevertheless, almost everyone is keen to go back. Trango held a conference for British firms hoping to do business in Libya at the end of March and has further events planned.

Trango’s Simon France said he was hoping within six weeks to set up a conference in a neighbouring country so business people and Libyan decision-makers (whoever they may be) can meet.

“Soon after that, we will do the first visit back into Libya,” says France. “It is likely to be a very small group of people, looking at safety, security and where people are going to stay.

We will be setting up meetings in the country for businesses after that. These are likely to be short, sharp, pre-agreed meetings to talk about opportunities and contracts and then to leave very quickly.

“Slowly, over time, as normality returns we will be able to broaden things out. But expect the new normal to be quite a challenge.”

Quite who will be welcome depends on the outcome of the war. Should Gaddafi retain power, firms from countries carrying out or abetting military intervention are unlikely to be setting foot on Libyan soil. If the rebel forces prevail, the future of some of the huge programmes such as the universities could be in jeopardy. “Will they ever get finished now?” asks Payne. “A lot will be viewed as trophy construction for the Gaddafi regime.”

“If the rebels do get in, one of the fastest ways for them to return the economy of the country to anything close to normal is to say ‘we will honour all the existing contracts and projects’,” says France. “If they did that, they could very quickly create an environment where companies would be comfortable going back in.

“There have been some noises from the rebel side, if that is the right way to refer to them, that existing contracts will be honoured. This was in the context of oil and gas contracts, but at least it signals that they are thinking about it.”

For Payne and all the other foreigners with business interests in Libya, it is a case of watching and waiting.

“We will be keen to return,” says Payne. “The scope of the projects and the vastness of the country beggar belief. It is one of the few places on earth so needy, yet wealthy enough to afford the improvements and so requiring of our assistance.” iCON

THERE HAVE BEEN SOME NOISES FROM THE REBEL SIDE THAT EXISTING CONTRACTS WILL BE HONOURED

ANALYSIS WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD?

By Rod Sweet What are the chances that the billions of dollars worth of construction in Libya will be back on track any time soon?

Our best guess is: very slim.

As iCON was going to press it was clear that without a major escalation in the coalition’s intervention beyond the terms of UN Resolution 1973, or without mass military defections and the “crumbling from within” of the regime, it would only be a matter of time before the better trained, better armed loyalist forces prevailed.

If that happened the Gaddafi regime would be preoccupied, possibly for years, with mopping up resistance, re-establishing its grip on rebel towns and cities and purging disloyal elements from the bureaucracy, including the bodies in charge of 02 QUARTER 2011

procuring and managing the building programme.

A re-instated Gaddafi might favour a quick resumption of his building programme but who will help him? Key partners have been designers, engineers, construction managers and contractors from the countries active or complicit in raining down bombs on his battlefield materiel, including Italy, Turkey and China. (In the UN Security Council vote on Resolution 1973 China abstained rather than opposed the measure because it “attached great importance” to requests for the measure by the Arab League and the African Union.)

Gaddafi takes things personally. It’s hard to see how, having just suffered the gravest ever threat to his power, wealth and prestige, he could shrug equably and hurry back to business as usual.

And if he goes? The Libyan Transitional National Council (TNC), set up on March 5, has emerged

as the only candidate so far ready to step into any power vacuum. The TNC says it will guide Libya toward free elections and a new constitution guaranteeing the rule of law and Western-style freedoms. Even though at press time the TNC had been recognised by only France, Italy, Spain, Qatar and the Maldives, it had participated in Libya Contact Group discussions and representatives were due to be received by US State Department officials in Washington. It has a fair chance of being recognised internationally as the sole legitimate Libyan authority.

But whether it could ever see its vision fulfilled remains the big question. “Gaddafi must go” is the mantra of the Western powers but a coalition will even to arm the rebels has yet to manifest itself. A protracted civil war, with rebel activity kept alive by soft or covert Western assistance, seems highly likely. www.iconreview.org

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UPHEAVAL 2011 TRAGEDY IN JAPAN

DOWN, BUT FAR FROM OUT Japan’s contractors will be spending the next five years repairing damage which the World Bank estimates will cost up to US$235bn. But, as Kristina Smith reports, there isn’t a country in the world better prepared

A boat sits atop a building in Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, Japan, following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami

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ollowing Japan’s force 9 earthquake and resulting Tsunami on 11 March, Japan’s construction industry sprang into action, providing equipment and temporary accommodation and carrying out surveys and repairs to infrastructure and buildings. As shares in power suppliers and electronics firms plummeted, construction shares headed in the opposite direction; by March 20 Fukuda Corp, a general contractor based in Niigata prefecture in northwest Japan had seen its shares leap 92%.

Now Japan’s contractors, from house builders to port specialists to major players, will be spending the next five years repairing damage which the World Bank has estimated will cost between US$123bn and US$235bn. And there isn’t a country in the world which could have been better prepared.

“In Japan, there is a well-trodden path in how to recover from disasters,” says David Edgington, a geography expert from the University of British Colombia who has studied the rebuilding of Kobe after the 1995 earthquake. Typhoons, floods and droughts – as well as earthquakes – are all part of the litany of natural challenges the country faces. It has homegrown expertise in earthquake engineering and a construction industry with plenty of capacity in a flat market. But the disaster was so severe that Japan has reached out for international assistance in producing 72,000 temporary, prefabricated homes for the survivors. Firms from UK and Australia are reported to have put in bids.

Japan may also ask for international advice on how to build back sustainably. “They may require specialist input on planning-related issues, on how to build sustainable cities,” says Shailesh Kataria, director of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors’ (RICS) Disaster Management Committee (DMC).

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BREACHED WALLS Since 1891, Japan is thought to have experienced seven quakes of magnitude 8 or higher on the richter scale (developed in 1935) and experiences 20% of the world’s earthquakes registering over magnitude 6. In 1995, the force 6.9 earthquake very close to the port of Kobe created devastation, with the 10-year rebuild costing $100bn according to the World Bank.

The epicentre of the 11 March earthquake was 130km out to sea, although only 24km below the surface. The resulting tsunami was the cause of much of the death and destruction.

It is not known how many people have lost their lives: the National Police Agency of Japan reported 12,431 people dead and 15,153 missing as of 5 April.

Some 40% of Japan’s 22,000-mile coastline is defended by concrete seawalls, to prevent against tsunamis – a word invented by the Japanese. However in this event they were all found lacking, including those that were protecting the DaiIchi nuclear power plants at Fukushima which were to later overheat. Some experts have suggested that the movement of the tectonic plates during the earthquake actually lowered the level of Japan’s eastern coastline by 1m, allowing the

CONSTRUCTION STOCKS SOAR, DEVELOPERS’ PLUMMET Japan’s disaster has seen dramatic share price rises in among premier construction firms as the scale of the rebuilding effort becomes clear.

Bloomberg reported on March 14 that Kajima Corporation’s stock had surged the most in more than two years. Japan’s largest construction firm, Kajima rose 22 percent to 259 yen.

And Taisei Corp., the third-largest builder, climbed 20 percent to 223 yen, the largest jump since April 24, 2000.

Daiwa House Industry Co., Japan’s biggest home builder, rose 12 percent to 1,099 yen.

“The government is currently considering a bill to provide subsidies for construction companies and home builders,” Masahiro Mochizuki, an analyst at Credit Suisse Securities (Japan) Ltd. in Tokyo, told Bloomberg. “Those stocks will probably outperform in short to long term.”

However, Japanese developers have suffered the opposite effect, as stocks declined on concerns over costs of repairing damaged buildings. The Topix Real Estate Index (TPREAL), which tracks 44 property firms, fell 8.7 percent to a threemonth low, Bloomberg reported.

“Investors are worried that cost to repair damage caused by the quake will rise and sales may decline for those who own buildings in the areas that were hit by the quake,” said Mochizuki. “Some developers may post extraordinary losses.”

Mitsui Fudosan Co., Japan’s largest developer, dropped 9.1 percent to 1,454 yen, while Sumitomo Realty & Development Co., the third biggest, sank 9.5 percent to 1,816 yen.

Mitsubishi Estate Co., the second biggest, lost 6.8 percent to 1,509 yen.

waves to pass over the sea defences.

“The problem with Tsunamis is that even if the speed of the waves is small, it drags with it all the masses – cars of whatever it has picked up – and the force of those masses are hitting the structures,” says Philip Esper, a RICS commissioner and member of the UK Earthquake Engineering Field Investigation Team, who spent time examining damage after the Kobe quake. “It is only light buildings, timber structures, low rise buildings that were affected. Maybe one or two concrete buildings that swayed a little bit due to the way the columns were hit at ground level.”

Away from the coast, the resilience of Japan’s buildings is a demonstration of the rigour of Japan’s building codes. The country first introduced seismic design loads in 1924 after the Kanto earthquake, but more recent changes in 1981 made a huge difference; they called for traditional allowable stress design followed by consideration of the ultimate lateral load resistance of each storey. In 2000 after the Kobe earthquake, the codes were again improved.

RR

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UPHEAVAL 2011 TRAGEDY IN JAPAN

RR Japan pioneered the use of mass dampers in high rise building which act as a kind of shock absorber. And it has also led the way on the retrofitting of older buildings, most commonly by strengthening parts of a structure but in some cases by adding mass dampers or base isolation, where the building has a flexible connection to its foundations.

“Cities including Tokyo which were further away from the epicentre were not affected,” says Esper. “Some false ceilings came down, perhaps some glass at the top of buildings. But there was no structural damage.

“The city of Sendai was close to the epicentre, and it is an old city with old buildings, mainly timber. Even if the earthquake did not cause those buildings to collapse, the rubble dragged by the tsunami would.”

The areas suffering the most damage are Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima and Ibaraki. Traditionally areas where farming and agriculture dominated, they have recently seen new industry take root there such as autoparts and electronic manufacturing. “Compared to the central belt, land is so much cheaper and there is a ready labour supply,” says Edgington. The affected area was responsible for 6% of Japan’s economy, with the impact of the factory losses felt in supply chains around the world.

The catalogue of damage within these regions is immense.

As of 5 April over 4,900 properties had totally collapsed, 9,600 partially collapsed, with damage of varying degrees reported to a further 151,600, according to the National Police Agency. Additionally 2,126 roads were damaged, over 1,000 of these in Miyagi; 56 bridges and 26 railways.

Many of Japan’s harbours were damaged. Sendai was the worst hit with Hachinohe, Ishinomaki and Onahama suffering severe damage. The airport in Sendai also suffered extensive damage. And, as the world knows, three nuclear power stations responsible for 3% of Japan’s power supply were written off. The generators providing power to pump cooling water into the reactors ran out of fuel, leading to overheating and explosions.

The day after the earthquake, Japanese contractors had already started work. Fukada Corp, based in Niigata prefecture began to inspect damaged buildings and carried out repair work such as replacing fallen ceilings on shopping centres and other facilities so that business could resume as quickly as possible. Harbour specialists Toa and Toyo Construction Company were reported to be repairing quay walls and removing debris from waterways.

Roads were repaired at a break-neck pace. A damaged highway in Ibaraki prefecture that was required to carry emergency workers north from Tokyo was back in operation in just six days. Huge cracks, up to 150m long, have been

repaired and the twisted fences replaced.

To replace the capacity lost due to the stricken nuclear power stations, firms were working to bring dormant oil-fire power stations on line. These are usually only started up in the summer months when loads from air-conditioning kick in.

Elsewhere, small local contractors and those from Niigata are starting to clear the rubble. BBC reports have suggested this process will take three years, but Edgington believes it will take less time due to the sheer determination and organisation of the Japanese.

EVEN IF THE EARTHQUAKE DID NOT CAUSE THOSE BUILDINGS TO COLLAPSE, THE RUBBLE DRAGGED BY THE TSUNAMI WOULD All the repair and reconstruction work is likely to be carried out by Japanese firms, says Edgington: “There will be enormous pressure to keep it local to help with the economic revitalisation,” he says, adding that large construction firms such as Kajima or Obayashi will be called in for some of the heftier civil engineering jobs or specialised public buildings.

In terms of timescales, it is likely to take six months for vital infrastructure to be returned to the worst affected areas, as was the case with Kobe, with infrastructure such as roads and public buildings taking between one and two years.

House building will account for lion’s share of the rebuilding work, a fact that was reflected in the share prices of prefabricated house manufacturer Nissei Build Kogyo tripling in value between 10 and 20 March.

Although we talk of ‘rebuilding’, the villages and communities that were swept away by the tsunami can never be recreated. Many displaced survivors will be spending years rather than months in the temporary accommodation which is already going up. Other people will have fled to new areas, never to return.

After Kobe, the rebuilding programme caused social dislocation, according to Edgington. “An awful lot of seniors were re-housed in high-rise buildings, one hour out of town.

To move them out of their traditional inner city social environments was not good,” he says. “Japan is still catching up on these issues.”

Japan, no doubt, will strive to improve in the way it rebuild communities, as well as buildings. Whether it requires expertise from outsiders remains to be seen. iCON

MARK BAKER/AP/PRESS ASSOCIATION IMAGES

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WIDER ECONOMIC IMPACT: THE WINNERS AND LOSERS IN EAST ASIA The March 11 earthquake and resulting Tsunami changed a lot of things. From the central impact of the loss of lives, infrastructure and communities comes the knock-on effects to the economies of the whole of East Asia.

The World Bank hurriedly drafted a report on the implications of the disaster in time for a conference on East Asian development held in Singapore on 21-22 March.

Calling the damage to housing and infrastructure ‘unprecedented’, the two-page report puts a cost on the resulting rebuilding work. Using experience gained after the force 6.9 Kobe earthquake in www.iconreview.org

1995, the bank estimates the cost of reconstruction will lie between $122bn and $235bn, 2.5% to 4% of GDP. This compared to $100bn or 2% of GDP for Kobe.

Where will the money come from? The Japanese government has said it will enact an initial supplementary budget worth $47 billion for relief efforts by the end of April. And it is reported to be working on legislation that calls for a special tax, which could be a rise in sales, corporate or income tax rates.

Japan’s GDP is likely to fall throughout the middle of this year according to the World Bank,

by between 0.25 to 0.5 percentage points, but will pick up in later quarters as reconstruction efforts accelerate. Based on this, and the fact that Japan accounts for 9% of East Asia’s external trade, exports from the regions could slow by between 0.75 to 1.5%. Post-Kobe, Japan’s trade recovered quickly with imports back to normal after a year and exports reaching 85%.

But the report notes the importance of factories in the north east of Japan, where the Tsunami hit, to automotive and electronic supply chains. Japan produces up to 36% of the world’s memory chips and with that production disrupted, Korean firms 02 QUARTER 2011

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A CONTRACTOR’S RESPONSE Japan’s biggest contractor, Kajima Corporation, may have seen its stocks rise dramatically thanks to the double blow of the earthquake and tsunami, but it was quick to lend a hand to help victims. This was how the company described its response on its website: Immediately following the earthquake, we established a disaster response headquarters at our Tokyo Head Office to confirm the safety and whereabouts of our employees, and organize the transport of relief supplies and dispatch of engineers on staff.

When the disaster struck, interrupting communication by phone, email and other means, we used Multi Channel Access radio system to communicate with affected branches and local offices. We then proceeded to investigate the safety and whereabouts of our employees, as well as the status of Kajima-held facilities, project sites and customers.

The following day, March 12, the first four trucks from Kajima carrying relief supplies departed from Tokyo, Nagoya and Niigata.

Since then, we have continued to transport food, water, portable gas stoves, blankets, medical supplies, work gear, portable generators, portable toilets and fuel (roughly 170 loads in all) to the stricken area. Some 70 engineers have also been dispatched to the disaster zone to assess the extent of damage to and restore buildings and infrastructure.

(Information for both actions current as of March 24, 2011.)

Kajima, in cooperation with its subcontractors, is wholly committed to efforts to revive and restore the region affected by this tragic disaster.

Rescue workers sift through the remains of a property in the suburb of Natori, Sendai, on March 20, nine days after the quake and tsunami

were reporting price rises of up to 20% on some products. The Philippines are also likely to suffer as two-thirds of its exports are electronics. Thai car exporters told the World Bank that their current component stocks would last until the end of April.

The winners in the short-to-medium-term, says the report, could be energy producers Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam which will benefit from higher energy prices as Japan works to plug the gap left by the stricken nuclear reactors. Fossil fuel prices could also remain high for longer, as other

02 QUARTER 2011

nations trim or abandon their nuclear power plans.

There’s bad news for those countries borrowing from Japan. A quarter of East Asia’s debt is in yen, ranging from around 8% for China to 60% for Thailand and the exchange rate for yen is likely to rise due to repatriation of funds to pay for reconstruction. According to the World Bank, a 1% appreciation in the Japanese yen means a $250 million increase in the annual interest payments to Japan by developing East Asian countries.

Japan’s currency already hit a record high: on 18 March the yen rose to 76.25 to the dollar due to

market speculation about the repatriation of funds.

The G7 countries - United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan - carried out a rare group intervention in the currency markets to bring the yen back down.

Developing countries could also suffer if Japan invests less overseas, although the World Bank said that it was not clear this would happen. Japan is the largest direct investor in Thailand, the Philippines, and Korea, and the second or the third largest in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore.

See World Bank Report: ‘The recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan: implications for East Asia’ www.iconreview.org

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UPHEAVAL 2011 AUSTRALIAN FLOODS

BUILDING BACK QUEENSLAND As Queensland recovers from one of the worst natural disasters in its history, David Smith reports on how the state’s strict builders’ licensing laws may hamper reconstruction, and how some insurers are reluctant to pay out

T

he floods which struck Queensland in December and January affected 70% of Australia’s second-largest state, wreaking devastation on an area the size of Germany and France combined.

Had the disaster occurred in another Australian state, it would not have affected so many lives. But Queensland is the only Australian state where more than 50% of the population live outside the capital city, so there was widespread damage to settlements and infrastructure across a huge area.

The Queensland Reconstruction Authority calculated that 9,170 km of the road network and 29% of the rail network was damaged, and more than 478,000 homes and businesses were left without power. Some 35 people died and thousands more were made homeless. Many businesses were affected and Queensland Treasury’s growth estimate for 2010-2011 was revised from 3.5% to 1%.

Dr Sean Brady, a forensic engineer and Managing Director of Brisbane-based Brady Heywood, said: “The amount of water in Brisbane was unbelievable. The reservoirs were so depleted by years of drought that experts said it would take 20 years to replenish them, but they shot up to 200% capacity in a few days. As much water was flowing down the

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river every day as there is in Sydney harbour.”

Brisbane was not touched by the initial floods in Central and Southern Queensland in December, but by January 12 the capital’s suburbs were inundated.

“It changed the nature of the game when the floods reached Brisbane. It’s as if there were two floods – the one outside the capital and the one in the capital city. Imagine if in England there were floods outside London, that would be one thing, but if Trafalgar Square were inundated it becomes a much bigger story,” said Brady.

The floods were the climax of Queensland’s wettest ever spring - caused by the strongest La Niña effect (see box) in the Pacific Ocean for 40 years. The heavy rain which fell continuously from July to December 2010 had already saturated the ground before the dramatic rainfall of late December and early January.

The situation became serious when from December 23 to 28 the Category 1 Tropical Cyclone Tasha caused heavy downpours which flooded many parts of Central and Southern Queensland. Major rivers reached flood levels and 17 towns were inundated. The downstream impacts continued into January and 13 flood-related deaths were reported.

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But worse was to come on January 10, in the Lockyer Valley, a fertile farming area 100 km west of Brisbane. Flash floods created an 8-metre wall of water which engulfed towns, killing 20 people and destroying thousands of properties, particularly in Grantham. These were the most dramatic scenes of the floods. As brown waters rose around houses, people punched through roofs to climb out. Many of the traditional “Queenslander” homes - built on stilts above the flood plain - were too flimsy to withstand the torrents.

“In some cases, houses were carried 20 km downstream and one victim’s body was carried 80 km away,” said Brady.

“There were distressing stories. One 13-year-old told a truck driver to take his 10-year-old brother, before he and his mother were swept to their deaths.”

By early 12 January 2011, Brisbane’s suburbs were flooding and a disaster declaration was made covering 78 per cent of Queensland, involving 2.5 million people. On 13 January, the Brisbane and Bremer Rivers peaked at 4.46 metres and 19.5 metres respectively, causing significant flooding in both cities.

Four Brisbane skyscrapers were shut down. Several coal mines, which account for most of Queensland’s economy, were flooded. Rail corridors from the mines to coastal ports were washed away, leaving hundreds of empty ships anchored offshore. The Western train line, which passes through Brisbane, was closed from January 10 to February 22 due to landslides and Brisbane’s CityCats ferry had to be replaced by buses until February 14.

The major Warrego Highway suffered severe pavement slippage, and less critical highways were totally washed out, including Mt. Lindesay Highway in the south and, the Carnarvon Highway further west. Many rural roads were closed, or reduced to single lanes.

Despite widespread disruption, there was a calm atmosphere in Brisbane, which Brady puts down to the strong leadership of state Premier Anna Bligh.

“Bligh did a press conference every two hours at the height of the floods and she told the truth bluntly. Nothing was kept secret which could blow up in anyone’s faces later on like we saw with Hurricane Katrina,” said Brady.

“People were happy with the Government efforts and there was an incredibly calm atmosphere. After Bligh gave RR

02 QUARTER 2011

A childs toy floats in flood waters covering a suburban street at sunrise on January 7, 2011 in Rockhampton, Australia

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GETTY IMAGES / JONATHAN WOOD

AS MUCH WATER WAS FLOWING DOWN THE RIVER EVERY DAY AS THERE IS IN SYDNEY HARBOUR

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UPHEAVAL 2011 AUSTRALIAN FLOODS

WHY DID THIS HAPPEN? Opposite to its relation El Niño (‘the boy’), La Niña (‘the girl’) is a phenomenon during which the surface temperature across the equatorial Eastern Central Pacific Ocean is lower than normal by 3–5 °C. For the Australian coast La Niña can cause heavy rains. The La Niña that appeared in the Pacific in 2010 contributed to the deluge in Australia.

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RR a speech on January 12 and she started crying, everyone thought she was fabulous.”

In her speech, Bligh compared the scenes to “a war zone”, then continued: “As we grieve for family and friends and confront the challenge before us, I want us to remember who we are....” At this point she broke down in tears, then continued: “We’re the ones they knock down, and we get up again. We are Queenslanders. We’re the people that they breed tough, north of the border.”

ARMIES OF VOLUNTEERS The Churchillian rhetoric galvanised Brisbane’s citizens.

“Armies of volunteers went out to clean up. They wanted 3,000 in the morning and 3,000 in the afternoon, but they got 6,000 in the morning and they refused to go home,” said Brady. In the end 55,000 volunteers helped bale out 26,000 flood-damaged Brisbane homes, 11,900 of which were completely submerged and another 14,700 partially flooded.

Incredibly, while Queenslanders were still reeling from the impact of the floods, another natural disaster was imminent.

On February 2, the State was struck by the first Category 5 cyclone to cross the Queensland coast since 1918. Tropical Cyclone Yasi had a 500-km destructive core which battered an area 2,000-km wide.

More than 190,000 houses lost power, thousands of structures were destroyed, and numerous communities were isolated. Banana, sugar cane and dairy industries were badly affected.

The Queensland Reconstruction Authority - set up in January to coordinate reconstruction activities - now had to deal with the combined effect of two crises. The Authority estimated the total reconstruction cost at AU$5.8 billion, with the flood accounting for $5 billion and Cyclone Yasi for $800m.

The Australian Commonwealth (national) Government announced that funding would come from the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements (NDRRA), which is a 75%-25% spilt between the Commonwealth and Queensland Governments.

Australian taxpayers will help finance it through a 12-month tax levy from July 1. Those earning between $50,000 and $100,000 a year will pay an additional 0.5 % flood levy tax, while a levy of 1 % will be applied to earnings over $100,000.

Anyone earning under $50,000 is exempt.

In addition, the Premier’s Disaster Relief Fund, which had raised $251 million by March, will be distributed to Queenslanders to rebuild homes. Not-for-profit and

community organisations who suffered flood damage can access the Authority’s Join Forces scheme, which is a donormatching programme for recovery.

The Authority’s plan, which was praised by the World Bank as “leading edge”, is in three stages. The first phase – Recovery – ends in June this year. The second phase – Reconstruction - involves the “methodical reconstruction and enhancement of all flood and cyclone-affected communities, functions and infrastructure” and should be complete by December 2012.

Finally, in phase three – Transition - the Authority will gradually hand over reconstruction responsibilities to various agencies and organisations over 12 months starting in December 2012.

The Recovery programme boasted some major achievements by early March, including: Out of 54 flooded coal mines, 49 had returned to production; power was restored in 99% of 478,000 homes which had lost it; 41%, or 3,801 km, of the 9,170 km of damaged roads and 3,807 km of the 4,748 km of damaged rail network had been recovered; of Queensland’s 20 ports, 11 were affected and 10 were at full capacity.

The only lingering controversy about the state Government’s handling of the floods concerned the release of water from Brisbane’s Wivenhoe dam, which had been built after the 1974 Queensland flood disaster to prevent a repeat.

It had not worked as planned, but one Brisbane engineer, Michael O’Brien, claimed the 2011 flooding could have been largely avoided if its operators had raised their releases of water on the weekend before the deluge. But not everyone agreed and the subject was just one of the topics for evaluation by the independent Queensland Floods Commission of Inquiry, which will deliver an interim report in August and a final report in January 2012.

“SKULLDUGGERY” More significant than the dam controversy for thousands of Queenslanders was the refusal of many insurance companies to pay out on their policies. The industry had disbursed about $310 million by mid-February, but the Insurance Council of Australia estimated that additional claims of $2,460 million remained to be paid.

“There is a lot of anger towards insurance companies,” said Ian Ainsworth, an Arup Principal in Brisbane. “Suncorp, the biggest company for property insurance, made a decision after the 1974 floods to pay out on every flood policy. They 02 QUARTER 2011

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PHOTOMAPS BY WWW.NEARMAP.COM

Rocklea Markets in Brisbane, before (12. Sept 2010) and after (13. Jan 2011)

are seen as the good guys, whereas other companies are painted in the press as the bad guys.”

The legal debate, or “skullduggery” as Sean Brady describes it, surrounds the definition of “flood”. According to the insurers’ lawyers, flood damage caused by intense local rainfall, such as storms and local run off from streets, is covered, but water flowing from rivers, creeks, dams, lakes or reservoirs may not be included in some definitions of a flood.

The Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, accused insurance companies who refused to pay out of “cowardly behaviour”. She said the companies had not made the semantic distinctions clear enough, and promised to ensure a standard definition of flood in the future.

A knock-on effect of the insurance disputes is that uncovered householders may be turning to unscrupulous cowboy builders.

Stephen Broadbent, from Australia’s UGL Services, which designs transport, power and water assets, said: “Queensland has the strictest, most contentious construction licensing laws in Australia, but it is almost impossible to police them after such a catastrophe. The media are reporting shonky work by unlicensed contractors offering cheap quotes to desperate families who were refused insurance payments.”

Broadbent fears a shortage of qualified workers in Queensland will drive up prices and force even more householders to turn to unqualified labour. He says shortfalls in skilled workers are unlikely to be filled by companies from outside the state because of Queensland’s strict licensing laws.

“To work as a building contractor in Queensland you must hold the relevant licence. Contractors who are licensed in another state of Australia cannot simply travel across the state boarder and start work. They must first apply for and receive the relevant Queensland licence. It will be extremely difficult for international contractors to assist as the Queensland Building Services Authority will not recognise overseas qualifications.

Obtaining the required licence is a difficult process.”

There are more positive ways of viewing the situation, however. Graham Cuthbert, the Chief Executive of Master Builders Queensland, said the industry had the capacity to cope. “Our industry was 50 per cent down in the past two years or about 12,000 houses down per year,” he said. “So we have the capacity to build more than we have been doing.”

At a national level, the Commonwealth Government has recognised that the 2009 tightening of immigration rules on certain visas has resulted in a shortage of skilled construction and engineering workers. Prime Minister Julia Gillard says

02 QUARTER 2011

quicker visa approvals will be made for sponsored temporary skilled migrants to support the Queensland reconstruction effort. The 18-day waiting approval period will be changed to a five-day period.

Gillard has also offered financial assistance for up to 4,000 skilled workers who wish to migrate from suburban Australia into the cities to help the Queensland reconstruction programme.

All construction workers will have to abide by new rules from Brisbane City Council which state that new

IT WILL BE DIFFICULT FOR INTERNATIONAL CONTRACTORS TO ASSIST AS THE BUILDING SERVICES AUTHORITY WILL NOT RECOGNISE OVERSEAS QUALIFICATIONS developments in flood-risk areas must be raised higher than the January 2011 peak flood levels. This is an interim measure while the Flood Commission analyses the long-term repercussions. “It’s the common-sense thing to do while stats are being assembled,” said Arup’s Ainsworth. “The peak flood level was 500-700mm higher than the so-called 100-year flood level.”

But Ainsworth says it is right to wait for the Commission of Inquiry’s report before making final decisions about design requirements “The jury is out on the flood’s statistical frequency. Was it a one in 100-year event with a 1% chance of occurring each year? Or was it a 200-year or 500-year event? If it’s a 200- or 500-year event, despite the damage, the current rules may be statistically okay. The other significant issue is over land use planning - are there areas where development should not be allowed because the flood risk is too high?”

Full completion of the reconstruction programme will take years, although estimates vary. Arup’s Bradshaw said: “The bigger infrastructure projects will be measured in years not months. Brisbane’s floating walkway, for example, will take at least two years to reinstate.”

But UGL Services’ Broadbent said Queensland’s size (7.74 million square kilometres) made it hard to predict, but he expected the reconstruction work to continue into the next decade. iCON

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UPHEAVAL 2011 NEW ZEALAND EARTHQUAKE

CHRISTCHURCH

STRIKE TWO After a magnitude 7.1 earthquake last September, many in Christchurch felt lucky.

Despite widespread damage, only two people were injured. But six months and over 6,000 aftershocks later, another quake struck on 22nd February. It caused 181 deaths and much more extensive damage to the city.

Project manager Calvin Payne survived both quakes and reports on the damage and challenge of rebuilding

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n the 22nd February I was in the site office at the airport helping to complete the new terminal and make it operational within the next few weeks. The portable cabin is at the bottom of the new 42-m control tower.

The 6.3-magnitude quake struck at 12.51pm, violently, and shook the cabin for what seemed like minutes but actually was only about 20 seconds. We mustered at our meeting point under the tower, everyone was accounted for and no one was injured. We were all very lucky.

Then a 5.8-magnitude aftershock struck at 13:04pm that had all 300 of us watching the control tower move in three dimensions. We immediately moved to a safer location. We were to have over 150 more aftershocks in the next 12 hours.

Texts and calls started to come in from friends and relatives. The telecommunications network started to groan and then almost collapsed. A normally 20-minute journey home took four hours, with massive traffic jams in all directions. There was little information apart from the car radio. Texts started to become muddled and arrive in the wrong order.

My wife and three children were all over the city. Thankfully all of us were safe, although we didn’t know until we were together hours later.

THE DAMAGE The Cathedral Spire was demolished, at least two multi-storey reinforced concrete buildings totally collapsed, causing many deaths and injuries. Many ordinary Kiwi’s became heros helping to rescue survivors from the rubble and apply first aid.

A large number of the tall towers in the city centre are now leaning hundreds of millimetres out of plumb due to subsidence or other buildings banging up against them.

Liquefaction, where sub soils liquefy during violent shaking and bubble to the surface in sand volcanoes up to half a metre high, was much more widespread right across the city.

It caused subsidence of foundations and car-sized heaps along most of the main roads which were quickly collected by www.iconreview.org

the council. Well over 200,000 tonnes has been removed from the city and suburbs so far. Some of the liquefaction actually appeared inches deep inside buildings as it squirted up between gaps and joints in concrete slabs.

During the quake big holes opened up in the roads as the ground liquefied. A number of cars were sucked down. People tell of driving along and their car being swallowed before they can get it into reverse. Four-wheel-drive is of no use.

Nearly all roads were damaged. Manholes were sticking up as much as 300mm where the road around subsided.

Drainage has been damaged.

Benchmarks and levels around the city have been destroyed and moved in three dimensions so the city needs to be totally resurveyed. But after each aftershock things are still moving, so when do you start?

Power and water services were cut off to many suburbs for weeks with some eastern suburbs still not restored. At one point our small city had been rumoured to have used up the world’s spare capacity of portaloos.

In Sumner a building-sized rock fell from the hillside and crushed a war veterans’ association building and demolished the main substation.

The tallest building in the city, the 22-storey Grand Chancellor Hotel, was still moving a few days later. It has now been stabilised by pumping thousands of tons of concrete into the basement. It is reported that the top corner of the building has moved 5ft away from where it was before 22nd Feb. Many of the historic, stone-built churches have been

THERE IS SIMPLY NOT ENOUGH TRADESMEN IN CHRISTCHURCH OR EVEN NEW ZEALAND TO UNDERTAKE ALL THE WORK REQUIRED ABOVE: Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, Christchurch. Historic, stone-built churches faired worse than timber frame RIGHT: Brick-and-block construction bore the brunt of residential damage 02 QUARTER 2011

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CALVIN PAYNE

destroyed. Churches that are timber framed with weather board or more modern precast concrete survived better. Many churches are joining together to share facilities or use less damaged church halls for services.

Similarly the worst hit houses were built of structural brick and block, with tiled roofs. It can be seen where tiles have literally jumped off the roof and slipped down. Brick chimneys have collapsed and smashed through tiled roofs. Timber framed houses with weatherboard cladding and tin roofs faired better. The tin or steel roof is light and actually holds the roof and structure together. A tin roof also allows a falling chimney to slide off rather than smash through the tiles and ceiling.

After the 4th September quake, 2,500 homes were reported to be needing to be demolished and rebuilt. This figure has now been raised to 10,000.

WHY WAS THIS ONE WORSE? This quake was of smaller magnitude (6.3 as opposed to 7.1) but it was much closer to the city centre. The epicentre was on a new fault at the bottom of the Port Hills, angled such that it aimed the energy directly at the city centre. The epicentre depth was shallower, 6km deep compared to 11km deep in September.

Also, it was mid-day, so most people were out and about.

The first quake was at 4.35am.

Thirdly, the peak ground acceleration (PGA) was some of the highest ever recorded. The PGA is an index of the force applied by an earthquake to a very rigid building. Early

indications are that the February PGA was many times the September PGA and also greater than the PGA of buildings on the Japanese mainland during the recent 9-magnitude quake.

Aftershocks continue, causing further liquefaction, flooding, power cuts and damage to buildings. The latest, at press time, was on 16th April, a 5.3-magnitude aftershock.

Since September Christchurch has had 8,000 recorded aftershocks in an area that prior to this only had one or two quakes that could be felt each year. New analysis has revealed that Christchurch has two new faults, called the Greendale Fault 4/9/10 and the Port Hills Fault 22/2/11. The analysis also indicates that there may be other faults right under the city centre.

The effects have been widespread. The city has not been able to guarantee that the AMI stadium will be ready for the Rugby World Cup in September. Matches have been moved to other locations. Universities and colleges hold lectures in marquees until temporary accommodation is constructed.

Schools are sharing facilities. Stacked shipping containers protect roads from falling debris alongside unstable buildings or cliffs. Water has had to be chlorinated for the first time.

Armies of students and other groups shovel liquefaction from properties and help with emergency repairs.

The impact on business has been massive with the central business district out of bounds probably for the next six months. Hundreds of businesses can’t actually access their premises to retrieve records or computers, let alone consider operating. Hundreds of others have had their buildings red stickered and they will probably have to be demolished.

Tourism businesses such as hotels have no option but to suspend operations and consider making staff redundant.

The government has been providing a support package for all businesses that are affected.

THE FUTURE JP Morgan Chase & Co. has estimated that insured losses from the quake could be US$12 billion, a lot for a small economy.

The Earth Quake Commission (EQC), who effectively underwrite insurance during a natural disaster, have started an initial inspection of the 150,000 damaged homes in and around the city. The full inspections will not be completed on the least damaged houses until the end of the year when the work can commence.

One of the problems at the moment is getting work started.

Construction companies are charging just to undertake quotes and the insurance companies and EQC are being slow to release funds because the issues and damage are so huge.

An example of one of the issues on the ground is that drainage companies are quoting 6-8 weeks to come and have a look at blocked or damaged drains, let alone undertake repairs. There is simply not enough tradesmen in Christchurch or even New Zealand to undertake all the work required in a reasonable timescale. The housing rebuilds are probably at least three years away from completion and the repair work could be five years.

A master plan needs to be developed for Christchurch, a city of 400,000 that effectively needs to be rebuilt. The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) has been established. The opportunity is here to build a city for the 21st Century a clean, green and sustainable Garden City. iCON Calvin Payne FCIOB is Director of Pacific Programme Management Ltd in Christchurch

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PROJECTS SOUTH AFRICA STADIA

SOCCER NATION The 2010 Fifa World Cup was considered a major social and sporting success for South Africa. It was also one of the most significant feats of engineering and construction for the Rainbow Nation as a cluster of iconic new stadia rose on the landscape. Here we catch a glimpse of what went on behind the scenes at three stadia which won top awards in Construction World’s Best Projects 2010 at the end of last year

SOCCER CITY, JOHANNESBURG

Award:

Designed by South Africans, built by South Africans for South Africans.

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utside South Africa we may remember it as the scene of Andrés Iniesta’s extra-time goal that brought a 1-0 victory over the Netherlands and Spain’s firstever World Cup champion title, but Soccer City has a deeper significance, having played a significant role in South Africa’s emergence to democracy. The original structure, built in 1987, hosted Nelson Mandela’s first public address after being released from prison and saw the funeral processions of two of South Africa’s modern day icons: Chris Hani and Oliver Tambo.

With this background PD Naidoo and Associates (PDNA) gratefully accepted the honour of serving as the principal structural engineers for renewing the stadium and it is holds the distinction of being designed by South Africans, built by South Africans for South Africans.

The design gives recognition to all Africans. The simple African Pot (Calabash) motif chosen by Danny Jordaan in 2006 symbolises the concept of ‘ubuntu’ – the importance of community and relationships – the same way that the calabash, holding beer or food, pays tribute to solidarity and when passed around.

PDNA appointed Schlaich Bergermann & Partners to assist with the detail analysis and design of the roof and facade structures. PDNA, together with the appointed architects, Boogertman Urban Edge + Partners (BUEP) and other team members such as Phumaf Consulting Engineers and Izazi

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PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

Consulting Engineers, were tasked to ensure that the integration of the architectural, structural and civil design was cost effective and would have minimal adverse effect on the environment. To this end existing materials such as the existing paving blocks were crushed and mixed with in situ soils. Rainwater run-off is harvested and stored in the moat which surrounds the playing field and recycled for re-use.

PROJECT DETAILS To update the old stadium approximately 80,000 m2 of concrete was poured, 9,500 tons of reinforcing steel placed and 9,000 tons of structural steel erected. This, in combination with the moving of approximately 150,000 m2 of soil, fine architecture and dedicated efforts in the design offices and on site, resulted in Soccer City being transformed into one of the most striking, impressive and well-equipped stadiums in the world. The 89,000-seat venue hosted both the opening match and the final of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Various football and rugby matches have subsequently been held and many other events and exhibitions have been planned ensuring the stadium’s economic sustainability during its lifespan.

The circular plan format of the pot, which encircles the rectangular seating bowl and field, was selected to ensure that all facade detailing could be consistent in plan and section, thus ensuring an easier detailing, manufacture, 02 QUARTER 2011

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installation and cost effective process. This furthermore ensured that the 120 concrete facade columns would be consistent in shape and form. Given that the existing concrete structure was limited in its ability to carry the additional roof load imposed on it, it was decided that the most cost efficient solution would be to isolate the heavy roof structure from the seating bowl structure.

The roof is supported by 12 large, 40-m-high rectangular concrete shafts and 16 1-m-diameter circular columns which are founded on piled foundations with some piles subjected to downward loads of 1,100 tons and upward loads of 580 tons. Approximately 1,350 piles have been installed.

THE FACADE One of the most challenging elements of the concrete structure was the design and construction of the facade columns. The facade structure is supported on 120 inclined concrete columns enveloping the stadium. The columns, which are 16.3 m high, support the facade structure which is subjected to large wind forces. The top of each of these columns has a horizontal eccentricity of 65 m in relation to its base, resulting in large moments and upward loads on the piled foundations. Due to the large moments and forces in these slender columns, the reinforcing steel is extremely dense (860 kg/mÂł), which made the use of a vibration poker extremely difficult. GLTA/Interbeton opted to use self02 QUARTER 2011

compacting concrete to construct these columns. All facade columns are connected with tie beams which act in ring tension so as to limit long-term deflection of the columns and façade structure. The design and construction of the facade columns had to be planned and executed very carefully, with temporary propping and bracing, so as to prevent deflection during construction.

Eight large pedestrian ramps, which provide vehicular access and efficient ingress and egress of spectators to the upper levels of the stadium, have been constructed. The ramps follow the shape of the facade bowl and consequently change position in plan from one level to the next. In addition to the sloped facade columns, the other columns supporting the ramps are also inclined. Intricate design analysis and construction techniques were thus required during construction.

The roof and facade structure primarily consists of four components: A-frame support structures, an 800 m long spatial ring truss, cantilever roof trusses and the facade shell structure.

The A-frame support structures transmit all the horizontal forces into the 12 concrete shafts surrounding the stadium.

The vertical downward and upward forces are distributed between the 14 shafts and 16 1m diameter circular columns.

The spatial ring truss which is a large triangulated girder enveloping the seating bowl consists of three thick RR

AT A GLANCE Client: City of Johannesburg Contract value: US$487m Architects: Boogertman Urban Edge and Partners in association with Populous Main contractor: Grinaker LTA/Interbeton JV Principal structural engineer: P.D. Naidoo & Associates Consulting Engineers Roof and facade engineer: Schlaich Bergermann und Partner Principal agent and project manager: Phumaf Civil engineer: Phumaf Quantity surveyor: Llale & Company/De Leeuw JV

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PROJECTS SOUTH AFRICA STADIA

Soccer City, inspired by the traditional ‘calabash’

RR walled circular sections (up to 915 mm) with intricate connections to its circular diagonal members. The top of the spatial ring truss is clad with translucent polycarbonate panels thus allowing natural light to cascade into the stadium during the day and transmitting artificial light at night. Roof trusses, which cantilever up to 38 m over the upper seating tier, have been fabricated from open sections and are fixed to the spatial ring truss with neatly detailed bolted connections.

These connections facilitated efficient erection time frames during construction. The cantilever roof trusses are clad with arch supported PTFE membrane on the top and a perforated membrane on the bottom. The slim shell structure of the facade, is supported on the inclined concrete facade columns at the bottom and the spatial ring truss at the top.

The structural concept and design of the roof and facade structure was developed by the structural engineers in close collaboration with the architects and contractors to ensure fast track erection. This design allowed the structural steel sub contractor to optimise the specially developed details which facilitated the transportation and lifting of the heavy steel elements. Bolted and hinged joints were designed to adjust the structure with jacks during erection ensuring a speedy and fluent sequence.

Due to the nature of crowds during sports events and concerts, various tests were commissioned on critical elements of the structure so as to ensure the safety of spectators, reduced maintenance and improved sustainability of the stadium. These tests included wind tunnel tests, static and dynamic load tests on seating elements, lateral load tests on walls and balustrades and tension and compressive load tests on piles.

The entire workforce and all members of the professional teams had to undergo an in-depth health and safety induction. The efforts of the health and safety officer, his team and all companies involved were rewarded during September 2009 at which time 1,000,000 man hours without any safety incidents were achieved. At the final handover of the stadium to FIFA for the commencement of the World Cup tournament, no deaths or serious injuries had occurred.

The project created employment for in excess of 3,000 people on site. This figure excludes the hundreds more in the various subcontract workshops scattered around South Africa and internationally.

This stadium has through its Iconic nature received accolades and awards from both locally and abroad: l Fulton Awards 2009: Winner in two categories: l Best Building project l Concrete in Architecture l Steel Awards 2009: Winner of the Sport Stadia category l SAPOA Awards 2010: Winner of the Stadium category l LEAF Awards 2010 (International Awards for outstanding contribution to the world of Architecture): Winner in two categories: Best Public Building and Overall Winner (beat nine other category winners). iCON www.iconreview.org

CAPE TOWN STADIUM The scene of The Netherlands’ 3-2 victory over Uruguay in the semi-finals, Cape Town Stadium posed unique challenges in terms of skills capacity, industrial relations and volatile local opinion. Here is how the contractors, a 50/50 Joint Venture between Murray & Roberts and WBHO, described how they managed

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his was a complex and highpressure project. The roof is a combination of structural steel, tensioned cables, glass and fabric – the first of its kind in South Africa. Height restrictions provided the architects and structural design engineers with a unique challenge: the stadium could not exceed 50m in height whilst having to conform to the FIFA semi final requirement of 68,000 seats.

Other pressures included labour and community relations, access to design information and skills scarcity in a buoyant market. However, this iconic structure was completed ahead of schedule, with a significant corporate social element and with major construction innovations as well. These included: The use of structural steel to form the upper most raking beams that support the upper tier pre-cast seating units was an innovative measure taken during the execution process as a critical time saving exercise to accelerate completion of the works.

Over 80,000 couplers allowed us to drive the vertical elements of the build independently from the horizontal elements to overcome design delivery constraints and better sequence the works to achieve program.

The use of bespoke hand-over-hand shutter systems for the 72 raking pylons – pitched at 17 degrees from the vertical – that make up the exoskeleton allowed

us to secure the primary critical path of the project: bulk earthworks − superstructure – roof.

A temporary concrete tower – 2mdiameter, 16-m high, anchored into bed rock – in the centre of the pitch was a time saving innovation to accelerate survey control. The tower meant that all areas could be surveyed without obstruction with a robotic total station.

It could also be called “construction with conscience”. A visitors centre incorporating a 120 seat auditorium, sports memorabilia area, training school and viewing platform was established in June 2008. The purpose of the centre was to promote our industry as a career of choice, train and develop individuals and enterprises, and invest in community betterment initiatives. A specialist team was set up to manage the processes. It facilitated the following during the execution of the project: l Training and development of 1,200 trade labour personnel; l Over 80,000 learners visited the project to experience the construction process; l Saturday schools for disadvantaged learners; l Construction of new facilities to support abused women and children; l Two schools were adopted by the project and provided with financial support; Disadvantaged children were supported financially to realise their sporting dreams.

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complex and fast track projects.

Excessively inclement weather would have played a significant role in impeding our ability to deliver the stadium on time if we had not catered for this risk at tender stage. An allowance of three working days per calendar month was catered for in our bid proposal.

Due to the buoyant nature of the construction industry at the time of tender, from a domestic vendor perspective the biggest risk was the availability of: Concrete – Due to the location of the project and the quantity of concrete required the mitigation of this risk took the form of an on-site batching facility (Lafarge), to ensure that access and availability of raw materials did not impede delivery of the works.

Reinforcing – We mitigated capacity risks with the supply of reinforcing by insisting that RM/RSC formed a supply and fix joint venture so that we had more than one source for the manufacture and delivery of reinforcing. In addition, we provided extensive lay-down areas to ensure that our vendor had sufficient CIVIL ENGINEERING space to stockpile large AND BUILDING quantities of material.

CONTRACTORS It was no secret that the local (JOINTLY) Green Point rate payers association were enraged with the idea that a stadium was to be constructed on a 130 year old golf course.

As principal contractors we have not had to contemplate the seriousness of this risk very often during the execution process. However, due to the location of the stadium public opinion played a key role in the success of the project. The measures taken were to construct a Visitor’s Centre at the location of the old Green Point Stadium and provide an audio visual experience to energise the local community around the success of the stadium project. We contracted the services of UNPLUGGED who provided us with the industrial theatre and audio visual aids to promote the stadium to the public.

This initiative was so successful that we were able to mitigate the risk within a period of six months.

On a fast track project of this nature the disciplined management of change from an execution and commercial perspective was critical to success. We recognised at tender stage that our client and their agents would not have the capacity to deliver the design in accordance with our

Award:

RISKS There are two key risks from a skills perspective: capacity and competence. We soon realised that between the Joint Venture partners we had a capacity problem, mainly due to the buoyancy of the market at the time and early information delays. So we decided to employ the services of Group Five as a subcontractor to deliver one quarter of the stadium superstructure. With access to their trade resources and management support we were able to mitigate the effect that a lack of capacity could have had.

Competence was the greater of the two challenges. Our only choice was to introduce an on site training facility. For this reason we focussed our attention on ‘up skilling’ carpenters, shutter hands, steel fixers and concrete hands to facilitate accelerated delivery of the superstructure to afford the specialist roofing contractor sufficient time to deliver the roof structure.

Focus at tender stage on the most appropriate plant and fast-track formwork systems played a large role in guaranteeing our ability to deliver the project on time once we had trained and developed our labour resources sufficiently in the utilisation of the systems.

Good technical service back up from our equipment vendors also assisted greatly in the process. It is extremely important to obtain the services of the right vendor for the required result when dealing with 02 QUARTER 2011

IT WAS NO SECRET THAT LOCAL RATE PAYERS WERE ENRAGED WITH A STADIUM BEING CONSTRUCTED ON A 130 YEAR OLD GOLF COURSE

AT A GLANCE Name of project entered: Green Point stadium Client: City of Cape Town Contract value: US$525.7m Main contractor: Murray and Roberts/WBHO JV Architect: Stadium Architects Consortium (GMP Architects of Germany and two local firms, Louis Karol and Associates and Point Architects) Civil and structural engineer: BKS Engineering Principal agent: BKS Management Project managers: BKS Management Quantity surveyors: Davis Langdon

requirements and the management of late change would be a necessity.

To mitigate this risk we ensured that the necessary commercial and field support services competence was incorporated within the site organisation structure to ensure: l The ‘For Construction’ information required to construct the works was pursued vigorously through the design coordination team; l We understood our obligations and protected our rights commercially when faced with change; l We had the necessary execution structure to deal with original contract scope and change concurrently.

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS All employees were seconded from their respective mother companies for the duration of the project. Project labour agreements (PLAs) are important documents for establishing rights and liabilities, but in reality no PLA will adequately protect a project from industrial unrest.

After the September 2007 strikes, which were extremely violent in nature, we secured the services of an intervention company by the name of OIM. Specialising in coal face management/trade employee relationships OIM provided us with a trusted intervention mechanism to understand the drivers, obstacles and concerns of our labour force and their representative unions. We engaged the labour force in climate creation workshops focussed on creating an understanding of the project goals and how we collectively could benefit from successfully delivering the stadium. The overriding theme of the workshops was ‘a lack of understanding creates conflict’.

Once we had created an understanding of what was required and how each individual role player fitted into the delivery picture we focussed our attention on ‘coming to work with a purpose’. RR www.iconreview.org

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RR INVOCOMS were established as a trusted mechanism within which we engaged the trade labour force in daily performance based conversations as well as understanding the various project specific and personal obstacles that could potentially derail delivery.

The selection of competent subcontractors was critical. We were in control of our destiny when it came to the selection of domestic subcontractors, but approximately 60% of the project comprised provisional sum packages.

South Africa’s Joint Building Contracts Committee (JBCC) requires a selection process, by agreement between the principal contractor and the employer’s agent, prior to issuing tender documents to prospective subcontractors.

MOSES MABHIDA STADIUM, DURBAN Cohesive three-way joint venture and a uniquely young team

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Cape Town Stadium in progress We ensured that prior to the selection of prospective ‘selected subcontractors’ each party would have to engage in a prequalification process comprising but not limited to the identification of: l Previous projects of similar complexity and value; l Annual turnover for the previous five years; l Current market commitments; l Client references from previous projects; l BBBEE status compliance (BroadBased Black Economic Empowerment); l Company organisation structure; l Number of trade employees; l Senior project team members.

Overall, what made the Cape Town Stadium Project unique? This was a project of national interest with a fixed and non negotiable completion date. Our ability to identify and manage change was critical.

At the outset we did not have the skills capacity in the Western Cape to deliver a project of this size and complexity. The complexity of the roof and facade elements forced us to seek overseas competence from a materials and execution perspective, which adds risk.

Still, we delivered a quality product of a size and complexity that aligns with international ‘best in class’ practice, managed the large quantity of change – and accelerated the completion programme by two months. iCON

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his was where Spain used a corner in the 73rd minute of a gripping semi-final against Germany to get a 1-0 advantage, and keep it to progress to the finals.

The construction of the Moses Mabhida Stadium was gripping as well as engineers overcame numerous problems and keep the 34 month project on track through constant reassessment and design refinement.

Although this was a project of massive proportions and three construction companies Group Five, WBHO & Pandev formed a joint venture, the team functioned cohesively. The construction engineers and site managers consisted uniquely of a young team.

AS a brief overview, the stadium has 56,000 permanent seats and the ability to increase the capacity to 70,000 using temporary seating stands. Upgradeable to Olympic specification and capacity, it also uses trafficable indoor pitch surfaces for concerts, rallies and fairs. All spectators have a perfect view of the pitch, and can count on 100% shaded seating at midday. Large hospitality facilities can host 9,000 people and there are food and drinks facilities for all spectators. Accommodated around the perimeter of the stadium are retail and office areas, an art gallery and landscaped public area and peoples’ park.

Moses Mabhida Stadium sets new standards in South Africa for sustainability, not just in waste-reduction, energy and water use and environmental impact, but in social and economic terms as well. More about that below.

First, innovative construction technology featured particularly in the pitch and the arch.

The pitch was built for multi-functionality. It can host soccer, rugby and athletics. The initial layer works as a worldclass running track. The grassing was laid on sand bedding which has an extensive drainage network.

Wrapped around the stadium bowl is the suspended concrete podium slab which measures 38,000 m2. This provides a public walkway to the perimeter of the stadium.

This podium was built under tight time constraints. At peak times, 1,000 m2 per week, per team was being achieved. The services laid under the pitch and around the stadium are in an excess of 10,000 km.

A perched water table added to the challenges of the pitch construction. To overcome this issue, a 450-mm-thick layer of 19 mm stone was laid over the entire area.

Inspired by the Y motif in the South African flag, which suggests the confluence and unity of formerly disparate national aspirations, the 360-m-span arch is now a tourist attraction with a cable car ferrying visitors to the highest point, 106m above the pitch. This dizzying pinnacle is also, now,

AT A GLANCE Client: eThekwini Municipality Contract value: US$398m (approx) Main contractor: Group Five, WBHO, Pandev (JV) Area membrane: 46 660 m2 Steel in arch: 2 600 t Steel in compression ring: 2 900 t Membrane: PTFE coated fiberglass membrane Man hours: 11 476 549 Cubes of concrete cast: 88 750 m3 Tonnage of rebar: 9 370 t No permanent of seats: 56 000 Wheelchair provisions: 80 Temporary seating: 16 000 Temp water storage: 300 000 l Podium area: 38 000 m2 Bowl area level 1 to 6: 56 000 m2 Field area: 16 000 m2

Award:

CIVIL ENGINEERING AND BUILDING CONTRACTORS (JOINTLY)

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exposure conditions was specified by the consulting engineers. Precast concrete helped speed construction not only for the seating panels, but also the main raking columns around the building.

proclaimed to be the world’s only stadium bungee-jump, marketed as “the largest swing of any kind anywhere”.

The off-shutter concrete is some of the finest produced in South Africa and has won major concrete awards. The arch base foundation, constructed by a specialist piling subcontractor, has a diaphragm wall anchored to bedrock 20m deep to take the arch’s load.

The steel sections had to be bolted to a base plate connected to the foundation. Each of the two southern arch support base plates weighs 12 tons, the northern arch support base plate 18 tons. The base plates were cast by conventional shuttering into position with a notable tolerance of 4mm in all three planes (x, y and z axis).

Overall, the project took 34 months to build at a construction cost of around US$398m. During the construction phase there were 38 certificates produced, and the spend over the total duration averaged US$2.7m per week.

So close to the sea, the quality of the concrete and its finish was a key concern. High durability concrete with severe

SELECTED SPECIFICATIONS ARCH Total weight: 2 900 t Number of sections: 56 Average weight: 50 t (maximum 105 t) Crane to erect arch: 600 t/450 t capacity Manufactured in Hannover (Eiffel) Shipped from Hamburg to Durban COMPRESSION RING Total weight: 2 800 t Manufactured by DSE JHB Average size compression ring: 16 m Size of the columns vary between 6 m − 22m Transport by road average: 35 t CABLE STRUCTURE Total cable length: 40 km Tension ring Valley and ridge cables Cables range from a diameter of 50 mm to 450 mm Manufactured by Pfeifer in Memmingen, West Germany.

Castings range up to 600 kg MEMBRANE Manufactured by Bird Air from the USA Total area: 46 660 m2 02 QUARTER 2011

TRIPLE-BOTTOM-LINE SUSTAINABILITY The review team members assessed the stadium in accordance with the Sustainable Building Assessment Tool (SBAT) developed by South Africa’s Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). It combines environmental performance with social and economic issues – a “triplebottom-line approach”.

The citizens and businesses in the eThekwini Municipality saw significant economic benefits during the construction of the Moses Mabhida Stadium l Local labour (90%), local building materials (85%) l 30% of capital value of the project was undertaken by small and medium-sized enterprises l 1.2 person years of labour for each R1-million of capital cost l Local community and role players met on a monthly basis during construction l All site workers have received HIV/Aids training l Extensive skills development training completed l Timber off cuts were taken to a local charity which was used for teaching woodworking skills Environmentally, the stadium’s carbon footprint has been calculated and offset by planting 650,000 trees on 650ha at the Buffelsdraai landfill site and biogas interventions at municipal wastewater-treatment works. Designers claim this makes it the only carbon-neutral stadium in South Africa.

The annual water consumption is now 17,717 m3/year as opposed to 59,112 m3/year in the baseline concept. Positive water-saving features incorporated into Moses Mabhida Stadium’s initial design included: l Metering valves and aerators for hand basins l Water-wise, indigenous landscaping l Rainwater harvested off a third of the stadium roof and the pitch is used for irrigation l Waterless urinals l Air-blow cleaning techniques Positive energy-saving features incorporated into Moses Mabhida Stadium’s initial design include: l Natural ventilation facilitated by perforated metal aluminium sheeting within the external facade l Natural lighting and a light coloured roof reduce energy demand l Heat pumps for heating water l Cold-water wash basins in rest rooms l Gas rather than electricity in kiosks and kitchens l Localised on-off switching l Central control room monitors energy consumption The Moses Mahbida Stadium also introduced effective waste reduction systems: l Demolished components of the old King’s Park Soccer Ground recycled and reused l Constructed on a brown field site l Fly ash, emanating from post-consumer sources, is used in the concrete mix l Construction and demolition waste was reused for earthworks, such as the construction of berms Finally, its “people-friendliness” rating is enhanced by the fact that spectators can be evacuated completely in 15 minutes, the design encourages air movement within stadium bowl, meets standards for people with disabilities (elevators to all levels; toilets, no more than 50 m from seating area). iCON

Articles first published in Construction World, www.crown.co.za

DETAILED CREDITS Project management: BKS, Singatha Afrika Management Services, Total Quality Management, Maluleke Luthuli and Associates Architects: GMP International, Ambro Afrique, Osmond Lange/ NSM Designs, Theunissen and Jankowitz Architects.

Sustainability review team: WSP Green by Design, PJ Carew Consulting, CSIR Structural engineering: BKS PTY Ltd, Schlaich Bergermann& Partners Engineering and Management.

Specialist consultants: TJ Ambro-Afrique, Iyer Rothaug Collaboration, Lechmiah Daya Mandindi, Iliso Consulting Engineers, Singatha Afrika Management Services, Ibuya Consulting Engineers, LSG International.

Sub-consultants: Architecture: Osmond Lange Architects, NSM Designs, MthulisiMsimang.

Structural and civil Engineering: Goba, PD Naidoo & Associates, SLB Consulting.

Acoustic design: Acoustic Ahnert Quantity surveying: Davis Langdon, Letchniah Daya Mandini Hoyana, Vaughan Charles & Associates, Felix Msomi, Malata & Associates Electrical engineering: Igoda Projects, Khanyisa Africa, Palace Consulting Mechanical engineering: Mahesh Khoosal & Associates, Emanzi Consulting Engineers Specialist consultants: Safety and Risk security: Imvula Risk Management Overlay stadium specialist: Nussli International Consulting corrosion engineer: CATS Concrete technology specialist: Structural Diagnostics

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OPINION ETHICS

WHAT WOULD YOU DO? How do we reconcile personal beliefs, professional roles and commercial objectives? There is no easy answer, but Professor John Bale argues that the time has come to stop avoiding the issue

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have an attachment to India, and I sympathise with the multiple challenges faced by that country. One of those is the need to provide enough energy to meet its burgeoning industrial growth and improve living standards – while at the same time doing all it can to arrest increases in carbon emissions.

That challenge lies behind a plan to build a £13.5-billion ‘nuclear park’ in Jaitapur. This plant will have an output of 9,900 megawatts – equivalent, in British terms, to eight Sizewell B power stations. It has attracted criticism from opponents of nuclear power, from environmentalists and from local residents, who say it will ruin the local ecosystem. One man died on April 18 when protesters clashed with police.

The nuclear debate was intensified by recent events in Japan. Indeed the New York Times suggested (14.03.11) that the fragile consensus in support of nuclear power in the US has now evaporated. While Japanese seismic engineering is the best in the world, the combination of earthquake and tsunami proved too much for this particular facility.

Ultimately it is for national governments to make decisions like this, relying on a democratic mandate and having due regard to minority views. The Jaitapur project will go ahead, and its size will guarantee the involvement of many firms from abroad. Whatever the commercial attractions, however, many individual construction professionals are bound to share the concerns of local protesters.

How do we reconcile personal ethical beliefs, professional roles and commercial objectives? The short answer is ‘with great difficulty’, but the issue deserves debate – and what follows is an attempt to identify its components. Firstly professional formation (education and training) must include consideration of the full range of ethical issues which are likely to be encountered in practice. On a matter such as nuclear energy there are (I would suggest) no right answers. Students

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will form their own conclusions, but they should at least be exposed to the relevant issues, so that those conclusions are informed opinions rather than emotional responses.

Next, when they emerge into the world of practice, professionals deserve the assurance that the firms that employ them have themselves thought through the ethical issues relevant to any particular project, and that they are comfortable that the project is consonant with their view of corporate social responsibility. This is not starry-eyed idealism – we are long past the time when ‘obeying orders’ or ‘earning an honest crust’ could justify plainly unethical conduct.

Nevertheless, on projects where there are strong environmental objections but clear legitimacy, firms may decide to mitigate both damage and concern through, for example, investment in local communities – bearing in mind that such action may itself sometimes be judged unethical.

INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS OF CONSCIENCE Finally, I would suggest that firms should recognise, to the extent that they can, individual rights of conscience – much as happens when health professionals are allowed not to be involved in procedures to which they have ethical objections.

On the question of the Jaitapur project, my judgment would I think be influenced most by India’s need to achieve lowcarbon industrialisation and alleviate poverty. But the moral complexity of such decisions is inescapable.

The pictures from Japan on our television screens are of a human tragedy, but they remind us of the importance of the built environment to human life. Our first response, rightly, is compassion – but next we need to engage in the debates to which that tragedy will give rise: debates about what, where and how we build; about how we can mitigate the demand for energy; and about how we should generate the energy that will still be needed. iCON

l Writer and educator John Bale is Emeritus Professor of Leeds Metropolitan University and Past President of the Chartered Institute of Building. Follow his blog at: http://ckegroup.org/ johnbaleblog

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