SA eyes Chinese firms for 2010 - 7 March 2007

sa eyes chinese firms for 2010

cape town - in a bid to bring down costs related to the construction of 2010 world cup facilities, the government has announced it might bring in chinese companies.
speaking at the finance department's 2010 presentation to parliament's portfolio committee on finance on wednesday, the department's deputy director general for 2010 malcolm simpson said the shortage of technical skills in the country makes it necessary for foreign companies to be considered.

"they are coming, a few of them have already registered with the construction industry development board (cidb).

"given the problem of skills shortages in the country, we would like more foreign companies to come and bid for 2010 projects," he said, adding that there was nothing stopping chinese companies from bidding.

the fact that sa has only six major construction companies makes it difficult for government to negotiate for lower prices on 2010 projects, said simpson.

"this is a project with very tight time frames, bringing in foreign companies will create competition among contractors and eliminate the delays caused by price negotiations," he said.

last year deputy finance minister jabu moleketi said to ensure that the project were completed on schedule, construction on host city stadiums should begin in january this year.

however, in certain host cities such as the city of cape town, construction work is yet to begin.

simpson said while work has begun in most cities, the department was concerned about certain risks that could hamper the construction process.

he mentioned the raw materials supply and possible tender litigation as some of the reasons that could delay construction work.

"companies that bid for projects, but lost, could mount legal challenges - this means the company that won would not be able to go ahead with work until the matter has been resolved in court.

failure of some host cities to contribute to their share of stadium construction costs could also contribute to further delays, said simpson.