A PARTNER WITH PURPOSE

Founded in KwaZulu-Natal 20 years ago, AB Projects is a BBBEE Level 1 engineering, consulting, construction and project management firm that has refined its multidisciplinary expertise across the breadth of South Africa.

Established in 2003 by director and founder Mr Pradeep Ramlall, AB Projects is home to a team that boasts over 60 years of collective experience in developing municipal turnaround strategies and municipal engineering solutions to enhance service delivery.

Providing municipal engineering services to local government in both the professional consulting and construction spaces, AB Projects’ expertise lies in formulating and implementing turnaround strategies to address service delivery backlogs, infrastructure development as well as municipal revenue enhancement, and to ensure the delivery of sustainable basic services that are environmentally acceptable and affordable.

Over the last 20 years, the company has continually adapted in response to the challenges that face humanity both locally and abroad, with its most recent key focus areas being:

• water and wastewater treatment and engineering

• non-revenue water (NRW)

• municipal revenue enhancement

• operation and maintenance (O&M)

• infrastructure asset management. Furthermore, through its professional affiliations with the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) and Consulting Engineers South Africa (CESA) – combined with 7CE/PE and 7ME/PE cidb gradings –AB Projects is able to offer comprehensive turnkey solutions.

Project successes

The high level of competence inherent in the work AB Projects delivers is well illustrated in the vast number of projects it has successfully completed. Below are just a few such examples executed within the firm’s home province of KwaZulu-Natal.

O&M of Water & Wastewater

Infrastructure for uMzinyathi District Municipality: AB Projects was appointed on a 36-month contract that included the O&M of all water and sanitation infrastructure for the entire uMzinyathi District, including treatment plants, pump stations, bulk and reticulation mains, as well as reservoirs. This further entailed the supply of all operational staff, vehicles, fuel and treatment chemicals. Nquthu Sanitation Programme: This project addressed the basic sanitation services backlog in the Nquthu Municipal Area through sourcing funding, the preparation of a sanitation master plan, and the construction of over 14 000 ventilation improved pit (VIP) latrines to ensure residents’ access to safer and more dignified sanitation.

Umzinyathi Drought Relief Programme: During the 2015 KwaZulu-Natal drought, AB Projects successfully managed a drought relief programme for uMzinyathi District Municipality alongside the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) as part of the Drought System Joint Operating Committee. Work included augmenting water supply through groundwater interventions such as borehole drilling and testing, pressure management initiatives, leak detection and repairs within households to reduce water loss, repairs and maintenance to bulk pipelines, as well as the management and coordination of water tankers in waterdeprived areas.

Umgeni Water NRW and WC/WDM Support Programme for FY 2019/20: AB Projects provided technical support to KZN’s 14 Water Services Authorities (WSAs) to ensure their compliance with the DWS’s regulatory requirements of providing water balance and water-saving reports to its regional and national offices. The scope of works entailed reviewing and updating each WSA’s monthly water balance, developing revenue improvement strategies, determining the true cost of water, DWS reporting assistance in terms of water balances, mentoring the WSAs on water conservation and demand management

(WC/WDM), providing programme support, as well as preparing NRW business plans.

Ongoing work

Not a company to rest on its laurels and bask solely in its past successes, AB Projects has an impressive order book and is currently engaged in a number of large-scale projects across South Africa. These works are set to impact the lives of thousands, while improving municipal revenues and service delivery within the water and sanitation space.

Process Design of a 250 Mℓ Upgrade to Waterval Wastewater Care Works:

AB Projects is working on the feasibility study and preliminary process design for an additional 250 Mℓ wastewater works for the City of Ekurhuleni and ERWAT. The feasibility study will evaluate seven separate wastewater treatment technologies and select the most optimal process for the upgrade.

Sihlanzimvelo Stream Cleaning Programme: This intervention for eThekwini Muncipality has AB Projects managing the

Working with eThekwini Metro

AB Projects and eThekwini have over time collectively built a successful relationship, which continues to progress along a positive trajectory. The firm has completed and is actively involved in many projects alongside the Metro’s Water and Sanitation as well as Roads and Stormwater Maintenance directorates. AB Projects is proud of the role it is able to play in assisting eThekwini Municipality to bring services to the people of KwaZulu-Natal.

cyclic cleaning of approximately 7 400 km of rivers, streams and canals within the Metro. Regular maintenance is performed to reduce the amount of pollutants – both chemical and biological – from washing further downstream. The streams also undergo water quality testing to identify key indictors, such as E. coli, phosphates, nitrates and oxygen levels.

Pre-feasibility Study for Proposed Tugela River Abstraction Works: AB Projects is contracted by Mhlathuze Water to conduct a pre-feasibility study to abstract raw water from the Tugela River (130 Mℓ/day) and distribute it via a pipeline to industrial and domestic customers. The project entails hydrological assessment, environmental screening and an interbasin transfer study.

Mpophomeni War on Leaks: Pilot Programme: This NRW reduction pilot programme for Umgeni Water aims to reduce water losses through the implementation of leak detection and repairs, including domestic leaks for 6 500 households, monitoring night flows, door-to-door audits and community awareness campaigns. It also provides the additional benefit of local employment and skills transfer to emerging contractors.

Smart Meter Replacement for Mafube

Local Municipality: The goal of this project is the reduction of NRW by enhancing municipal revenue through the installation/ replacement of smart prepaid water meters. To date, AB Projects has installed approximately 1 700 smart prepaid meters. The full benefit of the system is important in that water resources and infrastructure could be extended to supply water to the unserved population and defer the onset of a capital-intensive infrastructure programme by simply improving revenue collection.

Service Delivery and Budget

Implementation Plan (SDBIP)

Development: AB Projects is assisting the

DWS in developing the five-year SDBIP to deliver reliable water and sanitation services for four WSAs in KZN (Uthukela, King Cetshwayo, Zululand and Ilembe).

Wastewater Treatment Works

Refurbishment: In Ballito, AB Projects is currently involved in repairing and desludging the maturation ponds at Siza Water’s Frasers WWTW, as well as refurbishing the E-Pond Pump Station.

Invested in the future

Despite the recent and ongoing challenges facing South Africa, and KwaZulu-Natal in particular, AB Projects is positive about the future, both in terms of its robust project pipeline and the actions of national and local government to improve the lives of ordinary citizens.

Duran Kishore of AB Projects notes, “Even though we are currently in a recession period, we have faith that the civil space will continue to improve, especially concerning eThekwini Metro, through tackling key service delivery issues caused by the recent flooding and protest actions.”

Examples of this positivity are illustrated through the Riet River Sewer Reticulation Project, where eThekwini Municipality has appointed AB Projects to construct waterborne sewerage infrastructure for residents that were unserved for many years, while AB Projects and eThekwini are also making progress in preventing further watercourse pollution through the Sihlanzimvelo Programme.

“These types of projects promote economic transformation, environmental sustainability and service delivery. Through such positive interventions, eThekwini is well on its way to becoming Africa’s most caring and liveable city by 2030,” Kishore concludes.

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