Monday 2nd April, 2016, Johannesburg. Hill International, the Global Leader in Managing Construction Risk, with the Chartered Institute of Building today announced plans to hold a the inaugural African Construction Masterclass in Johannesburg on 11 & 12 May 2016.
The event will collect world experts, including Queen’s Counsel barristers from the UK, heads of industry such as Anoj Singh, CFO of Eskom and Jack Van de Merwe, CEO of Gautrain, along with leading technical experts.
Speakers from Africa and around the world will present two days of study and workshops on the subjects that most significantly impact construction disputes today. It is thought to be the first time such a meeting has taken place in Johannesburg.
Construction has been affected by a number of worldwide changes: The global economic crisis was quickly followed by a drop in the value of crude oil. Several major government projects stalled, and companies reliant on overseas developments struggled to obtain anticipated returns, with many showing challenging balance sheets.
The Masterclass will examine remaining opportunities and how to maximise the success of them by minimising risks of costly disputes. It will educate construction and engineering professionals on the effective and efficient management of construction contracts, dispute resolution and also examine the future of construction in the region.
Stuart Wilks, Director at Hill International said, “the Masterclass gives my colleagues, along with legal teams from around the world an opportunity to share with attendees the problems and challenges they see on a daily basis, and help them to avoid repeating the errors we see occurring.’
He continued, ‘The Masterclass has taken place in cities around the world. Over 2,500 people have learnt to manage delay, disruption and disputes over the course of the past 16 years, but this is the first of its kind to be held in Africa.”
Talks by delay experts Geoff Bewsey and David Jamieson will look at methods of demonstrating most accurately why costs and project delivery times change. Arguably few legal disputes and claim documents adequately demonstrate the link between cause and effect in such situations. Providing a more accurate analysis can help secure accurate solutions to complex disputes.
Legal talks from barristers and leading solicitors will examine contractual issues, such as the importance of ensuring conditions precedent to entitlement are addressed, alternative methods for most effective dispute resolution and management of popular forms of construction contract such as FIDIC and the NEC3 form.
More information on the event is at www.hillintluk.com/wp35 or Stuart Wilks and his team can be contacted in Johannesburg on +27 11 731 7008.
