7 minute read
CICA: We want to represent the construction industry on a global scale
Advertisement
The mission of the Confederation of International Contractors’ Associations (CICA) is to serve, promote and enhance the image of the construction industry across the world and be the voice of the sector on technical, fi nancial and socioeconomic topics. And to understand the importance of its management, what it is doing and the proposals for contractors, we spoke with Fanny Dastugue, General Director of CICA, who answered all our queries
Fanny Dastugue, Director General of CICA
How would you define CICA for contractors who are interested in learning about your international organization?
CICA was created in Tokyo in 1974 to represent the construction industry on a global scale and its headquarters are statutorily in Paris, in the offices of the French federation of public works (FNTP). Its current president is Irwin Perret, an Engineer graduated from the Metropolitan University of Caracas in Venezuela.
CICA originally brought together all the continental construction associations. As a result, CICA is a confederation of continental federations but its action is not limited to international issues because it represents all the companies of these associations, both the major construction companies and the smaller companies of civil engineering and housing in the world.
The most active members are currently the European Federation of the Construction Industry (FIEC) and the Inter-American Federation of the Construction Industry (FIIC). Additionally, among others, the Chilean Chamber of the Construction Industry (CChC) is a strong supporter of CICA. Two Chairmen of CICA working groups are from CChC: namely Alex Wagemann who is leading the CICA works on construction contracts and Carlos Bascou who is in charge of the group « Construction 5.0 » to deal with innovation and sustainable construction.
CICA members meet at least twice a year for the general assemblies : in Paris in Autumn and in a host country in Spring. The last CICA General Assembly was held in Tel Aviv in May 2022.
In the margins of the general assemblies, thematic seminars are organized to discuss the main issues and concerns that the construction industry is fa-
cing and to address these challenges. It is also an ideal forum for contractors from across the globe to network and exchange ideas.
CICA also organizes sectoral missions to Multilateral Development Banks’headquarters or other international institutions to discuss major issues and contractors are invited to participate.
What are the areas of action of CICA at the international level vis-a-vis the governments, banks and international organizations ? Could you give us a successful example?
CICA has regular meetings with major international organizations. Each year a mission to Washington is organized to meet with the Procurement Departments of the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank. Some years ago CICA also organized a mission to the African Development Bank in Abidjan for example. “The pandemic, followed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, led to this infl ation, which has reached its highest point in four decades within the construction sector worldwide”
One of our priority subject is the good preparation of the infrastructure projects. Michel Démarre is the Chairman of the CICA working group on « Well-Prepared Project », a concept that CICA managed to be introduced to the B20 and G20 in Cannes in 2011. CICA also supported the development of the SOURCE platform which is a practical and interactive IT tool that is now widely used to have a good preparation of the projects in many countries.
CICA also supported the development of the Global Project Assessment Model (GLOPRAM) which is a tool to consider the socioeconomic and budgetary aspects when analyzing the financing of construction projects. It was created by Vincent Piron, co-Chairman of the CICA working group on Long Term Financing of Infrastructure and Jeanne Amar from Nice Côte d’Azur University. We believe such tools are essential to make smart decisions and have the adequate pipelines of projects.
Regarding the contractual issues, CICA is Friendly Reviewer of the FIDIC color books which are widely use and contribute by addressing the perspective of the contractors.
We are also working to address corruption issues, also considering the demand side and CICA is part of B20 Task forces on
“The Construction sector in Chile has decreased at high rates in the last two years, being its worst record in four decades. The results are explained by the health emergency derived from the coronavirus outbreak, which implied restrictions on the mobility of people and the normal development of the commercial sector”
Integrity and Compliance each year and regularly participates in OECD meetings and works on Transparency.
After the pandemic and the current infl ationary crisis that is developing in the different countries, how do you see the state of the art of the construction industry globally?
The pandemic which was followed by the invasion of Ukraine by Russia led to this inflation that hit a four-decade high in the construction sector worldwide. In addition, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has exacerbated the volatility of energy and raw materials prices worldwide. Supply chains were stretched to capacity even before the pandemic, which then multiplied the problem. We don’t expect great improvement until next year adding that we suffer immediate shortages of materials and services produced or provided in/ from the conflict-affected areas of Ukraine and Russia. In particular, Russia is a key supplier of steel, iron, nickel, chemical products and wood. The shortage of qualified workers is also a major concern for the sector. Delays and disruption of the supply chains have to be faced. Finally, stringent compliance issues are resulting from the international sanctions now in place. As CICA, we recommend : the use of Extension of Time for Completion clauses, adjustment for changes in costs (escalation formulas), use of Force Majeure clause, innovations - prefab, anticipated procurement. In general, one of our messages to development institutions is to consider the situation and avoid the many cases where important development projects will not be financed due to strictly limited fixed budgets especially for Multilateral development banks-financed projects.
CICA is a global organization, and from that perspective, how do you see the construction industry in Chile and Latin America ?
CICA President Irwin Perret would explain that we are not very optimistic about the construction industry in Latam. Covid-19 established a negative economic and political scenario. The complex situation faced by many Latam countries in the last years produced a huge economic slowdown, with the rising of unemployment, as well as the rising of extreme poverty. These factors slowed down the ability of countries to respond effectively to the health and economic effects of the pandemic. Thus the countries of the region must safeguard the progress made in the last decade and settle on the path of sustainable and inclusive development. But probably some of these necessary investments will be postponed to face the pandemic economic and social effects. Particularly Chile’s construction sector has decreased at high rates in the last two years, being its worst record in four decades. The current situation shows us that higher costs, fi nancing restrictions, bureaucracy, delayed payments, and political-regulatory uncertainty are deepening the drop in investment in construction throughout Chile. It is projected that this drop will be more than 4% per year by 2022. And this will affect the development of housing and infrastructure projects, as well as job creation. We consider it is necessary to promote public-private collaboration; private investments representing between 70 and 75 percent of the total investment and employment. We are sure that a boost in private investment and construction can help improve the situation.
Despite the latter, I have been informed that last week the Chilean Ministry of Public Works enacted a Law which introduces a polynomic adjustment of costs in contracts for public works. Although this measure doesn´t resolve the damages suffered by the contractors on the last three years, is a good starting point to face the increasing costs in the future. I hope that similar measures be taken in private sector, too. N&C
Comenta en
REVISTA DIGITAL ¡ENCUÉNTRANOS!
