Stefanutti Stocks said that a consortium of JSE-listed companies it was leading had won a civil works contract for Eskom’s Kusile power station in Mpumalanga.

Prospects for the business property market are looking brighter than before.

A provisional truce has been reached in the Pretoria High Court in a legal dispute about Mpumalanga's 2010 World Cup stadium and 118 hectares of neighbouring land.

State power utility Eskom is often criticised for its seeming unwillingness to embrace alternative and renewable energy platforms in seeking ways to align its production with fast-increasing demand

The 2010 Soccer World Cup stadia, some new dams and the Gautrain project should add to cement demand in the current year

Construction workers at Mpumalanga’s Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit – which will host some 2010 World Cup games – have resumed work after resolving their problems with their employer.

The workers went on strike for the second time last Friday in a protest over project bonuses.

The protest was on the back of the first protest two weeks before when workers downed tools for what they said was ‘non-adherence’ by the employer to the Basic Conditions of Employment Act.

But the strike was temporarily suspended after agreement that the workers go back to work while the employer and the workers’ union tried to resolve the problem.

But last week there was a communication breakdown while the management of the Mbombela Stadium Joint Venture – the builders of the stadium – and the workers’ representatives, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), were in a meeting to discuss working conditions and project bonuses.

The union wants bonuses to be increased to R2000 this year and R1500 in June next year. They also want the current hourly rate to be increased by R3 to R10,80.

“We have always been confident that the two parties would find a solution,” said Desmond Golding, Mpumalanga’s 2010 director.

Construction workers at Mpumalanga’s Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit – which will host some 2010 World Cup games – have resumed work after resolving their problems with their employer.

The workers went on strike for the second time last Friday in a protest over project bonuses.

The protest was on the back of the first protest two weeks before when workers downed tools for what they said was ‘non-adherence’ by the employer to the Basic Conditions of Employment Act.

But the strike was temporarily suspended after agreement that the workers go back to work while the employer and the workers’ union tried to resolve the problem.

But last week there was a communication breakdown while the management of the Mbombela Stadium Joint Venture – the builders of the stadium – and the workers’ representatives, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), were in a meeting to discuss working conditions and project bonuses.

The union wants bonuses to be increased to R2000 this year and R1500 in June next year. They also want the current hourly rate to be increased by R3 to R10,80.

“We have always been confident that the two parties would find a solution,” said Desmond Golding, Mpumalanga’s 2010 director.

Civil engineering and construction group Sanyati Holdings on Tuesday said government contracts and extending operations beyond KwaZulu-Natal had boosted its order book, positioning the black economic empowerment company to achieve its forecast net profit of R53 million for the 2007-08 financial year.

The order book included a R25 million contract for civil infrastructure work in Polokwane, a R75 million road rehabilitation contract in Gamtoos, Eastern Cape, and a R1,9 billion contract for civil works on the new King Shaka International Airport in Durban.

Releasing the company’s results for the six months ended August, CEO Rick Jackson said the buoyant growth in the construction industry boded well for the firm. He said though 66% of Sanyati’s contracts came from KwaZulu-Natal, he was pleased at the inroads the company had made in Gauteng.

“The Gauteng operations are up and running with (the group’s piling subsidiary) Mega Pile’s first R2 million contract ,” said Jackson.

Gauteng accounted for 22% of Sanyati’s contracts, with the balance split among Mpumalanga, Eastern Cape and Zambia.

In an effort to grow the business , Sanyati said, it had acquired Gauteng-based Ruthcon Civil Contractors and GEM Earthworks, which has operations in Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga.

Net profit for the period under review doubled to R22,9 million on a 105% increase in revenue to R396,2 million — up from R192,5 million.

Cash generated from operations surged to R10,9 million from a loss of R4,5 million. Headline earnings per share increased to 8,74c from 5,73c.

Of Sanyati’s four business units, Civils Coastal was the biggest contributor to overall performance.

Revenue accumulated by C ivils C oastal was R215 million. Its performance was boosted by large-scale projects such as the R117 million tender to construct roads in Barberton, and the R52 million contract to construct a water pipeline in Umgeni, on the south coast.

The unit also stood to gain R190 million over the next 19 months after the Ilembe Consortium was awarded a R1,9 billion contract to build the R6,8bn King Shaka International Airport.

Port Elizabeth has stepped up the construction pace of its World Cup stadium – to the extent that the project is now on schedule

North West, Limpopo and Mpumalanga are on a roll, thanks to platinum and chrome