SPECIAL EDITION: FOCUS ON GLOBAL INFRASTRUCTURE

ISSUE 2 OF 3: ASIA-PACIFIC, LATIN AMERICA AND EUROPE INFRASTRUCTURE

News from the Hill

HILL SETS SIGHTS ON GROWTH WITH ASIA-PACIFIC INFRASTRUCTURE OPPORTUNITIES

hile the U.S. has proved to be a major footprint of success for project and construction management specialist Hill International in the infrastructure sector, the company is also sparing no efforts to actively bid in Asia-Pacific where billions of dollars of investment are planned to serve a growing economy and population.

In India, Hill has on its radar opportunities to offer its services under ‘smart’ and ‘innovative’ investments where new urban development models are being rolled out to deal with a fast-growing population, said Abdo Kardous, the company’s Managing Director and Senior Vice President for Asia-Pacific.

“We see TOD [transit-oriented development] type of projects emerging in several cities, emulating previous experiences like the Pacific Center in Hong Kong and the Raffles Plaza in Singapore or the Penn Plaza in New York,” he said, describing TOD as projects that will provide rapid transport to residents that plan to live in the new mega residential and commercial developments.

Wby Tricia M. McCunney, Hill International, Inc.

Hong Kong Skyline

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Kardous cited the cases of a 75-acre planned re-development at Karkardooma that will be home to 4,800 families and a 100-storey tower for which the state-owned NBCC has been awarded a mandate to build the high rise. Both projects will be located in Delhi. “Many projects like these are expected to follow in several cities and that’s the trend and shape of things that will generate projects of our size,” he said.

As Asia-Pacific economies grow the need for intercity travel increases dramatically, hence the need for expanded and updated aviation and rail services that include both the upgrade of existing facilities plus new ones in the form of greenfield airports, new rail lines as well as high speed rail lines.

Among the large initiatives that Hill is also eyeing opportunities including, the ‘One belt One road’ China program (East-West) that will generate hundreds of transport infrastructure projects; new projects in the region sponsored by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank that could potentially include high-speed rail projects in South East Asia to connect China with Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Laos, Vietnam;

the building of some 200 new airports in India and China in the next 20 years; and an expansion of the Hong Kong and Sydney airports while Beijing plans a brand new airport in its west.

Kardous’ statement comes in the wake of Hill International starting in April a 45-month assignment to provide quality and safety audit services as sub-consultants to Italfer for the Dedicated Freight Corridor (East) project that is focused specifically on building freight-only railway lines along highly-congested transport corridors.

Hill is also eyeing opportunities including, the ‘One belt One

road’ China program (East-West) that will generate hundreds of

transport infrastructure projects.

- Abdo Kardous Managing Director and Senior Vice

President for Asia-PacificHill International

“Our scope of works covers three construction packages with approximate length of 300 kms or 185 miles,” said Dr. Panagiotis Kefalas, Hill’s vice president for business development in Asia-Pacific, noting for the Delhi International Airport the company, together with two more contenders, are in final negotiations with the client for the Terminal 1 expansion plus the construction of a fourth runway.

“Decision for award is expected in the coming weeks,” Kefalas said. Besides for the Mumbai Metro Line 4 project, Hill has also formed a consortium with Deutsche Banh (lead) and Louis Berger to bid for this opportunity for which an award is expected in June, he said.

In the airports sector, Hill will also seek opportunities to provide its services for the phase 2 expansion with a new terminal and a second runway at the Bengaluru airport and also developments planned for the New Goa and Navi Mumbai airports. “The planned development will be led by private concessionaires GMR and GVK respectively.

In the metro sector in India, several new projects are coming up this year, namely the Bhopal and

One Belt, One Road - China’s Proposed Construction Plan

Bengaluru Airport, India

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LOW OIL PRICES; DRIVING FORCES IN ASIA-PACIFIC

The low crude oil prices have not come in the way of planned investments in Asia-Pacific’s infrastructure sector. “With the exception of Indonesia and Malaysia, low oil prices in fact help Asia Pacific countries grow faster as they are net importers of oil, unlike the Middle East countries who are exporters and their growth is dependent on higher oil prices,” Kefalas said.

For metros and urban infrastructure projects, the main driver is the high urbanization rate that transforms the economies and societies in most of the countries in the region, especially the larger ones that also exhibit high GDP growth rate. At the same time, existing urban infrastructure cannot serve present populations, so the development of modern urban transport systems with a view to future needs is a must.

“The main limiting factor is the availability of resources both in terms of capital [each metro line construction cost is at least $1 billion] and implementation [availability and capacity of contractors, consulting firms and qualified engineers], which basically dictates the timing of project launches,” he said.

For Hill International, the stance for bidding for new infrastructure projects in Asia-Pacific is primarily dependant on the selection of locations and markets based on the company’s presence and capacity to serve those markets. “It is frequent that tenders involve both project management and design activities and we follow only those with clear project management consultancy scope.

We also give preference to multilaterally funded projects. Lastly, due to the projects’ large size and inherent risk factors, a teaming approach is the way to go to mitigate project delivery risks,” Kefalas said.

Infrastructure projects in Asia-Pacific are no different from elsewhere globally, Kardous said, highlighting there are no technical differences as the design and

In the airports sector, Hill will also seek opportunities to provide its

services for the phase 2 expansion with a new terminal and a second

runway at the Bengaluru airport and also developments planned for the

New Goa and Navi Mumbai airports.

- Dr. Panagiotis Kefalas Vice President of Business Development Asia-Pacific

Hill International

construction are largely in line with global standards and practices with major international players involved in these activities. Also, funding requirements can influence the engagement of players, like in China funded projects typically favor Chinese vendors, Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) funded projects favor Japanese vendors, while Asian Development Bank and World Bank-funded projects are generally open to all technically qualified vendors. Projects funded by national resources typically target more local vendors where possible, Kardous noted.

Indore metros that already out for bids, while similar facilities too are planned for Kanpur, Pune and Varanasi, to name a few. We are monitoring the progress,” Kefalas said.