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Channel: Phase 1 | Infrastructure news

Building social housing in eThekwini

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Prudent sourcing and selection of building materials and fittings and fixtures has delivered Lakehaven Phase 2, a ground breaking social housing project. Lakehaven Phase 2 is Durban’s third greenfields project. […]

R1.5 bn Pongolapoort Bulk Water Supply Project launched

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The Pongolapoort Bulk Water Supply Project, launched by Minister of Water and Sanitation Nomvula Mokonyane together with Premier Senzo Mchunu of KwaZulu-Natal, will supply potable water to the rural communities […]

$29.49 million for Burundi road project

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 Burund’s Nyakararo-Mwaro-Gitega (RN18) Road Improvement and Asphalting Project has received funding for its first phase. The project, which concerns 30-kilometre-long Nyakararo-Mwaro-Kibumbu road, aims to help open up access to the […]

Building social housing in eThekwini

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Prudent sourcing and selection of building materials and fittings and fixtures has delivered Lakehaven Phase 2, a ground breaking social housing project.

Lakehaven Phase 2 is Durban’s third greenfields project. Its Phase 1 predecessor received the coveted Social Housing Project of the year 2011 award from the Southern African Housing Foundation (SAHF).

“Lakehaven Phase 2 takes this a step further. Through the far sighted substitution of cheaper building materials with higher quality building materials, First Metro Housing and construction, cost and project managers HDH have as good as redefined social housing and made it aspirational,” explains Dirk Meyer, managing director of Corobrik.

 

Building Lakehaven

Lakehaven Phase 1 comprises 312 units, while the second phase provides a further 280 units within 34 double story blocks of flats. Construction began in early 2013 and it is on track for completion by mid-year, with the first 88 units already occupied.

All upgrades were facilitated well within strict budgetary constraints and to meet strict objectives outlined by government.  Mehmood Hoosen, HDH’s principal agent, pointed out that, while costs were kept low, the end product was of a high standard to the point where Lakehaven Phase 2 had definitely added value to the area.

 

Delivering quality

Hoosen says that his company worked within strict parameters but had enjoyed a great deal of flexibility when it came to overall design and choice of materials. “We may have started with a blank page, but it was not straight forward. We put a project team together and then workshopped in terms of finishes. It was about finding the best products for the development.”

Hoosen explains that the objective was to deliver a quality project through an improved choice of materials and top notch workmanship.

In line with capital subsidies provided through the Institutional Subsidy and the Capital Restructuring Grant, social housing developments must adhere to strict principles that extend beyond construction.

Government policy calls for the integrated provision of services which involve the inclusion of social facilities in a location that is close to both cultural amenities and work opportunities. This approach also provides for better spatial planning and greening of the environment.

 

Going green

In additional to aesthetic considerations, Hoosen pointed out that environmental concerns are top of the First Metro Housing (Lakehaven’s developer) agenda. In line with these, greening of the environment and the planting of trees as well as the selection of building materials with low carbon footprints was important.

These included Corobrik’s Country Cottage face bricks, clay Ironstone pavers and Geolok 400 retaining blocks. Facebrick was used instead of stainless steel for balustrades.

Aprons around the building were redesigned so that the vibrant colours of the Ironstone pavers could be introduced in place of concrete while Corobrik Geolock earth retaining blocks provided for a practical and attractive landscaping throughout the complex.

“These products will last longer and are more sustainable. When we build, we also need to look at the aesthetics as well as how we will impact on the environment. This is the first time we have gone this route and our client is happy with the outcome,” says Hoosen.

 

Looking to the future

Hoosen says that, going forward, HDH would take a similar approach when selecting materials for future social housing projects as well as the approach construction process itself.

R1.5 bn Pongolapoort Bulk Water Supply Project launched

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The Pongolapoort Bulk Water Supply Project, launched by Minister of Water and Sanitation Nomvula Mokonyane together with Premier Senzo Mchunu of KwaZulu-Natal, will supply potable water to the rural communities in the Jozini Local Municipality.

The increased production of potable water assisted by the installation of bulk water and reticulation networks in the area will ultimately service a total population of 134 864 people within about 16 200 households. The total cost up to date on the first phase of the project stands at R368 million.

KwaZulu-Natal Premier Senzo Mchunu and Minister of Water Affairs and Sanitation Nomvula Mokonyane turned on communal water taps to provide water for residents

KwaZulu-Natal Premier Senzo Mchunu and Minister of Water and Sanitation Nomvula Mokonyane turned on communal taps to provide water for residents

 

A step towards 100% coverage

In her address to the community, Mokonyane articulated the department’s support for local government. She indicated that Phase 1A, at a cost of R1.5 billion, is part of the steps that will finally ensure that the Umkhanyakude District Municipality and the Jozini Local Municipality receive full access to potable water.

Water tankers currently in use in the areas not yet receiving coverage will continue working, ensuring that no one is ever without water.


Working together

Mchunu stressed the importance of working together with traditional leaders. “The provincial government will strengthen the inter-governmental relations with both national and local government as well as traditional leaders. Through this co-operation, a lot of ground has been covered in terms of service delivery, particularly in Jozini and Umkhanyakude,” said Mchunu.

“Today we are gathered here to celebrate the delivery of this very critical resource. This is part of our non-discriminatory development. We develop both the urban and rural areas. All this work must be viewed as part of a process,” he added.


The responsibility of service delivery

Mokonyane and Mchunu both expressed a need for all to realise the responsibility that comes with delivery of services. They argued that everyone has an equal responsibility towards ensuring the security and protection of available infrastructure and resources.

Communities therefore have to understand and appreciate that the infrastructure brought to them must be protected and maintained.


Increasing capacity at the local level

In this regard, the Department of Water and Sanitaion will assist in raising the levels of capacity and expertise within this field at local level. The department will continue to deploy its available capacity from within as well as from entities like the water boards that operate within communities.

Critical co-existence is necessary at such times to ensure proper skills development and cascading of capacity.

$29.49 million for Burundi road project

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 Burund’s Nyakararo-Mwaro-Gitega (RN18) Road Improvement and Asphalting Project has received funding for its first phase.

The project, which concerns 30-kilometre-long Nyakararo-Mwaro-Kibumbu road, aims to help open up access to the country and boost regional trade. This objective would be achieved by facilitating the movement of goods and persons along the road thereby increasing trade with the rest of the country and with the sub-region.

Under Burundi Vision 2025, the government designed and implemented an Infrastructure Action Plan (2010-2015) which gave rise to the Road Network Improvement Programme aimed at supporting the productive sectors of the economy. The approved intervention is therefore consistent with the national transport infrastructure improvement policy, especially for highly-populated regions with high economic potential.

The project is also consistent with the second-generation Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy Framework (GPRSF II), which focuses on transformation of the Burundian economy to generate sustained and job-creating growth.

The main beneficiaries of the road project are farmers who experience difficulties in procuring inputs and in marketing their produce due to the poor state of the roads. It will also have a positive impact on women and young people by improving their access to socio-economic infrastructure and creating new initiatives.

Industrialists’, loggers’ and transporters’ operating and logistical costs will be significantly reduced thanks to the improvement and asphalting of the main road and rehabilitation of the rural roads.

In addition, the road will serve as a strategic economic link connecting Bujumbura to the central, northern and eastern regions of the country. It will also serve as an alternative road to the current central corridor linking Bujumbura to the Port of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank has approved a $29.49 million grant to help finance the first phase of the project. The grant accounts for 95% of the project’s total cost estimated at $31.04 million.

Eastern Cape WTW to get 10Ml/d upgrade

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Phase 1 of the augmentation and upgrading of the James Kleynhans Bulk Water Supply in the Eastern Cape is about to commence.

The soon to begin augmentation and upgrade is to meet water demand requirements for 2035 and during drought situations.

R101.85 million has been set aside for Phases 1 and 2 of the plant which involves augmentation of the water treatment works (WTW) from 10Ml/d to 20Ml/d.

Phase 1 will include the construction of additional clear water storage and handling of sludge and backwash. The first phase started in March 2016 and is expected to be complete by December 2016.

Phase 2 will cover extension of flocculation channels, upgrading the chemical building and construction of an additional sedimentation tank and additional filter.

Both phases will include interconnecting pipe work, mechanical as well as electrical works. This last stage will be completed by December 2017.

 

No toll fees on upgraded N14 freeway, says Ismail Vadi

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South African freeway imageThe upgraded N14 freeway from Krugersdorp to Diepsloot was opened by Gauteng MEC for roads and transport, Ismail Vadi, at the end of last week.

“We’ve basically given a new lease of life to a very busy freeway and there will be no toll fees,” Vadi said.

He explained that Phase 1 of the N14 project saw the rehabilitation of 20 km of the dual carriageway starting from Hendrik Potgieter Drive and extended out to Diepsloot near Centurion.

At the opening, Vadi noted that the project completely repaired 20 kms of the N14 freeway and that this had given it a new design life of 20 years. He added that the project “provided employment and skills development training during construction to over 300 local employees, enabled economic empowerment of local contractors and improved the road safety features on the freeway”.

The project came with a R306 million price tag and took 18 months to complete. Vadi expressed his satisfaction that the project was completed on time.

In July 2015, the department described the highway as a “high traffic volume freeway that was under severe stress”, and said that the road had degraded over the years and needed urgent rehabilitation.

The department also indicated that the freeway had a traffic growth rate of 3.2% annually.

The N14 is a major provincial arterial road linking the southern and western regions of Gauteng to the north of the province. It is used daily for commuting to work and school, freight traffic and also serves as an economic link to the western corridor of the province.

Vadi also noted that the N14 links Lanseria Airport, the Cradle of Humankind and the North West province and that it would play an important role in kick-starting the development of a new city around Lanseria airport in the future.

Vadi said that Phase 2 of the N14 upgrade would be launched in 2017.






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