South Africa sets stage for global NEC use
BY SIMON FULLALOVE, EDITOR

More than 400 representatives of the South African construction industry attended the country�s first NEC seminar on 15 November 2006 and its four associated roadshows.

The outstanding success of the events is clear evidence that NEC is well on its way to becoming a truly international procurement contract.

Growing international interest
Introducing the one-day seminar at the VW auditorium in Johannesburg, NEC Users� Group secretary Robert Gerrard told over 150 delegates, �Since the NEC3 was launched last year, international interest in the contract has grown considerably.�

�In addition to South Africa, NEC is fast gaining popularity in countries such as Australia, Hong Kong and New Zealand, along with many others,� he said.

Diverse range of sectors
NEC has been particularly successful in the transport, energy, process and mining sectors in South Africa, and this was evidenced by the diverse range of speakers at the seminar.

They included Gerhard Bam of South African Government transport agency Transnet, Jimmy Sofianos of national electricity supplier Eskom, David Royer of nuclear power firm Areva NP, Tania Hartman of chemicals and fuels business Sasol and Franz Jach of mining company Anglo Platinum.
All shared their positive experiences of using NEC to procure buildings and infrastructure in the Republic.

Keynote by SAICE president
Sam Amod, president of the South African Institution of Civil Engineers, gave the keynote address.

Other eminent speakers included Stefan Bezuidenhout of engineering consultancy Megchem, Peter Mills of law firm Routledge Modise Moss Morris, Andrew Baird of Engineering Contract Strategies and Francois Bosch of management consultancy Pangaea Group.

Over 250 attend roadshows
The seminar was preceded by four one-day roadshow events in Midrand, Durban, East London and Cape Town.

Held from 6 to 13 November, the roadshows were attended by over 250 delegates each. Morning sessions provided an introduction to NEC3 while afternoon sessions explained the differences with NEC2.