It is with much regret that this is the final post for Kluwer Construction Blog. Over the last 14 months the blog has informed us of significant infrastructure and energy projects from South America to Europe and Asia, kept us up to speed on developments in dispute resolution processes in the Gulf, Asia Pacific, Australia…
Nuclear energy provides about 3% of Brazil’s electricity. In November 2006 the government announced plans to complete Angra 3 and also build four further 1000 MWe nuclear plants from 2015 at a single site. Angra 3 construction approval was confirmed by Brazil’s National Energy Policy Council in June 2007 and received Presidential approval in July. Environmental approval was granted in March and all other approvals by July 2009. In December 2008, Eletrobrás Termonuclear S/A (“Eletronuclear”) signed an industrial cooperation agreement with Areva, confirming that Areva will complete Angra 3 and be considered for supplying further reactors. Areva also signed a services contract for Angra 1. First concrete for Angra 3 was due in 2009. A construction licence was granted by the National Nuclear Energy Commission (CNEN) at the end of May 2010, and construction resumed two days later, in June. The plant is expected in operation at the end of 2015 after 66 months.
The inaugural Youth Olympic Games hosted by Singapore in August last year left a positive impression on Singapore’s young guests. The fanfare would have been much bigger had the Singapore Sports Hub been available for the event. At an estimated cost of S$1.33 billion, the new Sports Hub will boast a 55,000-seater retractable roof stadium,…
President Dilma Rouseef wants to make a firm position that the country’s airport system will indeed improve in a fast track model. In her 3rd day in Office the new President has decided to privatize the construction and operation of 2 new airport terminals in the State of São Paulo. President Dilma also decided to open up the capital of INFRAERO (the Brazilian Airport Infrastructure Company) and create an special Secretariat – directly attached to the the Presidency’s Office – to oversight civil aviation business in Brazil.
Arbitration has become the black sheep of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) processes in Australia’s domestic sphere. Over the last two decades arbitration has descended into a costly, rigid and time consuming process. As noted in my July 2010 blog ‘A return to Arbitration?’, Australia’s domestic arbitration regime is currently the subject of legislative reform with…
Acronyms abound in the wide world of project delivery methods – D&C, DCM, ECI, EPC, EPCM. The list goes on. Even for those of us out there who speak the ‘lingo’, it can get quite confusing. Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) and Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management (EPCM) contracts are two project delivery methods commonly…
Recent gas-fired combined cycle power plant construction projects in Switzerland have not proceeded beyond the planning stage as a result of the Swiss CO2 law, which provides that 70% of their emissions must be offset by means of measures taken inside Switzerland. So far, such measures have been considered to be too costly, pushing a…
The 2010 International Arbitration Survey by the School of International Arbitration at Queen Mary College, University of London, represents one of the largest empirical studies ever undertaken of corporate attitudes and practices regarding international arbitration. The focus – key factors influencing corporate decisions on international arbitration. The 2010 survey sees a much broadened territorial scope…
Auction date has been defined The meeting held between Dilma Roussef, the Brazilian President-elect and members of the State Office and the Government transport sector sealed the date for the auction for the bullet train that will connect Campinas-São Paulo-Rio de Janeiro. According to Dilma’s decision, it will take place on November 29, 2010. Requests…
Those of you involved in cross-border sale of goods will probably know that a new version of Incoterms takes effect on 1 January 2011. Incoterms (or international commerce terms) are a series of international sales terms published by International Chamber of Commerce and widely used in international commercial transactions. There are some significant differences between…
