GAVIN MAILE Labour stability and productivity are required to create trust between government and the private sector
Construction companies are aiming to use more sustainable methods of building, as the sector is increasingly being driven by companies’ need to have a lower environmental footprint to meet increasingly stringent environmental legislation, states audit, tax and advisory services firm KPMG.
This need is partly driven by the high price and erratic availability of electricity supplied by State-owned power utility Eskom, and longer-term environmental concerns, resulting in more companies implementing green energy in their building methods.
KPMG Africa construction leader Gavin Maile says the country’s construction companies can meet all the standards of building in a sustainable way, but it remains a challenge as it is generally more expensive to construct buildings that meet many sustainable objectives. “However, there would be savings over the life of the project, owing to reduced running costs.
He suggests that sustainably constructed buildings should start showing a return on investment in about five years, but this period has decreased in recent years, owing to sustainable construction methods becoming more feasible and popular.
Further, Maile points out that South Africa’s gross domestic product needs to increase for growth in the construction industry to occur and that such growth will be supported by the roll-out of infrastructure plans at government level.
He believes that these plans will build con-fidence in construction in the private sector, resulting in new projects being approved, with greater investment and increased activities in the sector.
“Labour stability and productivity are required before any growth can occur. Delays and dis-putes in awarding tenders and the inability to adjudicate and manage tenders will result in mistrust between government and the private sector.”
He adds that the current state of many indus- tries has reflected fluctuating work hours because of prolonged strikes and poor produc-tivity, as a result of declining production rates.
The issue of shortages of engineers and experienced project managers, who are required to further propel the construction industry, will be resolved only when there is substantial growth in the construction industry, states Maile.
“There are initiatives in place to tackle the skills gap at industry level . . . these initiatives are fairing well, while the engineering profession is regarded in a positive light by school leavers,” he says.
South Africa Versus the World
He notes that the South African construction industry is well in line with global construction standards and practices, and that “South Africa’s big construction companies are global players”.
Maile says the industry is further supported by the many projects being developed in the renewable-energy arena, such as wind and solar farms, which will supply additional electricity into the Eskom grid.