Chinese National Association of General Contractors (CNAGC, 營造公會全國聯合會) said the recent commodity price declines have been steep enough and will likely stabilize in the first quarter after China Steel Corp (中鋼) on Wednesday announced a record price cut on steel prices for the first quarter.
China Steel, the nation’s largest and only integrated steelmaker, lowered its domestic steel prices by 22.56 percent, or NT$7,058 (US$211.91) per tonne, the largest single price cut since the company was established in December 1971.
CNAGC chairman Chen Hwang-ming (陳煌銘) said prices of steel bars and ready mixed concrete, which account for a major portion of total construction costs, have declined by 50 percent and 30 percent respectively since the first half of this year.
Chen said the cut in steel bar prices was undoubtedly good news to the construction industry, however, since countries worldwide have been pushing public works projects in the face of global economic downturn, he did not think construction material prices would continue falling in the long run.
The drop in steel prices will be a relief to the construction industry, which saw public project contractors demand an increase in government subsidies earlier this year. But Chen said contractors are still facing financial difficulties because their payments were cut by property owners over construction disputes.
When construction disputes arise on public projects, time-consuming litigation ensues, Chen said as he urged the government needs to follow international standards by settling disputes through mediation or arbitration, such as a dispute resolution board, to help enhance the execution efficiency of public projects.
In related news, the Public Construction Commission said on Wednesday that the sharp fall in steel prices had helped to ease the high rejection rate of bidding for the procurement of public works projects in the first half due of the year caused by soaring costs, and the procurement process was returning to normal in the second half.
As of Nov. 21, a total of 151,265 cases of public projects procurement had been completed, with the total amount reaching NT$980 billion, a significant improvement from the same period in 2006 and last year, the PCC said.
It was late morning and steam was rising from water tanks atop the colorful, but opaque-windowed, “soapland” sex parlors in a historic Tokyo red-light district. Walking through the narrow streets, camera in hand, was Beniko — a former sex worker who is trying to capture the spirit of the area once known as Yoshiwara through photography. “People often talk about this neighborhood having a ‘bad history,’” said Beniko, who goes by her nickname. “But the truth is that through the years people have lived here, made a life here, sometimes struggled to survive. I want to share that reality.” In its mid-17th to
‘MAKE OR BREAK’: Nvidia shares remain down more than 9 percent, but investors are hoping CEO Jensen Huang’s speech can stave off fears that the sales boom is peaking Shares in Nvidia Corp’s Taiwanese suppliers mostly closed higher yesterday on hopes that the US artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer would showcase next-generation technologies at its annual AI conference slated to open later in the day. The GPU Technology Conference (GTC) in California is to feature developers, engineers, researchers, inventors and information technology professionals, and would focus on AI, computer graphics, data science, machine learning and autonomous machines. The event comes at a make-or-break moment for the firm, as it heads into the next few quarters, with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s (黃仁勳) keynote speech today seen as having the ability to
NEXT GENERATION: The company also showcased automated machines, including a nursing robot called Nurabot, which is to enter service at a Taichung hospital this year Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) expects server revenue to exceed its iPhone revenue within two years, with the possibility of achieving this goal as early as this year, chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) said on Tuesday at Nvidia Corp’s annual technology conference in San Jose, California. AI would be the primary focus this year for the company, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), as rapidly advancing AI applications are driving up demand for AI servers, Liu said. The production and shipment of Nvidia’s GB200 chips and the anticipated launch of GB300 chips in the second half of the year would propel
The battle for artificial intelligence supremacy hinges on microchips, but the semiconductor sector that produces them has a dirty secret: It is a major source of chemicals linked to cancer and other health problems. Global chip sales surged more than 19 percent to about US$628 billion last year, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association, which forecasts double-digit growth again this year. That is adding urgency to reducing the effects of “forever chemicals” — which are also used to make firefighting foam, nonstick pans, raincoats and other everyday items — as are regulators in the US and Europe who are beginning to
RSS