Construction and Infrastructure

Looking at the bigger picture has always been a must for success; and in the case of Devmark Property Group, it led to a withdrawal from the residential market just before the bottom dropped out. Founder and group managing director Hein Ehlers tells all to Andrew Pelis.

As phase II of the Queenston plaza redesign nears completion, traveling between the US and Canada is set to become a whole lot easier. Gay Sutton talks to Lew Holloway, general manager of the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission, about the challenges of doing construction work at an active border crossing.

Business is all about accepting risks but if you have the ‘do it yourself’ attitude, nothing remains out of reach, as Alan Swaby learns.

The mark of a true entrepreneurial spirit is when challenges turn into opportunities. In the 1970s, the Zamil family business in Saudi Arabia found that pioneering steel buildings to a predominantly concrete market was no easy task, as it involved educating and converting end-users to the benefits and advantages of locally manufactured steel buildings.

Across Alberta, the foundations for future education are being laid—but it is no easy task. Lee Davis, project director for the Bird-Graham Schools joint venture, speaks to Andrew Pelis about the challenge to coordinate ten busy building sites at the same time.

The ability to multi-task is something all business leaders are familiar with. However, Lee Davis, project director for the Bird-Graham joint venture to build schools in Alberta, takes multi-tasking to a new level.

Dedication to innovative leadership, to teamwork and to its customers, coupled with the implementation of cost-efficient IT, propel the Auburn Hills Department of Public Services into the upper echelon of public service departments both in Michigan and nationwide, Ric Larson discovers.

The UK’s BG Group has approved its biggest ever investment, a £9.3 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) development in north-east Australia.

Following environmental approvals from the Australian government, the company will now proceed with the first phase of the project—to build a liquefaction plant on Curtis Island, Queensland.

The project will also involve construction of a 540 kilometre pipeline to move gas from the Queensland interior, where the gas will be drilled using 6,000 bore holes, to the liquefaction plant.

Australia’s fourth largest port achieved a record financial year in 2009, handling more than 83,000,000 tonnes of coal, grain and other goods. The company managing this impressive growth is Gladstone Ports Corporation Limited.

Webb Construction is playing an increasingly major role in support of West Africa’s mining boom, as Ben Sansom reports.

Electrical contractor Cegelec Morocco has found itself poised to capture some very promising new markets, as CFO and business development director Michel Bouskila explained to John O’Hanlon.

Since its creation in 1946, Cegelec Morocco has been an important partner to the large state electricity, mining and water enterprises, as well as the country’s oil company SAMIR in providing electrical engineering services. It employs over 2,000 people, many of them highly specialised engineers.

Spain’s Ferrovial plans to sell a 10 per cent stake in BAA, the owner of London’s Heathrow airport, to pay off debt and fund other projects.

In 2006 the Madrid-based infrastructure group led a consortium that acquired BAA for €16 billion (£14.2 billion), as part of a plan to expand its activities beyond construction.

Ferrovial will now reduce its 55.9 per cent stake in the UK business, but will still remain the largest shareholder.