UK in talks with Indonesia over tsunami reconstruction

Representatives from the British Consultants and Construction Bureau will meet the president of Indonesia, Susilo Yudhoyono, and will be briefed by his advisers about the extent of damage. The BCCB will put the case for using British firms in the rebuilding programme.

The meeting comes as more firms in the UK, including consultant Atkins, have expressed interest in carrying out work in the affected areas.

The two-day infrastructure meeting will be attended by a number of regional government officials and international aid agencies. Officials from the Department for International Development will also be present.

The meeting was planned by the Indonesian president before the disaster struck, with the intention of generating international interest in the country’s development needs.

Graham Hand, chief executive of the bureau, said that he would use the opportunity to assess how British firms could become involved in long-term rebuilding.

He said: “I will be able to learn what is needed in the longer term, and will input British capabilities for contributing to that.” He said the bureau would hold a meeting this month to brief member companies.

Hand praised the support of British companies for immediate and longer-term relief work. He said: “It’s about having a twin-track approach, with companies sending assistance through agencies and also becoming directly involved themselves.”

Hand added that Sri Lanka, one of the other countries hit by the disaster, was also keen to begin rebuilding work.

Meanwhile, British consultants are providing aid across the devastated areas. Locally based senior engineers at consultant Atkins are holding talks with regional governments and a number of aid agencies to determine how the company can help. The group has offered programme management services and geotechnical support.

Construction logistics company Wilson James is sending two specialists to Banda Aceh on the Indonesian island of Sumatra to assist the immediate aid operation in the area. Working with charity Save the Children, the workers will set up distribution and convey systems for food, aid and shelter. They will also help to train local workers to handle the operation in the medium to long term.

Cost consultant Bucknall Austin has also sent two members of staff to Sri Lanka to look at medium- to long-term rebuilding. The staff have also been given money to help with short-term assistance.

Director David Bucknall emphasised that the company would adapt to the needs of the area. He said: “The staff we have sent to Sri Lanka do not have a remit from us. They have to adapt to the situation on the ground, and we will try to respond to their assessment.”

Bucknall Austin has also contacted its former partner in Malaysia, Naim Cendera, to offer assistance on an orphanage building programme planned by the Asian firm to provide for the thousands of children left without parents by the disaster. Naim Cendera has proposed to begin providing temporary accommodation immediately.

Christian building charity Mission Direct has also promised to provide help for orphanages and one of its directors is flying to Sri Lanka. The group plans to begin sending teams of volunteers in July to carry out construction work.

In a separate development, the RICS this week met construction minister Nigel Griffiths over the possibility of establishing a database on how to save buildings after disasters. The RICS has asked for government funding for the service, which could be made freely available to governments and aid agencies.

Launce Morgan, chairman of the RICS construction facility, said that the organisation could help to ensure countries were ready in future. He said: “We need to look ahead so that people can be prepared in the event of a future disaster. Because of our global reach, RICS is ideally placed to do that.”

The database would contain information on flooding and earthquakes, and guidance on how to ensure airports are quickly brought back to working order after a natural disaster.

The initiative follows news last week that the RICS is working with the government to establish a register of chartered surveyors and companies that are experts on flooding and infrastructure services.