Cost & decisions
Water infrastructure projects, read for the supplier
Steel main from DN600 to DN1600, centrifuge decanters, a 1 250kVA generator and a SCADA system are all named in R35 billion of planned water work.
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All resources
Materials
Cost & decisions
Tshwane alternative water source RFI, and what to send
Tshwane's RFI on alternative potable water sources closes on 30 October, and the City will use the answers to write the tender specification.
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Compliance
Pre-export verification of conformity, and what remains
The dtic withdrew its certificate rule for certain Chinese imports two days after it was due to start. The compulsory specifications and site check stay.
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Site & delivery
Structural steel shortage in South Africa, and the waivers
SAISC now backs tariff waivers one ITAC application at a time, and counts steel whose quality is still to be demonstrated as short.
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Cost & decisions
Steel safeguard duty and what it does to your rate
ITAC added South Korean hot-rolled steel to the safeguard on 4 September 2026 at 11 percent, and the origin of your fabricator's coil now sets part of the rate.
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Technology
What carbon tax does to a cement or steel price
CBAM cost EU importers 75,36 euro a tonne in early 2026. The carbon number that reaches an invoice in Boksburg is the R308 a tonne South Africa charges at home.
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Cost & decisions
What your spec is worth in a municipal tender
Municipal distributors sell 44% of South Africa's electricity, and a correctly specified protection device only survives their tender if the document says so.
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Technology
150MW of data centre, and which trades it buys
MTN is targeting 150MW across South Africa and Nigeria, and the trades that sell into a data centre are settled in the main contract before the shell goes up.
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The Arabella Brief
What changed this week, and what it costs you on Monday.
One email on a Friday, covering the week from Friday to Thursday so the week is closed when it is written. What actually changed, everything with a date on it, one development run through what it means for a contractor with forty people, and what we got wrong. A thin week is a short issue.