Construction World February 2022

COMMENT

There seems to be a sense of optimism in the construction sector at the outset of 2022. This is because there is increased government-led infrastructure and private sector spend on the cards – apparent from various surveys and studies that have been conducted.

four key areas: digital transformation, implementation of LEAN principles (value, value stream, flow, pull, and perfection), expansion of business offering and expansion of geographic reach. Despite the positivity, there are factors about which respondents are worried: margin pressures, lack of order book pipeline, supply chain reliability (a direct consequence of the pandemic) and the apparent lack of productivity growth. The indication from government that it will invest in larger numbers of infrastructure projects is particularly encouraging as this will allow companies to develop a project pipeline. However, a negligible number of respondents believe that public- private partnerships (PPPs) will unlock investment in the industry, so it is unlikely that South Africa will see the significant return of PPPs. Stay safe Wilhelm du Plessis Editor

was preceded by a fall of 1% and 12% in 2018 and 2019 respectively. The indication is that things will turn in 2022 – at last. This is clear from surveys such as the Afrimat Construction Index and the RMB/BER Business Confidence Index. These surveys and indices are obviously retrospective but give an indication of the conditions during the previous quarter and the confidence (or lack thereof ) in the market for the quarter that is to follow. The 2022 Construction Industry Outlook survey conducted by RIB CCS in Africa and the Middle East in the final quarter of 2021 is especially positive. It maintains that 68% of survey respondents expect that there will be an increase in project revenue. These respondents are both listed and unlisted. The survey goes into some detail: more than half of the respondents expect that project margins will be healthy. According to the study’s respondents, the industry will focus on

T his is positive news for an industry that has been embattled for the greater part of five years. The challenges faced by the construction sector were severely aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic and saw the total value of building plans fall by some 37% year-on-year in the first 11 months of 2020. Albeit much less, this

EDITOR & DEPUTY PUBLISHER Wilhelm du Plessis constr@crown.co.za ADVERTISING MANAGER Erna Oosthuizen ernao@crown.co.za LAYOUT & GRAPHIC ARTIST

PUBLISHER Karen Grant

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2 CONSTRUCTION WORLD FEBRUARY 2022