Brookfield Multiplex has been awarded the design and construction contract to build Brookfield Place Tower 2 for sister company and client Brookfield Office Properties.

The 16-level office tower is the final stage in the Brookfield Place precinct development in Perth. It follows Brookfield Multiplex’s delivery of the 45-level Tower 1 building last year.

Brookfield Place Tower 2 will have largecolumn-free floor plates of approximately 2,100m², conference facilities and 110 parking spaces. The project also incorporates a sheltered upper-level walkway to provide greater connectivity to rail and bus stations and the city centre.

Construction is expected to complete late in 2015. Brookfield Multiplex has pre-committed to become a tenant the building along with professional services firms Deloitte and Corrs Chambers Westgarth.

Costain is targeting project and programme management consultancy rather than construction work on the vast amount of projects coming up in the Arabian Gulf.

Local competition for the many major construction projects is keeping prices down and Costain has identified the associated consultancy opportunities as being more attractive. As a consequence it is looking for experienced people to fill senior project and programme management consultancy roles in the Arabian Gulf.

Regional development director Tim Bowen moved to the Middle East late last year with the task of expanding the company’s range of services in the Gulf. He has found that there is no shortage of potential work.

In 2013 alone, infrastructure and development projects worth over US$350bn (£223bn) are planned across the countries that belong to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Bowen said that the work will require consultancy services, whether in providing engineering solutions or delivering integrated consulting and operations and maintenance services.

“We’re not looking for construction contracts, even though there has been no shortage of opportunity in that regard,” he said.

"Costain has the scale, skills, experience and financial strength necessary to secure and then deliver these large and complex projects, but at this time, the price point competition from some Asian contractors mean that there’s no point wasting our valuable bidding resources when there are many commercially preferable opportunities in professional services,” he said.

He added: “We’re looking to work more on a consultancy basis, either on our own or as part of a joint venture with another company. But our biggest constraint is the availability of professionally qualified, experienced people, ie those at the most senior level, because these projects are vast and will include working at the cutting edge of engineering technology.”

Places like Qatar present enormous opportunities. The state is hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup and plans to put in place extensive infrastructure in order to meet its ambitious growth plans. Contracts are now starting to be awarded as Qatar plans to invest US$200bn in infrastructure development over the next 10 years, with over US$100bn expected to come in the next five years as it gears up for the World Cup. The projects include new roads, highways, bridges, airport, a new seaport, and a new rail and metro system.

This investment is part of a broader vision to meet the state’s growth and infrastructure needs beyond the FIFA World Cup.  The president’s executive office of the Public Works Authority (Ashghal) recently announced that more than US$30bn would be allocated for the implementation of over 700 projects to meet the objectives of Qatar National Vision 2030.

Costain’s ambition in the region is in line with 'Choosing Costain,' the Company's strategy to deliver a full-service offering, from front-end engineering consultancy and design, through construction to back-end care and maintenance. In the Middle East, the emphasis will be on offering a consultancy service, which is why experienced specialists are required to fill the senior roles.

Fugro has signed a multi-year agreement with Dutch pavement consultant KOAC•NPC, which will see them work together to undertake highway surface condition contracts in the Netherlands.

Fugro teams up to target Dutch highway survey contracts

Fugro, has signed a multi-year agreement with Dutch pavement consultant, KOAC•NPC, which will see them work together to undertake highway surface condition contracts in the Netherlands.

Under the agreement, Fugro will collect surface condition data using its  Aran road-scanning vehicle. KOAC•NPC, part of the Kiwa group, will carry out the post-processing and consultancy work. The partnership is targeted at both public agencies and road contractors as clients. 

In addition to network-level road surveys and data processing, the two specialists will undertake custom surveys for specific road projects and quality assurance of newly constructed highways. Clients will have the option to specify fully integrated surveys from the Aran’s platform of traffic speed-surveys, which also includes ground penetrating radar data gathering. Friction testing can also be included in contracts to provide road managers with a complete picture of the pavement.

Mark Thomas, Fugro infrastructure services manager (Europe, Africa, Caspian), said: “The new agreement cements our already excellent working relationship with KOAC•NPC and will allow us to combine our resources, expertise and quality focus to push the envelope in road surveys in the Dutch highways market.”

“Our working relationship with Fugro has always been excellent and will be enhanced by this agreement,” said KOAC•NPC’s general manager Han van Herpen.

Transportation departments in the San Francisco Bay Area and the state of Arkansas have appointed Atkins as on-call engineering and project management consultant.

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), the Government agency responsible for regional planning in the San Francisco Bay Area, has selected Atkins to serve on two on-call consultant panels. Atkins will be providing MTC with transportation engineering and planning assistance over three years. As one of MTC’s on-call consultants, Atkins will also provide planning, implementation, and operations-related consulting services for overseeing the implementation and operation of regional electronic payment systems.

In Arkansas, Atkins, in partnership with Brown & Gay Engineers and Fugro Consultants, has been selected to provide on-call construction services for the Arkansas State Highway & Transportation Department (AHTD).

Under the terms of the contract, Atkins will provide AHTD with a complete range of construction management and inspection services. The contract specifically calls for Atkins to support a new programme that will use a temporary sales tax to fund a US$1.8bn, ten-year project to build and improve four-lane highways throughout the state.

Atkins practice manager Chris Campbell said: “This partnership gives Atkins a new level of presence in a region of the country that is anticipating much growth. Arkansas is making extensive highway improvements through 2018 and beyond, and we are gratified to be able to take part in the state’s transportation progress.”

Lend Lease is consolidating its Australian construction and infrastructure business into sector-specific operations.

It is restructuring the Abigroup, Baulderstone, Project Management & Construction and Infrastructure Services businesses into three sector-based operations – one in each of the building, engineering and infrastructure services sectors.

The new structure will take effect from 1 August 2013 and is designed to create more effective and competitive operating businesses with greater efficiency and leverage of skills and expertise.

Lend Lease group chief executive officer and managing director Steve McCann said: “The transition will increase our capacity for growth and facilitate more robust end-to-end client solutions. The combination of core skills in each of these organisations will result in best-in-class delivery capabilities. We will have businesses that compete for the leading market position against our external competitors in each of the engineering, building and infrastructure services sectors. These existing businesses have a rich and long history and this next step of consolidation will acknowledge and build on the success of this proud history.”

The branding of the businesses will be announced following stakeholder consultation during June and July.

The Turkish government has said that it is vying to secure the US$50bn (£31.8bn) that Norway plans to channel into global real estate markets as part of plans to build more than half a million new houses a year.

President of the Turkish Housing Development Administration (TOKI) Ahmet Haluk Karabel led a delegation to Norway. Karabel said the amendment made to the law last year has facilitated the acquisition of real estate by foreigners in Turkey. TOKI is the sole government institution specialising in housing projects and Karabel said that it could assist investors.

He said that more than 500,000 to 600,000 houses should be built each year and that the total amount invested by the public and private sectors in housing in 2012 was US$70.6bn.

Samsung C&T has confirmed that it has received a letter of conditional acceptance from Qatar Railways Company (QRC) for a contract on the Doha Metro.

It will be working with Obrascon Huarte Lain of Spain and Qatar Building Company.

The total contract amount is expected to be QAR 5,100,310,263 (£890m) with about half going to Samsung.

Carillion Alawi has been awarded a £130m contract by the Oman Tourism & Development Company (Omran).

The contract forms part of the Oman Convention &  Exhibition Centre project, which has an estimated construction value in the region of £1bn.

Omran has been set up by the Government of Oman to deliver major projects in the tourism sector.  Carillion’s 18-month contract, which is scheduled to begin in next month, involves the construction of 13 buildings, including exhibition halls with a gross floor area of 45,000m², an energy centre, ancillary buildings and car parks. Carillion Alawi will also deliver mechanical, electrical and plumbing installation, all interior finishes and landscaping.

Further contracts for subsequent packages, including auditorium and banquet halls, a 5-star hotel, a 4-star hotel , the business district and hotel apartments are expected to come to market between now and the end of 2014.

Carillion chief executive Richard Howson said: "Carillion Alawi delivered the marine works for the Asian Beach Games Project for Omran and we look forward to working in partnership with Omran again to deliver this phase of Oman's state-of-the-art Convention & Exhibition Centre."

The contract had been classified as a probable order in Carillion's interim management statement on 1 May.

The budget of New South Wales (NSW) in Australia includes investment of AU$6.4bn (£3.9bn) over the next four years for Sydney’s ‘big six’ public transport infrastructure projects.

The schemes are set to kick off unprecedented levels of construction. During construction, they are expected to create in total more than 5,000 direct jobs per year and significantly more indirect jobs.

NSW premier Barry O’Farrell said that the expenditure on public transport infrastructure this year will be 32% greater than last year, a record $4.1bn. He said that the massive amount of capital investment showed the NSW government was committed to building infrastructure which will make a real difference to commuters. “This Government committed to addressing the public transport challenges in Sydney and here is the proof we are getting on with the job of delivering,” he said.

Over four years, the state budget includes:

• AU$4bn for construction of the 36km North West Rail Link, with the first tunnel boring machines due in the ground next year;
• AU$782m for the 11.4km South West Rail Link between Glenfield and Leppington, due for completion in 2016 but currently running six months ahead of schedule;
• AU$423m for a 12km light rail line;
• AU$885m for the Northern Sydney Freight Corridor;
• AU$224m for Wynyard Walk, a pedestrian link under the city to link up to 20,000 public transport commuters an hour with Barangaroo; and,
• AU$76m million for the Inner West Light Rail Extension, a 5.6km, due to open next year.

Bauer Spezialtiefbau has won its biggest-ever contract to date in Germany.

As part of a joint venture, Bauer has been contracted to carry out the specialist foundation engineering works on the tunnels and supporting walls for the new double-tracked bypass rail link between Hanau and Nantenbach in the Spessart region. The project is worth some €47m (£40m) to Bauer.

The roughly 7km-long new track will reduce noise pollution for local residents. The work also includes the building of new stations and the renovation of a number of other stations. The line will replace the existing route through the Schwarzkopf tunnel, which cannot be modernised for economic and technical reasons.

The work assigned to Bauer on the two contracted sections includes the installation of 53,000m² of piled wall as well as 8km of anchors for the four new tunnel sections. One of the technical challenges of the project is the need to drill into hard rock. Several Bauer BG 28 and BG 40 rotary drilling rigs along with anchor drilling rigs will be deployed. At peak times up to 10 rigs will be operating simultaneously.

Chairman of the Bauer management board Professor Thomas Bauer said: "This is a great contract for us in our home market, and it is indeed our biggest contract in Germany to date. After having recently completed work on the large-scale Luise-Kiesselbach-Platz project in Munich, we have now once again secured a healthy utilsation of our capacities in Germany for the medium term."

BAUER Spezialtiefbau GmbH is scheduled to start work on the project at the end of the year. The work will take about four years to complete. Most of it will be carried out during 2014 and 2015.

The Nordic Investment has signed a loan agreement to provide finance towards a 10.7km-long road tunnel in Helgeland, northern Norway.

The 17-year-maturity €41.5m (£35.2m) loan agreement with Helgeland Veiutvikling is earmarked for the construction of a 35 kilometer new road, including a road tunnel of 10.7km, connecting the E6 main highway with the coastal area. The new road, which replaces the county road 78, will shorten driving distances significantly. It will also enhance competitiveiness for the regional fishing, petroleum and dairy industries.

“NIB’s loan to Helgeland Veiutvikling ensures an important boost that links Helgeland together, as good infrastructure is essential for dynamic countryside development,” said Henrik Normann, NIB president and CEO.

Helgeland Veiutvikling is a regional non-profit, special purpose vehicle (SPV) owned by, municipalities in Helgeland, Nordland County and local banks. The SPV has been established to finance road projects in the region as well as to collect road tolls.

Some HK$10.5bn (£862m) of construction work on transport projects was carried out in Hong Kong in the first quarter, up 55.7% in nominal terms over a year earlier.

The total gross value of main contractors’ construction works in the first quarter rose 14.4% in nominal terms over a year earlier to HK$43.2bn, according to the latest quarterly figures from the Census & Statistics Department. After discounting the effect of price changes, the total gross value of construction increased 7.5% in real terms over the same period.

Transport accounted for the largest share in the total gross value of construction works performed at construction sites in the first quarter. Residential building projects constituted the second largest group of construction site works. The gross value of construction works performed in respect of these projects totalled HK$9.3bn, up 8.8% in nominal terms over a year earlier.

The gross value of construction work at public sector sites Hong Kong rose 24% in nominal terms from a year earlier to reach HK16.3bn in the first quarter. In real terms the rise was 26.2%.

The gross value of construction works performed at private sector sites totalled HK$11.6bn in the first quarter, up 3.4% in nominal terms over a year earlier. In real terms, it fell 3.3%.

John Holland has been appointed head contractor for the construction of a new AU$180m (£109m) development for the University of Sydney Business School.

The project will include over 34,000m² of total building gross floor area. It will involve the creation of teaching and learning spaces over five levels ranging from case study and seminar rooms to a large 550-seat lecture theatre and a learning hub.

“We are pleased to be partnering with John Holland to build a flagship home for the University of Sydney Business School,” said University of Sydney vice-chancellor Dr Michael Spence. “The construction of this site will provide a state-of-the-art learning environment for the next generation of business leaders and world-class facilties that will benefit the entire university community.”

Construction is scheduled to start in July and be completed in early 2015.

ISG has secured circa £40m in international sales over the last two months. In addition, it has been appointed as the sole global framework partner across Western Union’s entire property portfolio.

The appointment to the Western Union global property framework covers both commercial office and high street outlets, with ISG providing a full turnkey service solution for the money transfer organisation.

Recent wins include the fit-out of Tiffany & Co's new flagship store on the Champs Elysees, an additional phase of work at an international diplomatic embassy in Paris, and ISG's fourth project for Marks & Spencer in France - a new store at the Aeroville development close to Charles de Gaulle Airport.

Within Asia, the company will refurbish 365 guest rooms and executive suites at the Fairmont Hotel in Singapore. ISG has also continued to secure work for Abercrombie & Fitch, with a new store project in Korea.

ISG chief executive David Lawther said: "This announcement affirms the success of our strategy to increase international sales with multi-national clients by either winning opportunities locally or by entering into global frameworks. The order books of our international businesses are well placed for the next financial year."

Atkins has won a commission to develop guidance for eco-low carbon (ELC) urban planning in China.

The project is funded by the UK’s Foreign & Commonwealth Office Prosperity Fund and led by Atkins’ sustainable planning team in Beijing. It involves working with both national government agencies and city governments and is aimed at providing a key, high profile reference point for ELC urban planning in China.

Mark Hewlett, Atkins’ project manager, said: “The project, which is closely aligned with Atkins’ Future Proofing Cities initiative, will provide a clear, practical methodology for ELC urban planning which sets out approaches, methods, tools and techniques tailored for Chinese local government planning based on international best practice.”

The project team will work closely with two selected city governments to develop, test and apply the ELC guidance. The project outputs will be focused on hands-on use as an everyday working tool in a practical, ‘on the ground’ urban planning setting.

For this project, Atkins will draw on its experience in ELC urban planning and design in China as well as similar work elsewhere, including Meixi Lake Eco-city in Hunan and Masdar City in Abu Dhabi.

The African Development Bank (ADB) has appointed a consortium led by Mott MacDonald as technical advisor for a scheme to study potential infrastructure projects.

The work is intended to support African stakeholders as they identify, assess and prioritise regional infrastructure projects on the continent. Mott MacDonald is working with fellow consultant Sofreco on the infrastructure project preparation facility (IPPF), which is part of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).

NEPAD-IPPF was established to prepare high quality energy, water, transport and communications infrastructure projects for investment and construction.

The African Union and NEPAD have achieved consensus among African states to focus their efforts on 51 transformational regional infrastructure programmes. These programmes guide the direction of the NEPAD-IPPF, which provides grants to African governments, regional economic communities and other regional institutions.

To date, it has leveraged over £30m in funding to prepare infrastructure projects worth £900m. Projects supported by NEPAD-IPPF include the rehabilitation and upgrading of the north-south corridor linking South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia, Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania, a 1500MW hydropower plant in Mozambique, a dedicated African satellite aerial navigation system and improved access from landlocked countries to sea ports.

Mott MacDonald’s project director Wim Verheugt said: “Good quality infrastructure is vital to economic growth in any part of the world. NEPAD-IPPF is scaling up its activities to achieve rapid progress on high quality infrastructure that delivers strong economic return on investment.”

Hyder, Halcrow and Parsons Brinckerhoff are among the winners of QR7.2bn (£1.26bn) of newly announced expressway projects across Doha, Qatar.

The public works authority Ashghal held a ceremony to announce the 24 new expressway projects.

The contracts included a QR2.2bn construction scheme awarded to China Harbour Engineering Design & Construction. Winners of supervision contracts included Halcrow with QR477m of work, a QR322m contract for Parsons Brinckerhoff and QR414m for Hyder.

The orbital highway and truck route project has gone to AECOM Middle East and Parsons International has won a QR481m contract for major roads.

Ashghal’s seven-year expressway programme will deliver more than 30 major road projects across Qatar including new and upgraded freeways, expressways and arterial roads, a new orbital highway and truck route as well as substantial upgrades to existing roads.

GIS specialists from Atkins in Denmark have been appointed to help the European Commission to create a platform for the exchange of geospatial information.

The company is working in joint venture with German IT company, con terra, supporting the development and maintenance of spatial data infrastructure (SDI) in a bid to simplify information access across the Commission.

The project is in support of services that use geographical linked tools to integrate the management, analysis and display of all forms of map data. This makes it possible to analyse the relationship between locations, quantities or densities and show the results in ways that reveal interactions and patterns across the European Union.

Mette Wolstrup, Atkins’ GIS project manager in Denmark, said: “Atkins has a specialist skill in this sector, having previously provided the European Commission with an architecture and infrastructure study of its geospatial systems to allow it to make strategic decisions on future needs. The overall objective is to make the SDI platform easier to use and access, smoothing collaboration between the many areas of the Commission that are reliant on this sort of information.”

Atkins was also recently commissioned by Danish local authorities to create a web-based geographic information system for professionals and the general public to apply for construction and environmental permits. In a further project, Marine Scotland, a directorate of the Scottish Government, commissioned Atkins to develop and host an interactive web mapping portal to assist in the public consultation on the development of the national marine plan.

China Petroleum First Construction Company has awarded Dorman Long Technology a contract for the design and supply of a 5,000-tonne capacity jacking tower system.

The MYQ5000 system will be used for the erection of heavy petrochemical vessels and will begin work in early 2014. The system will initially be used for projects in China, but has been designed for use throughout the world.

The system has new features including self-erect/dismantle, walking with the load and central wireless control. It will feature four 1,394t-capacity strand jacks for lifting at rates of up to 23m an hour. It is designed to erect petrochemical vessels up to 5,000t and up to 160m high. Vessels can be moved longitudinally and transversely after lifting. In the longitudinal direction, the tower and vessel move together along a track. The vessels can also be rotated after lifting using a swivel incorporated into the modular lifting beam.

Two tower system has been designed with a small footprint. It can be freestanding to heights of 90m, with guys required for taller heights.

The self-erection/dismantling system uses a purpose-designed 20m/hour jacking system located at the base of each tower and able to handle 12m tower sections. All elements of the tower system have been designed for ease of transport between sites and for fast assembly and disassembly when on site. The tower system can be bolted down to concrete foundations, or supported on load spreading mats.

GPS stations located at the top of each tower for monitoring tower verticality. The GPS data is integrated into the system’s computer controls.

Skanska has signed a contract to build a SEK375m (£36.5m) bus depot in Gustavsberg, east of Stockholm in Sweden.

The bus depot will be situated about 2km south of central Gustavsberg. It will be dimensioned for 140 buses and will, amongst other things, include a workshop, parking and offices.

Project work will start immediately and construction is planned to start in mid-January 2014. The facility is planned to be completed in the summer of 2016.