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Sustainable construction in Africa
Major South African contractors such as Murray
& Roberts Construction can play an important
role in promoting sustainable construction
in Africa. “Obviously the further north into
Africa you go, the less energy efficiency comes
into play. However, it is still incumbent upon
those countries to buy into the green agenda
and they have the opportunity to do so a lot
earlier in the development cycle than the
industrialised countries have done. It is really
up to them to change legislation in such a way
that it accommodates sustainability. Until that
happens sustainable construction will have
very little traction in Africa,” Gavin Taylor, Chief
Operating Officer, Murray & Roberts Buildings &
Construction Africa, says.
“Many foreign investors are effectively looking
for resources to take out and this to date has
been done in a largely unsustainable manner,
and that needs to change.” Taylor adds that
the oil and gas industries are taking the lead
in introducing international best practice into
Africa. “These sectors are already measured by
their home governments in terms of their own
sustainability systems and procedures, which
requires them to drive sustainability into the
host country they are operating in. To require the
host country to take that step is a tall order due
to their different political and economic drivers which can in the short term override the need for long term
sustainable solutions.
“There is a lot of work to be done in Africa. Most of Murray & Roberts’ African experience is driven on the back
of mature clients. In Africa there are a lot of resource hungry nations that are sometimes less than scrupulous
in obtaining the resources they need to fuel growth in their home countries. They do not leave much behind in
terms of the social upliftment and much less so in terms of training and infrastructure. The infrastructure that
remains is generally just what enabled them to extract those resources in the first place,” Taylor says.
Murray & Roberts Construction has access to the latest skills and experience through its global operations,
which is a major advantage in Africa. Taylor adds that a lot of South African expertise has migrated into Europe,
the Middle East and Australia over the years, and that not enough has been done to attract these...............................
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africandesignmagazine.com
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