Monthly Update – December 2010

Market News

Not one, not two but three new super-tall skyscrapers will be built in China over the next 5 years it was announced this month. First to be revealed was the project from Shanghai Greenland Group who will construct the world’s third-tallest building in Wuhan standing at 606 metres. It will be a mixed use project consisting of commercial space, hotels and luxury apartments. Next up was the 500m, 122 floor skyscraper announced to become Beijing’s tallest building. Again a commercial, apartment and hotel mixed use scheme. Finally revealed was Green Central Plaza in Zhengzhou, Henan. This will be a twin tower development offering mainly commercial and entertainment spaces in two 300m towers. We will be publishing a blog article on some of China’s latest high rise projects in development in the coming months. This week China Daily published an interesting article on skyscrapers in China the link to which can be found here: http://europe.chinadaily.com.cn/2010-12/28/content_11764067.htm

In infrastructure news it was announced that a high-speed rail link between China and Myanmar would begin construction in 2 months. Work has continued apace on China’s high-speed rail projects in 2010 with it’s most expensive and difficult rail project linking Yichang and Wanzhou finally beginning operations in December after 7 years of construction. 73% of the link’s length runs through bridges or tunnels. Also in December it was announced that the final links of the track linking Beijing to Shanghai were laid. This line will commence operations in 2011 with journey times between the two cities cut from 10 to 4 hours.

photo © 2010 Drew | more info (via: Wylio)

What’s Hot

Despite December traditionally being a quieter month for hiring in the run up to the Christmas holidays, we have found demand in a few key areas still remains very high. Clients are finding there is a real shortage of quality engineering candidates, particularly in the M&E, Structural and Civil sectors. Consultancies and contractors are keen to attract experienced candidates to service building projects in Hong Kong and China. There seems to be more of a focus on candidates with strong buildings delivery experience rather than those with infrastructure experience. However, clients still remain on the lookout for quality candidates with rail and tunnel backgrounds in all disciplines.

On the design side it seems demand remains very high for experienced architects with Mandarin language ability. These people can be based in Hong Kong or China. A couple of companies also seem to be looking to strengthen their teams with key strategic hires, particularly focussing on those with China business development experience. Most companies anticipate a increased demand for people after the Chinese New Year holidays in February and some are starting to look at their needs early in anticipation of a shortage of good design candidates then.

Most Urgent Requirements

We have outlined below the urgent vacancies we have had through from clients over the last month.

• Lead Architect – Shanghai – US practice with new and growing Asia presence
• Principle Structural Engineer – Hong Kong – International engineering consultancy
• Senior Architect – Hong Kong – Hong Kong and International architectural practice
• Senior Building Services Engineer – Hong Kong – International building service and consulting company
• Senior Project Planning Engineer – Macau – International contracting and construction company

In addition we are keen to hear from engineers at all levels with strong structural, M&E and MEP experience for positions in Hong Kong.

Please visit our website for more information on the above roles and our other vacancies:

http://www.ellicottlong.com/current-jobs.

If you wish to enquire about a position please send an email and your CV to apply@ellicottlong.com.

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