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THE dearth of funds has been variously fingered as the major problem besetting the construction industry. The plethora of uncompleted and abandoned projects that dot the nation's landscape has often been traced to this factor. Indigenous construction companies have been worst hit, hence, many of them have folded up, giving way to multinational construction companies who are often backed financially by their home governments. Both the Federal and state governments have often hinged their preference for expatriate construction companies on the fact that their indigenous counterparts lack the equipment to execute complex jobs. But how can they effectively compete with these offshore funded companies when borrowing from commercial banks is usually at cut-throat interest rates. Built environment professionals who have been badly affected by this scenario have not rested on their oars in a bid to float a specialized bank that would be sympathetic to the cause of construction industry operators.
West Simsbury, CT (PRWEB) October 16, 2006 -- www.webaward.org - The Web Marketing Association is pleased to announce the Best Construction Web Site Winner as part of the 10th annual international WebAward Competition, the Internet's premier website award competition.
"Many construction sites have struggled to move beyond the "brochureware" phase and look like online versions of their printed sales materials," said William Rice, President of the Web Marketing Association. "Feedback from WebAward judges can help websites move beyond this phase allowing them to attract more web visitors."
Construction websites represent a highly competitive industry within the WebAward competition. Each website is judged on the same seven criteria including:
- Design
- Innovation
- Content
- Technology
- Interactivity
- Copy writing
- Ease of use
The overarching goal of the WebAward Competition is to provide a forum to recognize the people and organizations responsible for developing the most effective construction websites on the Net today.
TOMS RIVER — A major New Jersey home builder filed for bankruptcy Friday, throwing into question when its unfinished homes in Ocean County will be completed. Kara Homes, of East Brunswick, filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in federal court, listing $350.2 million in assets and $296.8 million in liabilities. In Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a company reorganizes, with the intention of remaining in business. Lacey, Little Egg Harbor and Stafford townships all have Kara Homes developments in which houses are still in the midst of construction, but town officials say they don't think residents will be severely affected. “The bonds are sufficient to cover the infrastructure, so there is money to finish the roads and sewer pipes built for the development, and that won't be affected by the bankruptcy," said Little Egg Harbor Administrator Raymond J.
To the surprise of Sierra Building Group, the launch of its upscale golf community in Collingwood was so well received it prompted the company to unveil its second phase months earlier than expected. "We opened phase one in July and basically, we ran out of a whole bunch of product," says president Morris Kansun of the 40 townhouse units that were released at Tanglewood at Cranberry Trail. "The [townhouse] bungalows were especially a huge success." Only a few two-storey and stacked townhouse units remain from the initial release. Another 35 townhouse units -- 16 bungalows and 19 two-storeys -- were put on the market three weeks ago. It will take about a decade to complete the entire development, which will house about 800 West Coast-inspired homes and a 15,000-square-foot complex with recreation and spa facilities.
YAROSLAVL, October 13 (Itar-Tass) - Russia's President Vladimir Putin has visited an exhibition of road machinery that will be used in the projects for improving the networks of Russian automobile roads. The display shows more than 30 types of vehicles -- asphalt spreaders, rolls, excavators, bulldozers - that are used in all the phases of road construction. Apart from these, put up for the show are road maintenance vehicles and mobile gauging laboratories. Exhibition stands show models of new non-routine bridges, the plans for modernizing the country's transport system, investment projects, the systems of telematics and navigation on automobile transport, as well as new road construction technologies. A report, the working group of the State Council drafted for the session, stresses the key role that automobile roads have for the implementation of priority national projects.
51% of UK construction professionals felt that corruption is commonplace within the UK construction industry according to a survey by the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB). The survey asked over 1400 construction professionals what type of corrupt practice was most commonly found, and examined attitudes of how corrupt they deemed a variety of practices to be. The study also looked at the areas in which respondents felt that corrupt practice was most likely to occur. 82% of respondent's were managers or directors; 57% worked in large companies, 20% were employed in medium sized firms and 23% in small organisations. 76% of respondent's regarded the employment of illegal workers as widespread in UK construction; 60% felt that fraud within the industry was prevalent and 41% had been personally offered a bribe.
Construction of new homes has cooled to a one-year low, led by a pause in condos and apartments, in what one Canadian home builder described as a "lull" in the sector. That's not to say the domestic market is in for the same kind of slowdown seen in the United States. It's more that the fiery pace of construction in recent years is ebbing, economists said. Signs are already in the offing. Housing starts fell 2.4 per cent in September, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said yesterday, countering economists' expectations for a gain. High-rise construction fell to a two-year low, although single starts rose for the second month in a row. .
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