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CONSTRUCTION WORLD
MARCH
2016
Aureconwas againrankedoneof
the global top five ‘Best Partners’
in both the ‘Service Engineers’
and ‘Structural Engineers’
categories. In the 2016 annual
World Architecture 100 (WA100)
survey of the world’s leading
architectural practices.
The comprehensive WA100 survey is
conducted by the prestigious UK-based
Building Design
magazine. Architects
were asked to rank their preferred professional
associates based on wide-ranging criteria
demonstrating outstanding commitment to
clients, contribution to creativity and project
outcomes, collaboration and chemistry, inge-
nuity and technical expertise.
“The Aurecon team thrives on developing
close and collaborative design relationships
with its architect partners to create innovative
solutions which extend the boundaries of inspi-
rational built environment concepts.
“I’m pleased to see the success of our
collaboration with architects evidenced by our
climbing rankings in the WA100 survey,” says
Aureconmanaging director – built environment,
James Bennett.
Some examples of recent high profile
Aurecon projects include the iconic Asian tall
buildings, Landmark 81, Ho Chi Minh City and
SM Megamall Tower, Manila, as well as the
‘Hollywood in the desert’ theme park, Motion-
gate Dubai, Abu Dhabi’s St. Regis Saadiyat
Island Resort, Australia’s multi-award winning
Melbourne School of Design and South Africa’s
Newtown Junction.
With an office network extending across 27
countries, Aurecon has an extensive track record
of projects in over 80 countries worldwide. It is
able to deliver a full range of experience and
services globally to ensure clients have the best
teams for their projects.
“We live our corporate values. In particular,
we strive at all times to foster human achieve-
ment through excellence, innovation and collab-
oration,” comments Bennett. “We are proud and
honoured to again have our skills and passionate
commitment to supporting our architect part-
ners recognised in the WA100 survey.”
AMONG BEST
FIVE
St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort.
>
remains serviceable for the duration of its
design life and beyond
• Addressing inefficiencies in the Supply
Chain Management system and more
especially as it applies to consulting
engineers and built environment
professionals in general
However, with the recent Moody’s down-
grading of South African bonds to levels just
above junk status, SA’s economic sustain-
ability is also being questioned. Hearing of
service delivery protests in various parts of
the country has become commonplace and
the recent water shortages are a growing
concern. Critical municipal infrastructure
such as dams, pump stations, pipes and roads
are failing due to lack of timeous mainte-
nance and investment, at critical periods, in
the elements of economic infrastructure.
Pretorius cautioned, “Within this
environment, can SA’s vision, encapsulated
in the National Development Plan, actually
be delivered on? Or is it a pipe-dream?” She
went on to say, “It is extremely important
that Government remains on the path that
has been mapped out by the NDP, as steering
away from the targets will seriously diminish
government’s credibility and further weaken
domestic and foreign market sentiment.”
Looking briefly at the state of affairs,
Pretorius said that there is good news and bad
news for consulting engineers. The economic
outlook, coupled with limited technical
skills, appears to be crippling and stifling the
economy but the project pipeline looks good,
but can it be delivered? The profession is
ageing, but there is also significant growth in
the number of young engineers.
Pretorius stated, “We have to ask
ourselves if things can get worse?” The
influence of local government elections in
2016 will have a significant impact on service
delivery priorities in some municipalities.
In such a constraining economic environment,
infrastructure development and the asso-
ciated job creation opportunities, becomes
more critical.
Delivering more with less
Pretorius believes that, “The critical role
that the engineering industry, in particular
the consulting engineering profession plays,
in the functioning of SA’s economy cannot
be underestimated.” The current economic
outlook and concerns about the public
sector’s ability to finance and undertake
massive infrastructure investments, require
the profession to assess its skills set and
ability to meet the challenging environment.
Forming partnerships
In meeting the development challenges of
our country, Pretorius states that CESA has
to partner with Government and key industry
role-players. The consulting engineering
industry represents a particular skills set that
is required to further the country’s social and
developmental goals. Unlocking the oppor-
tunities identified, requires us to partner
with Government as their trusted advisor.
This is particularly relevant in developing an
improved procurement environment for the
consulting engineering profession.
CESA’s partnerships with the Interna-
tional Federation of Consulting Engineers
(FIDIC), as well as the regional block of the
Southern African Development Communities
and the rest of Africa, are of utmost impor-
tance to further ensure quality and uniformity
in engineering consulting practice and
creating a conducive business environment
for working within Africa.
Active advocacy
Although a significant emphasis is placed
on partnering with Government, CESA is
the voice of consulting engineering and will
continue to play an active advocacy role in
the larger built environment profession. CESA
has to continue to identify corruption, blow
the whistle and work with authorities towards
eradicating it.
Transformation
One of the strategic goals of our country is the
economic transformation of previous margin-
alised groups. Pretorius stated, “As consulting
engineers we practice in the construction
sector that has the potential to significantly
contribute towards the transformation and
economic empowerment agenda of our
country”. CESA, as part of the construction
sector, is currently involved in follow-up
negotiations to update the scorecard. The
transformation of business and our sector in
particular, is of strategic importance. Adher-
ence to BBBEE is the way we do business in
South Africa and CESA and its members are
positioning themselves to meet this oppor-
tunity. Pretorius stated, “We need not view
transformation, rightfully so or wrongfully so,
as a loss of business but how we do business
in South Africa”.
In conclusion, Pretorius stated that, “At
CESA we are clear about our role as ‘The
Voice of Consulting Engineering’ and being
a trusted advisor to our clients. We know
what we have to do. Going forward we will
ensure that we contribute towards South
Africa’s social and economic growth.” CESA’s
membership, currently representing 537 firms
employing just over 24 366 staff, who collec-
tively earn a total fee income of R23,4-billion
per annum, is well-positioned to respond to
this challenge.