AECOM’s 15th annual Blue Book, released by the global professional technical services consultancy has lifted the lid on Australian, New Zealand and global trends for the buildings, infrastructure and construction markets.

Insights from this year’s Blue Book reveal Australia’s buildings construction market is the most adversarial in global rankings - stifling the delivery of new property developments and social infrastructure.

AECOM Chief Executive, Australia New Zealand, Michael Batchelor, said the findings from this year’s Blue Book reflect the challenging times businesses and governments have faced in recent years.

“Delivering more from less has become a global mandate requiring a structural change in the way projects are delivered. Greater emphasis must be placed on how to increase leverage from process, people and data,” said Mr Batchelor.

AECOM surveyed construction practitioners from around the world in an effort to identify countries leveraging benefits from collaborative behaviours, and others in which adversarial behaviour – which includes an unwillingness to share responsibility and risk – is entrenched. Mr Batchelor said research revealed a link between collaborative processes and enhanced organisational performance and project delivery.

“There’s a clear desire by business to leverage new forms of project delivery, such as Integrated Project Delivery, to enhance performance and profitability,” he said.

“That said, the two greatest barriers to collaboration driving efficiency gains in Australia and New Zealand’s building and construction sectors are the nations’ respective cultures and awareness of alternatives.”

Mr Batchelor said research revealed technological advances in the sector, and notably Building Information Modelling (BIM), are not seen as barriers to improved collaboration. Rather, he said such opportunities for more efficient ways of working are not being capitalised on through proper process and information management.

The 2013 Blue Book also provides insights on where public and private investment is focused.

Mr Batchelor said despite the expected peak in mining and resources construction, and a weakened outlook for commercial property, electricity infrastructure and retail, Blue Book research demonstrates that many opportunities remain for the industry.

“We are seeing demand in commuter and freight transport, renewable energy, hotel development, aged care facilities, water optimisation and in terms of government, the provision of new health, education and local community facilities,” he said.

“The growth of online shopping, meanwhile, is driving industrial development with a need for new space to manage freight distribution, while altering the design and locations of new retail outlets to service the changing needs of suppliers and customers.”

AECOM’s construction industry research points to strong opportunities in South East Asia, with Indonesia and the Philippines reporting growth expectations, alongside the powerhouse economies of India and China in the broader Asia region.

“Our global research included talking to local industry decision-makers about where investment will be concentrated, resulting in a Global Growth Index. This index has highlighted Indonesia, India and Qatar as hotspots for growth in the medium term,” said Mr Batchelor.

Data drawn from AECOM’s Global Unite platform, which has recorded design and cost data from more than 10,000 projects, showed that, across 17 key cities, New York ranks as the most expensive to build a high rise, commercial building or major shopping centre. London is most costly for hotel or industrial construction and San Francisco has the highest cost for a district hospital.

“At the other end of the spectrum, Mumbai represents the least expensive cost for a high rise, commercial building, district hospital and major shopping centre, where Ho Chi Minh has the lowest construction price for hotels and industrial developments,” said Mr Batchelor.

On a global scale, Sydney ranks in the top five most expensive markets for each category, except industrial developments where it is eighth most expensive.

Architecture & Design Team

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