IMIESA November 2015 by 3S Media

www.infrastructurene.ws

IMESA The official magazine of the Institute of Municipal Engineering of Southern Africa infrastructure development • Maintenance • service delivery

INDUSTRY

INSIGHT

Kibiti Ntshumaelo MD, Lekwa Consulting Engineers

Building sustainable neighbourhoods

Municipal Focus

eThekwini Metro Leading sustainability

Partnering with Local Government Boosting economic growth through public infrastructure

RITZ Pumps

South Africa Unleashing SA’s energy potential

African Cities

Ready to meet Africa’s infrastructure needs ISSN 0257 1978

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Contents

volume 40 no. 11 novemBER/december 2015

Energy is an inherent by-product of the gravitational force that drives the flow of water in our national pipelines. RITZ Pumps South Africa has the know-how and technology to utilise pumps as turbines, converting a latent resource into urgently needed electricity. MD Chris Munnick explains the particular advantages of a South African roll-out. P6

technical paper Rural roads

Cover Story

SHEQ

Ritz Pumps South Africa – Unleashing SA’s energy potential 6

Working at heights

Municipal Feature

Cement & Concrete

Unlocking infrastructure

Partners in Infrastructure Introduction

Industry Insight: Lekwa Consulting Engineers: Building sustainable neighbourhoods

77 catalytic projects

Panel discussion

African Cities

Substance abuse policy essentials 81 Preserving the PE promenade

Watertight at Driefontein

A cut above

Construction Vehicles, Equipment & Logistics All-new concrete machines

Dynamic duo

Towering over the construction industry

Meeting Africa's infrastructure needs 55 Responsible urban development

Infrastructure Funding Off-balance-sheet funding

INDUSTRY

INSIGHT Lekwa Consulting Engineers Building homes, empowering a nation. P20

Leading Projects 2015 Outstanding civil engineering achievements

Celebrating the industry's beauty

Roads Construction Solving unpaved roads

Water & Wastewater

Regulars 3

Resilient water management

President’s comment

Markman sewer project

Africa round-up

Public Lighting

Lighting the way

Editor’s comment

Index to advertisers

municipal feature eThekwini

leading projects Outstanding civil engineering achievements

african cities Responsible urban development

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Editor’s comment Publisher Elizabeth Shorten editor & ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Nicholas McDiarmid SENIOR Journalist Beatrix Knopjes Journalists Liesl Frankson, Frances Ringwood Head OF DESIGN Beren Bauermeister DESIGN consultant Frédérick Danton Chief SUB-EDITOR Tristan Snijders SUB-EDITOR Morgan Carter ContributorS Dawid Bosman, Duncan Daries, Kevin Odendaal CLIENT SERVICES & Production MANAGEr Antois-Leigh Botma Production coordinator Jacqueline Modise financial manager Andrew Lobban MARKETING & DIGITAL MANAGER Esther Le Roux MARKETING SPECIALIST Philip Rosenberg Administration Tonya Hebenton DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Nomsa Masina Distribution coordinator Asha Pursotham SUBSCRIPTIONS subs@3smedia.co.za Printers United Litho Johannesburg +27 (0)11 402 0571 ___________________________________________________

Adapt and survive create and thrive

s numerous and divergent as the professions, industries, and organisations that comprise public infrastructure might be, there is a new vision of a self-empowered sector that is common to all, as revealed during IMESA’s annual conference this last October. The Institute of Municipal Engineering of Southern Africa represents a convergence of all public infrastructure stakeholders, and was early to show signs of this new attitude when it took control of asset management at municipal level by rolling out the IIMS asset register and management tool and its asset management training courses, all of which are under increasing demand. One cannot estimate the financial and social value this represents nationally at the level of the assets alone; surely the actual value lies in the determination to forge ahead at a time when so many South African’s were giving in to the despair of powerlessness. IMESA’s 79th conference took place in Cape Town at the Grand West Hotel, where the high number of delegates and exhibitors was the first sign that the institute’s decision to organise and manage itself, rather than outsourcing, was a good one. Indeed, congratulations to the whole team from head office, and the local organising committee from the Western Cape Branch, for the extremely well planned and executed conference, exhibition, five technical tours, and gala evening.

Advertising Sales Jenny Miller Tel: +27 (0)11 467 6223 Email: jennymiller@lantic.net ___________________________________________________

Publisher: media No. 9, 3rd Avenue, Rivonia 2056 PO Box 92026, Norwood 2117 Tel: +27 (0)11 233 2600 Fax: +27 (0)11 234 7274/5 Email: nicholas@3smedia.co.za www.3smedia.co.za Annual subscription: R550.00 (INCL VAT) ISSN 0257 1978 IMIESA, Inst.MUNIC. ENG. S. AFR. © Copyright 2015. All rights reserved. ___________________________________________________

Falling silos Although the existence of silos is common to all sectors, and they play an important structural role, their negative characteristics are legion and require the tools of communication and cooperation to manage, as the growing challenges of this sector have proven all too well. Given the central role of municipalities and the infrastructure and services they provide, providing the tools to bridge these silos is a priority matter. It was perhaps symbolic, then, that the natural silos of the exhibition and conference halls seemed to be lower this year, as the suppliers to the sector and its engineers focused on finding practical and innovative solutions to the things they can control, with a conspicuous lack of attention to the politics and political personalities that have so dominated South African life for the last five years. Manufacturers are finding ways to be service providers rather than just suppliers; municipal engineers are seeking to become better leaders and supporters of the communities they work in, as well as the technical experts behind its infrastructure. The papers presented and the conversations and marketing messages of the exhibitors were extremely complimentary, and it’s important to remember that this was a natural, unplanned development.

IMESA CONTACTS HEAD OFFICE: Manager: King Singh P.O. Box 2190, Westville, 3630 Tel: +27 (0)31 266 3263 Fax: +27 (0)31 266 5094 Email: admin@imesa.org.za Website: www.imesa.org.za BORDER Secretary: Celeste Vosloo Tel: +27 (0)43 705 2433 Fax: +27 (0)43 743 5266 Email: celestev@buffalocity.gov.za EASTERN CAPE Secretary: Susan Canestra Tel: +27 (0)41 585 4142 ext. 7 Fax: +27 (0)41 585 1066 Email: imesa.easterncape@gmail.com KWAZULU-NATAL Secretary: Penny Pietersen Tel: +27 (0)31 266 3263 Fax: +27 (0)31 266 5094 Email: imesakzn@imesa.org.za

Looking forward, not upward While there are a number of developments in the public sector – from national departments, agencies, and municipal entities – that are playing significant roles in the progress that is finally being realised in more and better projects, the time for that is next year, and will be profiled in detail in our January edition. Perhaps, as citizens and as professionals, after years of struggling with the realities of working out our roles in a new democracy, we have realised that focusing on the problems at the top is less important than understanding what we, ourselves, can do. So, best wishes from the team and I, and here’s to a wonderful season of rest and enjoyment.

NORTHERN PROVINCE Secretary: Rona Fourie Tel: +27 (0)82 742 6364 Fax: +27 (0)86 634 5644 Email: imesanorth@vodamail.co.za SOUTHERN CAPE KAROO Secretary: Henrietta Olivier Tel: +27 (0)79 390 7536 Fax: +27 (0)86 629 7490 Email: imesa.southcape@gmail.com WESTERN CAPE Secretary: Erica Albertse Tel: +27 (0)21 444 7114 Fax: +27 (0)21 444 9470 Email: Erica.albertse@capetown.gov.za

Nicholas McDiarmid

FREE STATE & NORTHERN CAPE Secretary: Wilma Van Der Walt Tel: +27 (0)83 457 4362 Fax: +27 (0)86 628 0468 Email: imesa.fsnc@gmail.com

To our avid readers, check out what we are talking about on our website, Facebook page or follow us on Twitter and have your say.

All material herein IMIESA is copyright protected and may not be reproduced either in whole or in part without the prior written permission of the publisher. The views of contributors do not necessarily reflect those of the Institute of Municipal Engineering of Southern Africa or the publishers.

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BMK Engineering Consultants

ROB industry Cementing innovation

IMESA Host City City of Cape Town – Know your city

ECSA

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Steve Tshwete Local Municipality

Bridging the delivery gap

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Municipal Focus

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s), we are s and turbine facilities, es (pump water supply Africa lic machin stations, of hydrau Pumps South supplier d for power an: RITZ 50.00 “As a leading technology neede 5 • R e Chairm er 201 eptemb in the Seth Phalats o.9 • S proficient e 40 N mills.” Molefe Vo l u m 978 and paper

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Cover opportunity In each issue, IMIESA offers advertisers the opportunity to get to the front of the line by placing a company, product or service on the front cover of the journal. Buying this position will afford the advertiser the cover story and maximum exposure. For more information on cover bookings contact Jenny Miller on tel: +27 (0)11 467 6223.

A bold and innovative approach

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IMIESA November/December 2015

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TADANO

President’s comment

any initiatives are, thus, being pursued in an effort to recycle and reuse material. Cities such as Cape Town, for example, have adopted the approach/ strategy of waste minimisation policies as part of the essential regulatory framework for reaching these goals. Initial efforts were directed towards the domestic refuse stream, where the creation of markets for recycled paper, cardboard, plastic, and glass is gaining momentum. The separation of these items at source, though, is a critical factor in the way this waste stream is currently managed.

IMESA

cdw

Construction and demolition waste

From a purely environmentally and economically sustainable perspective, our South African cities are under immense pressure to reduce their solid waste stream and manage their landfill footprint and airspace.

Those of us in South Africa can learn from the Netherlands’ experience. The development of South African specifications, as well as national standards or guidelines with respect to the Reducing rubble production and construction to landfill process, is essential. This The next big push is to reduce will provide peace of mind the amount to road builders (Specifically the Netherlands) of builder’s and infrastructure/ rubble endasset managers What it needs of basic materials used Overall Overall ing up on the alike. The developfor construction and consumer to increase to over the recycling of CDW recycling of CDW in landfill site. To ment of specificagoods come from recycling in Europe the Netherlands next 15 years this end, our tions is likely to (Sourced from Prof Martin van den Ven of Delft University of Technology) solid waste take far longer The reasons for the colleagues took the initiavolume, can be used than the formulation of high recycling level in tive to offer tenders to crush very well in sub-base and national guidelines. the Netherlands: builder’s rubble on the base courses. Most of all, the benefits in • no natural source landfill sites to produce subadopting the approach transCement treatment of materials base and base-quality road late into a sustainable future enhances application • no space for dumping building material. and increased service delivery, Some combinations of • environmental issues. The problem, though, was because of the possible lower CDW can have superior • government actively supports that their roads colleagues cost and decreased energy properties to the crushed recycling with legislation, did not accept this product as consumption in the producnatural material. development of techniques, equivalent to what was specition and construction process The industry responsible specifications, and test fied in the current tenders inherent in using CDW in the for CDW production must methods, etc. that were active in the city. road building environment. be well organised such as • contractors understand that Also cited by the roads engiIMESA’s role the BRBS in the Netherland, there is a market and invest neers were the process conIMESA recognises that its which consists of 70 recycling in recycling infrastructure. trol, variable material, lack of members are being chalcompanies. This organisa• since 1990, CDW has been separation, and contamination lenged to accept the current tion is then affiliated to FIR part of the Dutch standard. (wood, plastic, tiles, etc.). crushed rubble as adequate (Federation International With the assistance of General observations road pavement material. de Recyclage). Kirsten Barnes, a waste with respect to the use Hopefully, this comment will CDW should be available in economy analyst representing of CDW sensitise affected parties to large quantities, continuously, GreenCape (a special-purpose • In the Netherlands, 10 understand that there is a long and at a consistent quality. vehicle established to unlock times more CDW is road ahead before South Africa CDW must be reused in the green economy potenused than RAP (recycled reaches the stage at which large quantities and the protial of the Western Cape), asphalt pavements). the Netherlands finds itself cess needs to be as simple engagements between solid • 30 million tonnes of CDW with respect to the general as possible to keep cost at waste and roads practitionis produced. use of CDW. a low level. ers, including academia,

15%

contractors, consultants, and clients have been taking place. Through this engagement, the need to follow best practice, with respect to CDW and recycling in general, was identified as being crucial – as learned from the Netherlands, a recognised leader in this sphere.

recycling in Europe 30%

• CDW is not waste but a valuable material, when properly treated. • Selective demolition is essential. • Concrete and masonry must be crushed separately. • Mixtures of crushed masonry and crushed concrete, 50/50 by

90%

IMIESA November/December 2015

cover story

ritz pumps

Unleashing SA’s

energy potential

Energy is an of pumps as turbines because there is inherent by-product existing water distribution infrastructure. However, the potential impact of the gravitational force of pumps as turbines, in South that drives the flow of water Africa specifically and Southern in our national pipelines. RITZ Africa as a whole, is counPumps South Africa has the knowtered by a lack of understandhow and technology to utilise pumps ing of how effective these pumps are. as turbines, converting a latent RITZ has international experresource into urgently needed tise coupled with local knowlelectricity. MD Chris Munnick edge. Munnick firmly believes that educating South Africans on explains the particular alternative sources of power supply, advantages of a South on both a macro and micro scale, are African roll-out. essential because excessive reliance on

ITZ Pumps SA has enabled several core South African sectors to reap the benefits of German parent company Andritz Group’s expertise, since RITZ Pumps SA's inception in 2006. The role and function of pumps across all sectors – public and private – is of core significance to the socio-economic wellbeing of all societies. South Africa’s particular environmental, social, and economic conditions combine to amplify this significance, and an argument for regarding pumps as a strategic national asset is not far from reach. A significant number of South African mines, power stations, pump stations, and industrial and milling operations are already benefiting from the mechanical, operational, and functional qualities that have earned Andritz Group its international reputation. Andritz Group’s obsession with optimal performance is evident in the mechanical design and smart technologies that facilitate the effective operations and maintenance of their highly efficient and wear-resistant pumps.

Sustainable solutions “RITZ Pumps SA offers a highly specialised solution that creatively deals with one of the most pertinent challenges in South Africa – energy supply – promoting growth and sustainability,” explains Chris Munnick, managing director, RITZ Pumps South Africa. Sustainable growth hinges on a reliable energy supply. Energy-distressed South Africa is suited to a mass roll-out

IMIESA November/December 2015

a single source leaves the entire system vulnerable if the source fails. There are many possible ways to diversify energy generation; one ingenious source is conduit hydropower.

Conduit hydropower Munnick explains that using pumps as turbines is an ideal form of conduit hydropower: “You have all the basic principles of hydraulics on a pump. Then, in essence, if you take it and reverse the whole process so that the in is now out and the out is now in, it brings a whole

cover story

new dynamic to the process – the ability to generate power.” Conduit hydropower has long been considered unnecessary in developed countries, as the energy generated by the turbines would be offset by the power used in pumping. However, Munnick says, “In countries like South Africa, where energy generation is inconsistent and strained, it is vitally important to recover as much energy as possible.” RITZ supplies robust pumps that capture energy rather than dissipating it. By just using valves, the energy is uselessly dissipated to control the pressure in the pipes. With pumps as turbines, the pressure is relieved and the energy is converted into electricity, harnessing energy in unexpected places. These micro turbines, if used effectively, will go a long way to easing pressure on the grid. Pumps as turbines have the added benefit of reducing pressure in the water supply system, which is ordinarily the task of pressure-reducing valves. By replacing valves with small turbines and an electrical generator, a twofold benefit is accomplished. RITZ installed pumps as turbines for the City of Tshwane’s Annlin Reservoir. “Instead of using pressure-reducing stations to dissipate excess pressure in the city’s extensive water distribution network, turbines were installed. The dual benefit and environmental friendliness of the pumps mean that the city is contributing to solving the country’s energy crisis in an environmentally friendly way,” he explains.

system, and provide pump maintenance, after-sales service, as well as pre- and postsale training, ensuring a maximum return on investment. “The design of the pumps makes them suitable for a wide range of applications, such as potable water, wastewater, and industrial,” he explains. “Because the pumps have semi-open propellers to handle solids, they are able to handle all kinds of water, and we

pump and installing it. We start from a raw hydraulic and, from there, we put options on the table, taking into consideration the potential power we are able to generate,” explains Munnick. “At the end of the day, you need to have a pump that works for the client. It depends on the design and it is up to us to ensure that the client has a usable pump that produces a frequency and voltage that can use,” says Munnick. The full service offering of RITZ Pumps SA includes extensive training on operation and maintenance. Munnick explains, “The more abrasive the water, the more maintenance it will require. We prefer to do maintenance ourselves, because know our pumps the best.” The installation of the pumps themselves is not complicated, and this time is used as a training opportunity. “When we install the pumps, we train the local staff who will be operating them, so that they are familiar with the specifics of their particular pump.” Detailed maintenance manuals are also provided and smart technology for remote monitoring can be installed on request. Overcoming South Africa’s lack of technical understanding of pumps, in general, and pumps as turbines, in particular, is precisely what RITZ’s premises in Boksburg is set up to facilitate. RITZ offers training on basic hydraulic principles and Munnick invites interested parties to attend the company’s workshops. “This training is not specific to RITZ Pumps SA’s products; it is designed to be an education platform that will assist in the countr ywide roll-out of sustainable technologies that benefit ever yone,” says Munnick. The potential energy within South Africa’s pipelines is ready to be unlocked and, with customised solutions and peerless quality, RITZ Pumps SA is the ideal partner to assist utilities in doing so. “Pumps used as turbines are the way forward. The more efficiently we can harness energy, the more we, as a country, will grow,” concludes Munnick.

“We offer a highly specialised solution that creatively deals with one of the most pertinent challenges in South Africa – energy supply – promoting growth and sustainability.”

Fit-for-purpose systems Because RITZ Pumps SA has the expertise to design fit-for-purpose systems, integration with existing systems is streamlined. There are numerous ways to synchronise the pumps to the existing system. Munnick elaborates: “You can have fixedspeed or variable-speed turbines and each circumstance will present its own requirements to have variable hertz or variable voltages.” This is what sets RITZ apart from the competition, in that the company does not supply a ready-made, one-size-fits-all solution. With its local manufacturing capability, RITZ is able to consult with the public sector, design and manufacture a custom

design the pump according to the specific, on-site water conditions.”

Requirements “If there is a height variance of more than five metres, then we can start generating electricity. The existing pressure and type of flow will determine the type of pump we use, and our design will take into consideration the site and the needs of the client,” says Munnick. By harnessing the potential power generation inherent in water reticulation, clients save energy and costs. “The cost savings are proportional to the consistency with which the pumps are used. Simply put: the more you use them, the more you save,” he explains. RITZ Pumps SA will design the required system based on the quality of water onsite. Because each site has unique requirements, the systems are fully customisable and RITZ has the capability to manufacture, maintain, and service the pumps locally to minimise downtime. “We conduct intensive investigations to determine the best possible solution for the client; it is not simply a case of purchasing a

IMIESA offers advertisers an ideal platform to ensure maximum exposure of their brand. Companies are afforded the opportunity of publishing a two-page cover story and a cover picture to promote their products to an appropriate audience. Please call Jenny Miller on +27 (0)11 467 6223 to secure your booking.

www.ritzpumps.co.za

IMIESA November/December 2015

Africa round-up

INFRASTRUCTURE NEWS FROM AROUND THE CONTINENT africa China to cooperate with Africa on building infrastructure networks China recently said that it will work with Africa on the construction of three major infrastructure networks, namely high-speed railway, aviation, and road highways. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei made the remarks when commenting on a Chinese-built rail project in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Ethiopia recently inaugurated the Addis Ababa Light Rail Transit (AA-LRT) – a $475 million project constructed by China Railway Group. The electrified AA-LRT is the first light railway on the African continent, with two lines running a total of 34 km. “The AA-LRT project will transport about 60 000 passengers per day,” said Ethiopian Minister of Transport Workneh Gebeyehu. “The project has adopted Chinese standards and technology, and was built with financing support from China,” said Hong, adding that it was the first urban rail transit project built and operated by Chinese companies in Africa. “China, as a sincere friend and development partner of Africa, will continue to uphold principles of sincerity, real results, amity, and good faith in its cooperation with Africa, so as to achieve common development,” concluded Hong.

Angola EU reaffirms cooperation with Angola in infrastructure field The commitment of the European Union (EU) to continuing to cooperate with Angola in the field of infrastructures was

IMIESA November/December 2015

The electrified AA-LRT is the first light railway on the African continent, with two lines running a total of 34 km

reaffirmed recently in Lobito, Benguela, by its ambassador to the country, Gordon Kricke. The ambassador spoke to journalists on the sidelines of the visit of the European delegation to Lobito. He recognised the economic potential of Benguela province, with emphasis on the Lobito Corridor, which has an infrastructure of high quality and a container terminal of high technology. Kricke informed the media that the managers of EU members have conducted very important commercial exchanges (imports and exports) with the Angolan market in the areas of water and sanitation, sustainable agriculture, higher education, and vocational training. Ambassadors of the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Portugal, Belgium, and Romania are working in Benguela province.

Cameroon Chollet Dam hydropower project timeline adopted Cameroon’s Minister of Water Resources and Energy, Basile Atangana Kouna, and the Minister of Energy and Hydraulics of the Republic of Congo, Henri Ossebi,

have signed agreements to speed up the project to construct a hydroelectricity dam on the River Dja in southern Cameroon. “In January, we will review the feasibility of our project with the Bank of Central African States,” Ossebi revealed. He explained that this was to ensure that financial resources mobilised by both parties and lodged in an independent account could start funding the operations of the project, pending the drafting of pre-feasibility and feasibility studies that will allow for the development of a business plan from which funding partners could be identified. Cameroonian ministers have signed agreements to speed up the project to construct a hydroelectricity dam on the River Dja in the South Region of Cameroon

The technical studies will be ready in 18 months, beginning from January 2016, after which the project cost estimates will be evaluated before the start of work on the construction site in the next 16 to 18 months. The management of the project, however, holds that 2016/17 will see the end of pre-feasibility studies, 2017/18 the finalisation of feasility studies, and the beginning of construction work on the dam in 2018, once funding is available. The completion of construction is scheduled for 2022.

Ghana President prepares for $26 million Ho airport project Ghanian president John Dramani Mahama recently attended a ceremony for a $26 million airport in the Volta regional capital, Ho. The project, which is being fully funded by the Ghana Airport Company Limited, is expected to be completed in two years. It is being constructed on a 150 acre piece of land and is expected, among others, to have a runway with a dimension of 1 900 metres, boarding

Africa round-up

terminal capacity for 1 150 passengers, an automatic fire detection system, a VIP and VVIP lounge, an air traffic control tower, a baggage facility, as well as an adequate parking lodge. The president indicated that the Ho airport became necessary in view of the unique geographical location of the region and its tourism potential. The president assured that government is determined to complete the project on schedule, indicating that the Ho airport is part of a string of such projects earmarked for all regional capitals to open up the country for rapid socioeconomic growth.

Kenya President strikes multibillion investment deals with US firms Kenya has secured commitments amounting to billions of shillings from American companies to increase power production and finance infrastructure projects. Some of these projects have already been initiated. President Uhuru Kenyatta said the commitments were secured during a morning meeting with the American companies under the umbrella Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU). He said Africa was the continent in focus for investors, and Kenya must use its potential in

Ghanaian president John Dramani Mahama recently attended a ceremony for a $26 million dollar airport in the Volta regional capital, Ho

clean energy and infrastructure to grow its economy. One of the US companies committed to invest an estimated Sh400 billion ($4 billion) in Kenya for power generation. “One company, in particular, doubled its commitment to invest in solar power in Kenya over a period of time, developing up to about 2 000 megawatts of power at a cost of approximately $4 billion,” said Kenyatta. The BCIU is a group of companies that facilitates mutually beneficial, person-to-person relations between business and government leaders worldwide. They facilitate financial investment and advise governments on how to utilise their potential to spur economic development.

Namibia Government pushes ahead with plans for third seaport Namport recently advertised a tender for a feasibility study for the proposed multibillion dollar seaport in northern Namibia, with experts speculating that the envisaged port will most likely cost over N$10 billion. Namibia currently has two ports – one in Lüderitz and the other in Walvis Bay.

The advertisement calls for ‘bona fide tenderers’ to carry out a detailed feasibility study for a proposed new seaport along the Skeleton Coast, at either Cape Fria or Angra Fria. The service includes, but is not limited to, investigatory works such as onshore and offshore geotechnical studies. Namport’s port engineer, Elzevir Gelderbloem, says the feasibility study, which will be done on behalf of the Ministry of Works and Transport, would have to be completed within 24 months. Foreign firms are expected to dominate the arena both during the feasibility study and the actual construction of the port, if the project gets the green light, because of the limited expertise among local companies when it comes to megaprojects such as port construction.

Nigeria No capital projects in 2015 budget In its review of the performance of the 2015 budget, a House of Representatives ad hoc committee on the issue observed that no project in the year’s capital budget had been implemented as at the end of the third quarter. The chamber’s concern was raised by a report that over 11 000 projects across the country were abandoned due to the non-implementation of the capital component of the 2015 budget. According to the chairman of the ad hoc Namport recently advertised a tender for a feasibility study for the proposed multibillion-dollar seaport in northern Namibia. Namibia currently has two ports – one in Lüderitz and the other in Walvis Bay

committee, Aliyu Ahman Pategi, the situation is unacceptable to Nigerians and the Federal Ministry of Finance needs to explain. Pategi noted that, over the years, budget implementation has fallen to very low levels, resulting in upward spiralling unemployment, rising crime rates, breathtaking poverty, collapsed infrastructure, and poor social service delivery. Abandoned projects include roads, bridges, public houses, and other facilities.

Zimbabwe Government to receive $16.5 million from AfDB The African Development Bank (AfDB) has revealed that Zimbabwe is one of eight countries set to benefit from some $428 million in loans and grants extended by the continental financier. In a statement, AfDB said the money is targeted at projects in energy, infrastructure, transport, and water. Zimbabwe will receive $16.5 million to finance the second phase of the country’s urgent water supply and sanitation rehabilitation project to be implemented in Harare, Chitungwiza, Ruwa, and Redcliff. The project aims to protect public health through service improvement, preservation of physical assets, resuscitation of capacity, and improvement of the financial sustainability of the water and sanitation service providers. AfDB recently said Zimbabwe was losing about $1 billion annually through infrastructure deficiencies, adding that current expenditure on development was not enough to support the country’s economic recovery.

IMIESA November/December 2015

municipal feature | ethekwini

Unlocking eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality (EMM) is an impor tant expor t node, incorporating the Por t of Durban – strategically placed on major international shipping routes. The City of Durban is engaged in exciting landfill-gas-to-energy, bulk water, and public transpor t projects to stimulate the economy and create a sustainable and accessible environment.

IMIESA November/December 2015

municipal feature | ethekwini

The Port of Durban handles around 5 000 containers per day

infrastructure T

The Port of Durban he Port of Durban is the largest and busiest shipping terminal on the African continent. Transnet National Port Authority (TNPA) has identified projects worth R16.8 billion aimed at facilitating the growth of the local ship repair, ship building, and oil and gas sectors, with some of the projects expected to be operational by 2019. This forms part of the government’s Operation Phakisa programme, aimed at unlocking the countr y’s maritime economy. The Port of Durban will receive its first major refurbishment in its 90 year-old dr y dock histor y. The refurbishment forms part of TNPA’s R2.2 billion infrastructure repair programme at existing ship repair facilities in East London, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town, and Mossel Bay.

The Port of Durban is the largest and busiest shipping terminal on the African continent

IMIESA November/December 2015

municipal feature | ethekwini

Work will commence on its outer caisson – the watertight retaining structure – in the next four months. The 35 m long and 900 tonne outer caisson forms part of the entrance between the sea and the dr y dock. Durban-based engineering firm Channel Construction has been awarded the R30 million contract to repair the outer caisson. The scope will include demolition, waste disposal, structural repair, welding, and replacement of structural members and plates.

Landfill-gas-to-energy Bisasar Road is one of three landfill sites in eThekwini currently in operation, and is the largest landfill site in Africa. It was opened for business in 1980 and receives 3 000 to 5 000 tonnes of waste daily, on top of the 19 million cubic metres of waste already deposited in the landfill. Durban Solid Waste (DSW) is the municipal agency responsible for the management and operation of multiple landfills in the Durban metropolitan area, including the Bisasar Road landfill, and has commissioned the development of a landfill gas-to-energy project at the Bisasar Road landfill. According to the SA Cities Network’s paper entitled ‘A Case for Municipal Solid top Bisasar Road landfill-gas-to-energy Waste Management’, the project BELOW A section of contributes to the green economy the Western Aqueduct in two ways: under construction

Bisasar Road is one of three landfill sites in eThekwini currently in operation, and is the largest landfill site in Africa

Methane destruction: The project captures and destroys the methane (CH 4) released by the microbial activity within the landfill and, thus, prevents the emission of the potent greenhouse gas (GHG) into the atmosphere, which contributes to climate change. Renewable electricity generation: The methane is destroyed when converted into fuel, which is combusted in a set of gas

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IMIESA November/December 2015

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water treatment wastewater treatment solid waste disposal bulk services license and registration of water and wastewater plants permit applications for solid waste disposal sites water services development plans and water safety plans housing development township and the associated civil services development structural design of general steel and concrete structures water retaining structures flood line analysis environmental impact assessments networking with various specialists networking with various government departments

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municipal feature | ethekwini

engines. The energy generated by these engines is converted into electricity and exported to the eThekwini power grid. To capture methane, wells were drilled into the landfill. The wells are connected by pipes to a central collection point, where the gas is fed into a spark ignition engine that drives a generator linked to the Durban municipal grid. The project claims two benefits – it prevents the release of methane, which is a GHG that is 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide, and it generates electricity. The project will provide fuel for the production of 10 MV of electricity. The gas is captured by sinking wells, up to 40 m deep in the landfill waste sites, and through interconnecting pipes linked to an underground main gas collector. The gas is extracted via a roots blower system, which maintains a partial vacuum in the pipes, resulting in the gas being sucked out of the landfill.

A 3D rendering of what the Go! Durban stations will look like on completion

The first phase of the Western Aqueduct measures 20 km and stretches from the Umlaas Road Reservoir to Inchanga

Western Aqueduct The 14 km stretch of water pipeline extending from Inchanga Station to Alverstone Reservoir and then on to Ashley Drive in Kloof was completed earlier this year. Head of eThekwini Water and Sanitation (EWS) Ednick Msweli said, in a release issued by the city, “This important milestone indicates that the city’s biggest ever bulk water pipeline project is on target for completion in 2017. “The completed segment of pipeline, which took a total of 24 months to put in place, comprises the first two contracts of the R1.8 billion Western Aqueduct Phase 2.” The first phase of the Western Aqueduct, which measures 20 km and stretches from the Umlaas Road Reser voir to Inchanga, was commissioned at the end of 2012. Project manager Martin

IMIESA November/December 2015

Bright said, in the release, that pressure testing of the pipeline, which extends 7 km from Inchanga Station to Alverstone Reser voir, was under way. He added that many residents in the Bothas Hill area, particularly those living at the bottom of the valley near the Inanda Dam, who had been under constant water supply pressure, would enjoy

municipal feature | ethekwini

a more consistent supply of water as soon as the pipeline was fully operational. The second contract between Alverstone Reser voir and Ashley Drive in Kloof, which was completed by WK Construction, has been successfully tested and is also due to be handed over.

The Go! Durban BRT system. Construction of Go!Durban is well under way – with the first phase involving the development of the C3 corridor, from Bridge City in KwaMashu to the Pinetown city centre. The first corridor, or trunk route, is expected to be operational in 2016. Construction has started on the dedicated public transport lanes on the MR577, a provincial road, which links KwaMashu to Pinetown. Construction has also started on Josiah Gumede Road (Old Main Road) in Pinetown. This trunk route will accommodate 18 transfer stations and 24 km of dedicated lanes. According to a release issued by the City of Durban, the project is not only an introduction of buses, but also involves planning, restructuring, and integrating various modes of public transport, including minibuses, buses and rail, all working together in an integrated network. Various modes of transport will be utilised in routes where they are best suited. For example, minibus and midibus taxis will provide contracted feeder services to bus and rail routes. The new public transport network will be linked by integrated infrastructure, which are dedicated rights of way, stations and stops, as well as integrated ticketing system such as the Muvo Card, whereby passengers will pay a fare across the various modes of public transport. This will ensure a seamless transfer from one mode to another for passenger convenience. Another crucial aspect of this project is that there will be empowerment opportunities for all existing legal minibus and small bus operators. They will be given a chance to form companies with which the city will negotiate 12-year subsidised ser vice contracts for the operation of the ser vices in the various routes and corridors. Seventy-one articulated buses will have right of way directly along the corridor, ensuring that passengers have an efficient commute, free of congestion and delays. There is a terminal at Bridge City in KwaMashu and the buses will turn at Lahee Park in Pinetown to return to KwaMashu. The massive project follows sur veys done by the municipality to determine travel patterns across the city.

The new public transport network will be linked by integrated infrastructure, which are dedicated rights of ways, stations and stops, as well as integrated ticketing system

IMIESA November/December 2015

Partners in infrastructure

Consulting Engineers | Finance | Civil Engineering Contractors

Department of Human Settlements 77 Catalytic Projects 22 Panel Discussion Creating opportunities for growth

INDUSTRY

INSIGHT

Lekwa Consulting Engineers Building homes, empowering aÂ nation. P20

Partners in Infrastructure | intro

Growth beyond the profit line

he pressing need to harness the power of public infrastructure to boost economic growth and achieve national development goals is a priority at all levels of government. With 77% of the projected R813 billion to be spent on infrastructure – over the next three years – earmarked for roads, water and sanitation, and energy, government has called on the private sector to become a strategic partner in getting the most value out of ever y rand spent. Minister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe, in his ver y honest appraisal of government’s role in the suboptimal pace of project deliver y, made an equally strong case for the private sector to have high expectations from the coordinated strategy involving state-owned entities, agencies, public works, human settlements, and

municipal coordinating bodies geared to fix the broken links. Radebe made a clear and solid commitment regarding payment lags and, by his account, they should be a thing of the past. National Treasur y has been working hard on fixing the supply chain management systems and, ultimately, a national standard is in the making. Dedicated funding vehicles are also getting funds to projects with more efficiency, and examples from the DBSA using its specialised skills and mandate is enabling bridge funding from the various municipal grants to speed up deliver y. The pace at which these interventions realise results is a legitimate cause for concern but, as our lead feature in this division attests to, actual earth is being broken across a variety of high-impact special projects. Radebe’s counterpoint to all this concerned the private sector. There can be

no doubt that previous efforts at empowerment – especially on the contractor side – have been largely ineffective, and reductive in suggesting a lesser role for larger, established companies. Radebe was unequivocal in stating that government realised the essential need for larger companies to be included, both for the results required by the country, as well as for ensuring the reservoir of skills and infrastructure they contain to be put to supporting emerging contractors. This is where the private meets the public, and the public the private. Companies that actively bridge the skills and knowledge gap, and find innovative ways of transferring the value of their experience and infrastructure to the broader communities in which they work, are shining examples of what is being called for. This is about learning and creating opportunities for growth beyond the profit line. IMIESA November/December 2015

partners in infrastructure | INDUSTRY INSIGHT

Lekwa Consulting Engineers What are Lekwa Consulting Engineers’ areas of expertise within civil engineering consulting? KN Lekwa Consulting Engineers is a fully fledged civil engineering consultancy firm, in existence since 2002. Our focus is on municipal infrastructure, which includes roads, stormwater, water, wastewater, and external bulk water systems. We design wastewater treatment facilities and potable water treatment facilities, as well as solid waste management systems. Our work in the human settlements arena is our forte because it requires a

multidisciplinary approach encompassing all of these activities. We are leading consultants within the built environment, heading a team of specialist professionals, so we’re able to undertake projects from cradle to grave, from prefeasibility right up to commissioning and later into maintenance.

How are you working with the Department of Human Settlements to achieve its objective of building 1.5 million houses over the next five years? Minister of Human Settlements Lindiwe Sisulu has launched the so-

called 77 Catalytic Projects. These are mega projects that are redefining human settlement delivery. For it to work, we need industrial sites, shopping centres, schools, and public amenities. Lekwa Consulting Engineers is involved in projects in the Mega City nodes such as the Nellmapius Ext. 22 and in Boiketlong, in Sebokeng extensions 30, 31, and 32. These projects are going to yield a significant number of units, which will reduce the housing backlog drastically while improving on the regional economy. These projects incorporate mixed-use development, which consists of free-standing houses, rental units, intermodal

transport and retail opportunities, and industrial development. The projects are located at key nodes where there are railway stations. We will be linking them with public transport systems so that people who still work in the cities will be able to commute easily.

Lekwa Consulting Engineers’ intrinsic values lie in community development and upliftment. How are these being realised? We are simultaneously developing solutions for communities and our clients. We ensure that the systems we design and roll out are for the benefit for the community. In terms of our corporate social investment (CSI), we do a fair amount of pro-bono work. In some cases, we sponsor the construction of houses for people who would not necessarily qualify for houses. In Orange Farm, in 2013, we built a home for an old lady who didn’t qualify for a house. The HSS system showed that she had

Building sustainable neighbourhoods

Human settlements require multidisciplinary expertise to fully realise the goals of Outcome 8 of the NDP. Kibiti Ntshumaelo, of Lekwa Consulting Engineers, discusses how partnering with the public and private sector – to coordinate the building of inclusive, sustainable human settlements – positively encourages local and national prosperity, driving the economy through infrastructure investment. 20

IMIESA November/December 2015

partners in infrastructure | INDUSTRY INSIGHT About Lekwa

Established in 2002, Lekwa Consulting Engineers is a small civil engineering consultancy making big waves in human settlements development. Its dynamic approach is based on finding synergies with public and private sector stakeholders, and partnering with communities. Through this partnership approach, Lekwa is proving to be instrumental in unlocking skills development and job creation in South Africa, in support of government’s economic initiatives.

already received a house – she received a stand but the house was never built; so we built a house for her from scratch. This year, in Nellmapius, Mamelodi, we sponsored nine houses with geysers. We have been honoured to receive some merit awards. At the Govan Mbeki Awards, we received an award for Best Community Builder for our participation in the CSI 16-day campaign. We get retail and manufacturers to donate furni-

Once a house has been built and allocated, you have effectively taken a person from an informal settlement, given them a new house and, although they have to register as indigent, you’re putting them in a system where they are expected to pay for rates, taxes, water, and lights. The solution to this is to bring job opportunities to where the people are. We are no longer just developing a residential area; we are creating sustainable cities. You cannot give an indigent person a home and not provide employment opportunities at the same time. These development areas cannot occur in isolation from each other. Government has a role in ensuring that economic activities are increased through infrastrucKibiti Ntshumaelo, ture investments closer to MD, Lekwa Consulting Engineers where people reside. we partner with external private companies in order to be able to achieve optimal project rollout. We collaborate with small companies or consultants and assist them with enterprise development. We have one emerging consulting firm, Likhanyile Consulting, that we have taken under our wing. Wherever possible, i.e. for services such as IT and health and safety and in choosing our suppliers, we give opportunities to emerging enterprises. Our preferential procure-

“We are leading consultants within the built environment, heading a team of specialist professionals, so we’re able to undertake projects from cradle to grave.” ture as well. We’ve sponsored a football team in Newcastle and have built a community centre. We do these things because it’s the right thing to do; we work in communities that are destitute. We are committed to the work because we understand there is a national objective out there, and we understand our role in helping to achieve that.

How does Lekwa Consulting Engineers partner with the private and public sector? We collaborate with our partners in the private sector. Where we don’t have internal skill base,

ment policy is in line with the aspirations of BBBEE in terms of enterprise development and mentorship programmes. We predominantly work with municipalities, provincial departments, and national government. There are differing skills levels from department to department so, wherever possible, we will go beyond the call of duty to bridge that gap through skills development and secondary programmes.

What are the challenges associated with building human settlements and what impact do these have on the community?

How important is community involvement in human settlements projects? If you do not involve the community from the planning stage of the project, by the time you implement the project, you will find that they don’t understand that what you are providing is an asset. To not include the community in your partnership is to risk having valuable assets vandalised through protest action. We emphasise the importance of skills transfer, and the appointment of local labour and subcontactors. In this way, SMMEs in those communities can also prosper.

above from far left Nellmapius house for veterans; Ezakheni bridge, Ladysmith; Manhole building; Ithole Primary toilets; stormwater pipe installation

What are some of the less obvious benefits of human settlements development? Ideally, we like to see community retained earnings of 30% per projects or housing opportunity. This may be in the form of direct jobs created, purchase of materials, or utilising local suppliers or services. The change that building human settlements brings to a community is remarkable. For example, if we construct a road and stormwater system, where there was none, you will find an improvement in the quality of life. There’s no dust, the road is surfaced, and kids can walk to school, keeping their shoes clean. The positive economic impact also sees local businesses thriving because stock deliveries are easier on better roads. A project we are busy with in the Vaal has already benefited local taxi operators and passengers. The previous gravel roads demanded high levels of vehicle maintenance, which drove up taxi fares. With the new, surfaced roads, maintenance costs have dropped, driving down fares as well.

www.lekwaconsulting.co.za

IMIESA November/December 2015

Partners in Infrastructure | HUMAN SETTLEMENTS

77 catalytic projects Partnerships • Coordination • Mobilisation • Participation

and responsibilities. The megaprojects will Urgency in both be a mix of different integrated settlethe public and private ments and will include healthcare, educational, police services, and sectors is finally transforming social developments. concepts into action, delivering These catalytic projects will be launched across the country, concrete evidence of the NDP’s which will allow the departvision. The Department of Human ment to achieve its target of building 1.5 million houses Settlements (DHS) has one of over the next five years. The government’s most integrated budget will be ring-fenced and channelled through the Housing delivery models, and IMIESA Development Agency (HDA), continues to track its which will manage the 77 projects. The DHS will introduce a re-engisubstantial progress.

n 3 September 2015, Minister of Human Settlements Lindiwe Sisulu hosted the Human Settlements Developers and Contractors Workshop in Kempton Park. On 15 July 2014, the minister announced her 100-day programme (15 July 2014 to 13 October 2014), which included a commitment by the DHS to “identify and implement 50 national priority catalytic projects using different tenure options to deliver mega,

By beatrix Knopjes

high–impact, integrated, and sustainable human settlements that clearly demonstrate spatial, social, and economic integration”. The purpose of this workshop was to build partnerships with the private sector for accelerated human settlements delivery. It acted as a follow-up engagement with developers and contractors after a 2014 Human Settlements Indaba, which culminated into the Social Contract for the Development of Sustainable Human Settlements.

Catalytic projects The DHS has pledged land and funding for 77 catalytic projects. These are specific

IMIESA November/December 2015

above Representatives from consulting engineering firms

interventions to fast-track housing delivery and change special inequality. Each of these projects will require a memorandum of understanding that has very strict adherence principles, time frames, work ethics, and the necessary penalty clauses. Sisulu stated at the workshop that she will lobby for the creation of a human settlements law, following the finalisation of the White Paper on Human Settlements, which will ensure that those involved in human settlements understand their different roles

neered direct financing institution, called the Housing Finance Corporation, and this development will be in partnership with the private sector.

Fighting inequality In her address at the workshop, Minister Sisulu said: “At the recent Govan Mbeki Awards, I took the opportunity to indicate the enormity of the challenges we are facing, and have faced over the past five years. I indicated our failure to meet our stated objectives against a growing need and against huge inequalities that are opening up in our society and in our

Partners in Infrastructure | HUMAN SETTLEMENTS

for human settlements countr y – earning us the ignominious title of number one in the world on the inequality index.” She proceeded to outline the obstacles to efficient human settlements delivery. According to Statistics South Africa, South Africa has 2 700 informal settlements dotted across the country. These comprise 2.2 million households and are a combination of informal settlements and backyard dwellers. Sisulu emphatically stated, “I dread to think what the statistics are now, as 350 000 is the number of households created annually, against a delivery of 140 000 houses annually. Our response has been dismally slow, as indicated by the figures I have just given to you and, very importantly for this particular environment, our response has been very shoddy – all of

“We will come together to share experiences and best practice. Through these workshops, we will be able to intervene decisively where blockages occur.”

this against an inordinate increase in the subsidy quantum and a worr ying trend of steadily diminishing capacity and skills at all three spheres of government. The Lindiwe Sisulu, Minister of Human Settlements poorest among our people pin their hopes on government and its ability to crebehind that agreement. What we will be ate an enabling environment, to allow putting forward now is our part of that them to claim their right to dignity, as our social contract.” party so eloquently stated in 1955, when The minister stressed the importance of the Freedom Charter was adopted,” she the workshop and the opportunities lying elaborated. “You all, no doubt, signed our ahead for developers and contractors alike. social contract in October 2014 and under“We will be formalising the basis of our constood the implications and commitments tractual obligation in the subject of today’s IMIESA November/December 2015

Partners in Infrastructure | HUMAN SETTLEMENTS

workshop: ‘the catalytic projects’. If we are successful, these above LEFT Yusuf Patel, will be able to significantly cut down projects will reshape South Africa’s human settlements land- facilitator, pictured with on all the concerns that you have Minister Lindiwe Sisulu scape and help us to realise our target of 1.5 million houses. raised with me and the department above centre Mbulelo For us, this workshop is set to be a landmark event.” in the past around the state’s lack Tshangana, acting directorA certain amount of public land will be put at the disposal general of Human Settlements, of responsiveness to your needs,” of developers and the DHS has worked out how much pri- elaborated on the concept said Sisulu. of catalytic projects in vate land is needed for the projects. The amount of capital his presentation Interventions required to finance these projects has also been worked above right The workshop Sisulu proposed the following interout from the HSDG and the USDG. These amounts will be sparked interesting debate and ventions from government: ring-fenced and channelled through the HDA – the DHS’s questions from the floor • The ‘stadiums approach’ of 2010 in-house developer of choice – to manage the 77 catalytic will be used with regards to environmental impact assessments projects countrywide. The operational model, from municipal to and many other processes of approval necessar y during the provincial and national coordination, has also been worked out. “We implementation have determined that, through the HDA, our principal developer, we of the megaprojects. These will Leading be treated as Manufacturers of emergencies, HDPE Jointing instead of the Systems in sizes from traditionally long 20mm to 3000mm periods. Sisulu is committing to take this up with the relevant structures and ensure that all processes are understood and adhered to and endorsed by the cabinet. • Intergovernmental coordination will be formalised through MinMec. • The participation of smaller developers and contractors with whom the bigger developers will have to partner will be encouraged. These will include, in particular, woman contractors. • The depar tment hopes to significantly reduce unemployment through the youth brigades, which will be attached to each megaproject. • The creation of a human settlements law, following the finalisation of the White Paper on Human Settlements, will ensure that those involved in human settlements will understand their different roles and responsibilities. “We will come together to share experiences and best practices. Through these workshops, we hope that we will be able to intervene decisively where blockages occur of whatever nature. We have gone into great detail to work out all the implementation protocols and all the steps required for every project. Through this intervention, we have the potential to impact positively on our economy, absorb a huge percentage of the unemployed, and create potential for the growth of other related industries,” enthused Sisulu.

These catalytic projects will be launched across the country, which will allow the department to achieve its target of building 1.5 million houses over the next five years

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IMIESA November/December 2015

Partners in Infrastructure | HUMAN SETTLEMENTS

Sisulu stressed that construction has great potential for being an economic growth factor. She encouraged delegates to “seize this moment, and save our economy from the ravages experienced by the mining sector and declining manufacturing sector. Give our people hope, because, right now, the wind blows beneath your wings.”

patterns and impact on the environment, explained Tshangana. Provinces and metropolitan municipalities submitted projects for consideration as catalytic projects. In addition, the HDA and Gauteng DHS issued separate invitations to tender private sector project proposals. All project proposals are taken through the same assessment process coordinated by the DHS. Both Programme and procedural support stakeholders government and the private sector were asked to The assessment and Mbulelo Tshangana, acting director-general complete the MSP assessment tool and project recommendation of the of Human Settlements, elaborated on the readiness assessment. projects were undertaken in concept of catalytic projects in his presenAn assessment panel was appointed by the a process that included the tation entitled: ‘Programme & Procedural DHS to recommend catalytic projects, which the following stakeholders: support by the Department and its Entities’. minister will consider and announce. • CoGTA • National Treasury He stated, “The identification and imple• Water and Sanitation Benefits for the private sector mentation of these projects will align to the • Department of Energy Housing Development Agency acting CEO Human Settlements Master Spatial Plan • Department of Transport Thabane Zulu, in his presentation at the workand will form part of the outcomes of the • municipalities shop entitled ‘HDA: Catalytic Projects, land availmedium-term strategic framework (MTSF), • provinces ability and proposed incentives for developers’, in terms of ensuring adequate housing • Department of Human Settlements entities. went on to explain that the catalytic projects will and improved quality living environments. be beneficial for both the public and the private They will be implemented during the fivesectors. “They will prioritise, target, and focus resources (finanyear MTSF period – targeting the implementation of 10 projects cial and other) in the human settlements sector towards scale per year.” deliver y, and mobilise inter-governmental support, coordination, These human settlement catalytic projects will range from and alignment.” The measures taken by the DHS to fast-track mega-scale inclusionar y neighbourhoods, to seemingly small, but projects through collaboration between government and private high-impact, inter ventions. The underlying principle of all of these sector will ensure integration in deliver y and the promotion of job is that they are all spatially targeted inter ventions whose main creation, especially among the youth and women located in the objective is to inter vene to deliberately restructure settlement project areas. Table 1 2014– 2019 MTSF targets – breakdown of 1.5 million housing opportunities

Housing intervention Upgrading of informal settlements

Target

• 750 000 households upgraded to level 2 (USDG) • 150 000 (Annual target)

Free hold – individual ownership units

• 563 000 individual housing units for subsidy market • 112 600 (Annual target)

Development Finance (DFI)

• 110 000 loans (70 000 FLISP plus 40 000 DFI loans), which produce new affordable houses

Social housing rental

• 27 000 social housing rental units • 5 400 (annual target)

Upgrade of hostels

• 10 000 community residential units • 2 000 (annual target)

Private affordable rental

• 35 000 affordable rental units (including 10 000 mining towns) • 7 000 (annual target)

Table 2 Projected delivery from the proposed catalytic projects over a 5- to 10year period of project lifespan

No. of projects

Government benefits will include: • projects that offer the scale deliver y of housing opportunities • projects that include a variety of housing typologies and cover a variety of housing programmes, and which contribute to the MTSF • projects that provide mixed income and/or mixed development • projects that will maximise job creation opportunities locally and specifically assist with the mobilisation and utilisation of the youth brigades • projects that can demonstrate a maximum gearing of overall government investment and human-settlement-specific investment • projects that can demonstrate sustainability over the long term and post-project completion and which promote and impact on the creation of sustainable integrated human settlements • projects that promote joint collaboration between the private sector and government in order to facilitate efficiency, effectiveness, and fast-tracking of project development and deliver y • projects that demonstrate and promote innovation in terms of the master spatial plan criteria and intentions, as well as other areas of the project where innovation can be activated • projects that indicate, specifically, the nature and type of government support required.

No. of estimated housing opportunities

Estimated value of development cost (ZAR)

Government

466 324

91 023 033 922.00

Private sector

808 504

204 332 925 656.00

1 274 828

295 355 929 578.00

Total

IMIESA November/December 2015

Partners in Infrastructure | profile

aquadam

Adding value

six metres high with two 30 kW pumps and a piping reticulation system into the brewery. • In Harare, one 1 000 m3 reservoir with two 11 kW pumps and a reticulation system linking existing boreholes into the tank and then Reservoir manufacturing company Aquadam has played from pumps into the brewery. an essential role in the supply of watertight solutions to • Most recently, in Bulawayo, two 1500 m3 reservoirs with two 11 kW accelerating infrastructure developments in government pumps, a reticulation system linkand private sectors. ing existing boreholes into the tank, a filtration and finishing plant to he official Aquadam Agents water reservoirs to Delta Corporation for get water to SAB Brewery specs, a reticulalinked to the supply chain are active Chibuku Super Breweries, the country’s bigtion system into the brewery as well as a and experienced in the delivery gest beverages manufacturer. The Aquadam pump house. of dependable reservoir solutions Future Tank was installed at Chitungwiza, Says Forster, “The Aquadam Future within the Southern African Region and Harare, and recently in Bulawayo at a new Tanks are very competitively priced and, African continent. Increasing water demands Chibuku Super plant built with the capacity due to the modular nature, have assisted are quickly putting strain on industries that to keep pace with growing demand. us to import, supply, and deliver to the now need storage solutions that can be eas“We install Zincalume tanks, in either Zimbabwean market.” ily transported and installed in the shortest potable roofed or open irrigation types, in a Key features of Aquadam’s Future possible time. variety of sizes. These have the advantage Tank reservoir of having a long life, and being quick and Case study Aquadam’s range of Zincalume coated steel easy to assemble, repair and move, should Forster Irrigation tanks, are branded under the Future Tank the need arise”, says Project name and is a high-quality, modular resForster Irrigation’s applications Chibuku Super ervoir with steel panels that bolt together. projects manager, Aquadam’s Zincalume Breweries increased The tanks’ steel shell is manufactured from Ricky Forster. “ coated tanks are perfectly water storage capacity rust-free Zincalume contributing to a life Four Future Tanks suited to a wide range of for new plant have recently been expectancy of more than 50 years, and are applications including: Forster Irrigation is the guaranteed for 10 years. supplied and installed • agriculture (irrigation, grain, stock, poultry) official Aquadam Agent for Chibuku Super • certain chemical storage Official Aquadam agent in Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe, a leading Breweries, and the • domestic and rural supplier, manufacturer, project is in the final water storage and installer of irrigastages of completion: • fire protection tanks tion and water reticula• In Chitungwiza, one • industrial www.forsterirrigation.com • mining tion schemes. Forster 1 500 m3 reservoir at • l oose storage tanks (salt, sand) Irrigation has been • potable water storage made the preferential • rainwater harvesting supplier, since 2014, of • safety tanks for flammable/ dangerous liquids top and right • sprinkler tanks The Future Tank is a • wastewater treatment plants.

for increasing demands

value-adding product that can be transported across borders and installed extremely quickly, even in difficult or remote sites and the rest of Africa

IMIESA November/December 2015

Partners in infrastructure | Panel Discussion

gls consulting Dr Leon Geustyn | Director | GLS Consulting What services do your technologies support? LG Our service comprises the full cycle of data capturing, performance modelling – such as calibrated simulation of water, sewer and electricity systems, etc. – condition assessment, compiling asset registers, establishing asset management systems, and revenue-related interventions thereby providing the platforms and knowledge for sustainable long-term investment planning and phased budgeting for infrastructure systems.

What should your utilities customers understand about GLS Consulting’s core strengths and how these help solve key challenges? GLS has more than 27 years’ experience in developing world-class technology that is applied locally and internationally. Our extensive experience in applying this technology provides us with a unique service offering in the field of infrastructure planning and management.

What processes does GLS Consulting use to transfer the necessary skills and support to utility customers? We provide continuous training and informed support in all our processes and systems. This includes CPD-

district, Mzimduzi, and several towns in the Northern Cape, Free State, and KwaZulu-Natal.

What industry trend would you say guides your technology development and how does this ensure your public sector clients are equipped for the future? A major trend that guides the development and application of our technology is the requirement from funding agencies for infrastructure investment to be made based on solid optimised master planning, which includes optimal addressing of management- and revenue-related aspects.

“GLS has more than 27 years’ experience in developing world-class technology that is applied locally and internationally.”

In what ways is GLS Consulting structured and operationalised to add value to your public sector customers? We are

How is your technology integrated into your customers’ current infrastructure? Apart from

organised around groupings in our company, each of which contain the required skill set and experience to provide the GLS technology to specific clients – normally one large client, such as a metro, and a few smaller clients. In this way, we pride ourselves in always being informed and available to provide support to any specific client.

providing updated information and reporting on a regular basis to most of our customers, clients also utilise our reporting software platform, provided by EOH business unit IMQS, for day-to-day management and operation. This software also extends into project control and asset management functionality, directly applied by the clients.

accredited training on some of our software.

Are there any examples that illustrate the procurement and commissioning of your technologies and services with a public sector client? Our technology is being applied in more than 60 municipalities and water boards. These include Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni, Tshwane, Buffalo City, all of the municipalities in the Western Cape, Mbombela, municipalities in the Sedibeng

What are the potential impacts on the operational, financial, and customer management functions for your utilities customers? Our technology and services leads to optimised infrastructure investment planning, sustainable asset management, and the support to obtain the required funding and design the appropriate revenue models.

Where do your technologies and services fit in the utilities supply chain? Our technologies mainly pertain to optimal longterm investment planning and this forms the platform for planning capital investments, such as those required for the expansion or upgrading of infrastructure to accommodate growth or increased service levels, as well as optimal operational and maintenance procedures.

figure 1 Pipe replacement prioritisation ranking based on risk assessment

IMIESA November/December 2015

Partners in infrastructure | Panel Discussion

KABE Consulting Engineers Jan Kabefa Moloisane | CEO | KABE Consulting Engineers What infrastructure disciplines does KABE specialise in? JKM Civil engineering (transportation, water, structural engineering), and project and construction management.

What values do you apply to ensuring your public sector clients maximise the value of their infrastructure spend? We ensure that each project has defined start and completion periods, the project scope is clear and direct, budget control and monitoring are implemented, no scope creep is done, quality products and materials are used, resources are used accordingly, and risk assessment and management are incorporated. Skilled human resources are used with a mix of a smaller percentage of those without skills for purposes of skills transfer. Project tracking is used to check the progress and budget use.

achieved in the municipal sector? And how can KABE help? Municipalities need to ensure there is maximum collection of rates and taxes for water sanitation, registered open stands, and businesses within their communities. Municipalities should promote small-scale farming and light industries to be operated by the local communities.

What are your views on the procurement and supply chain challenges facing public sector infrastructure development? This process should be conducted by properly trained individuals, who have the community’s interests at heart. Continuous training, evaluation, and monitoring are required to ensure fraud and corruption are minimised.

“We have the community interest at heart, ensuring that services delivery is number one.”

What are the critical factors to consider when specifying an infrastructure project? Identification of the project (need), who is the project going to benefit (public or individual), how much is the project going to benefit those beneficiaries, how much impact is the project going to have in improving the lives of those beneficiaries, and is there available budget for the project and is it enough? Identifying the scope of the project is also vital.

How can better economies of scale be

Municipalities must have infrastructure inventories and ensure proper and continuous infrastructure maintenance. KABE can help in imparting business and saving skills to small-scale businesses and can also take part in sustainable infrastructure builds for rates collection.

From clients and contractors to suppliers, what are the essential ingredients of a wellcoordinated project? Clear goals, scope identification, roles and responsibilities, deliverables, commitment, and selflessness – following each step of the project process and signing off each milestone as required.

What expertise and services does KABE provide throughout the project

cycle? We provide a mix of the following: value engineering, civil engineering, project management, engineering management, project finance management, and project support.

What are the key advantages KABE brings to its public sector clients? We have the community interest at heart, ensuring that services delivery is number one. We advise our clients on matters of importance on each project to be delivered, thereby building strong, longer-lasting relationships with them. We offer reliable project delivery processes and deliver quality service to our client, continuously improving our service quality.

left The project scope included stormwater control and upgrading a culvert bridge above KABE Consulting Engineers have recently been involved in upgrading Letlhakaneng Road for the Madibeng Local Municipality top The project scope included the upgrading of the road from gravel to surfaced finish

What significant projects have you recently completed that you would like to draw attention to? Recent work included the development of informal settlement upgrading plans in the Northern Cape, through the Department of Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (Client Housing Development Agency). The project scope included the feasibility study and project packaging for the provision of basic ser vices and amenities and focused on the following municipalities within the Frances Baard district: Sol Plaatje, Phokwane, Tsansabane, and Gamagara local municipalities. Another one was the upgrading of Letlhakaneng Road (for Madibeng Local Municipality), where the project scope included the upgrading of the road from gravel to sur faced finish, stormwater control, and upgrading a culvert bridge.

IMIESA November/December 2015

CONNECTING AFRICAN COMMUNITIES homes for living buildings to work roads to travel bridges to connect schools to educate

Ours is a company sophisticated in skills, knowledge and expertise the foundation underpinning the demands of the built environment. Ours is a company steeped in a keen understanding of the industry in Africa and the distinctive needs of the African market. IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR A LEADING SPECIALIST IN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT, LOOK NO FURTHER THAN VNA. VNA is a business born of South Africa and bred for Africa’s unique business environment, a company geared to delivering exceptionally competitive construction project management, engineering and built environment solutions, benefitting communities, urban and rural. Our excellent capabilities and efficient technologies, together with the expertise of the finest project management and built environment specialists in South Africa, enable the effective management of road and bridge assets. Our unique road and bridge asset management services provide innovative customer-focused solutions, facilitating effective network management to achieve best value. Ultimately, VNA aims to deliver sustainable built environment solutions for the communities we serve.

WHAT SETS OUR COMPANY APART IS OUR COLLABORATIVE APPROACH TO ‘BIG PICTURE’ PLANNING, WHILE ACTIVELY DELIVERING ON A LOCAL PLANE. CORPORATE OFFICE VNA House 596 Peter Mokaba Ridge Berea, Durban 4091 South Africa Tel: +27 31 207 8121 Fax: +27 31 207 8722

HEAD OFFICE 10 Kyalami Road Westmead, Durban 3610 South Africa Tel: +27 31 700 2500 Fax: +27 31 700 2550

INTERNATIONAL OFFICE Corner Zaza Lane & G Mahadeo Street, North Point Lane, Khoyratty, Pamplemousses Mauritius Tel: +230 249 3231/3241 Fax: +230 248 1579

For further information regarding our national and regional offices, please visit our website on: www.vnac.co.za

REALISING CONTINENTAL POTENTIAL

Partners in infrastructure | Panel Discussion

VNA Consulting Vikash Narsai | CEO | VNA Consulting What infrastructure disciplines does VNA Consulting specialise in? VN VNA is a first-generation professional services consultancy firm focusing on building and infrastructure delivery. Our large, multidisciplinary team of highly qualified, experienced professionals of diverse talents has ensured sufficient capacity to deliver the full range of normal built environment professional services solutions, integrated within a technologydriven framework and system. Our service offering, as a focused or bundle package, includes project and construction management, engineering, pavement management and systems, and turnkey professional services.

What values do you apply to ensure your public sector clients maximise the value of their infrastructure spend? At VNA, we believe that environmental sustainability, poverty reduction, and gender equality are the cornerstones of an improved environment that will not only enhance access to basic services but contribute to ensuring continuous economic development.

How can better economies of scale be achieved in the municipal sector, and how can VNA Consulting help? The intro-

duction of our assessment and design technologies, coupled with alternative project execution methods, has enabled VNA to excel over the years, gaining expertise and experience, and it allows municipalities access to alternative channels of project execution that can result in earlier delivery and implementation. This leads to economic growth that will filter down to community and individual levels.

supply chain challenges facing public sector infrastructure development, and are things improving? Public sector procurement and its supply chain have certainly improved, but there is still a way to go. Infrastructure development is hindered by both a fragmented procurement process and a siloed attitude that exists within the spheres of governance. The alignment of objectives requires a new focus on synergies between governmental spheres as well as within and between departmental functions.

“Public sector procurement and its supply chain have certainly improved, but there is still a way to go.”

From clients and contractors to suppliers, what are the essential ingredients of a well-coordinated project? In our industr y – the built environment – ever y project is customised. What might have worked on one project may not work again. At VNA, three ingredients make the ultimate well-coordinated project: • integrated planning • specialised, indispensable project area knowledge • continuous adaption. Any project must be designed to be an inclusive, open, and consultative process.

What expertise and services does VNA Consulting provide throughout the project cycle? In our drive for excellence and proficiency, VNA has – over the past five years – not only been researching and introducing innovative, alternative construction methods, but has also invested massively in acquiring design and performance

measurement technologies that will enable a high level of compliance in road infrastructure assessment, design, and construction quality.

What are the key advantages VNA Consulting brings to its public sector clients? The key advantage lies in not only providing core value on client investment, to optimise the limited available resources, but also in introducing innovative techniques that keep South Africa abreast of developments within a globalised business market environment.

How is VNA Consulting optimising infrastructure master planning? VNA has diversified and is impacting on a national basis within various sectors (i.e. housing, road and bridge infrastructure, and commercial developments). It is assisting in creating office environments or providing pavement management and bridge infrastructure solutions to provincial and local road authorities to optimise infrastructure master planning and implementation programmes. Our aligned focus is that all our clients are blue chip.

What are your views on the procurement and right Inside the road profiler below A network surveying vehicle

IMIESA November/December 2015

Productivity Partnership For a Productivity Partnership For a Lifetime Lifetime Productivity Partnership For a Lifetime

An innovative family firm

Ammann is a world-leading supplier of mixing plants, machines and services to the An construction innovativeindustry family with firmcore expertise in road building and transportation infrastructure. Our strength the forthcoming approach of a family firm that Ammann is a world-leading are supplier of mixing plants, machines and services to has been operating for many coupled with our building strong and established the construction industry withyears, core expertise in road andwell transportation international presence. Ever since 1869 we have been settingofbenchmarks the An innovative firm infrastructure. Ourfamily strength are the forthcoming approach a family firminthat road-building industry, thanks to countless innovations and solutions which Ammann is a world-leading of mixing machines and established servicesare to has been operating for manysupplier years, coupled withplants, our strong and well . as competitive as they are dependable the construction industry with core1869 expertise in road transportation international presence. Ever since we have beenbuilding setting and benchmarks in the For more information on compaction machines, mixing plants and pavers infrastructure. Our strength aretothe forthcoming approach a family firm that road-building industry, thanks countless innovations and of solutions which are has been operating for are many years, coupled with our strong and well established gocompetitive to www.ammann-group.com . as as they dependable international presence. Ever since 1869 we have beenmixing settingplants benchmarks in the For more information on compaction machines, and pavers road-building industry, thanks to countless innovations and solutions which are go to www.ammann-group.com as competitive as they are dependable.

For more information on compaction machines, mixing plants and pavers go to www.ammann-group.com

Ammann Construction Machinery S.A 229 Hull Road, Rynfield, Benoni 1500,South Africa Ammann Construction Machinery S.A Tel. +27 11 849 3939 229 Hull Road, Rynfield, Info.aza@ammann-group.com Benoni 1500,South Africa Ammann Construction Machinery S.A Tel. +27 11 849 3939 229 Hull Road, Rynfield, Info.aza@ammann-group.com Benoni 1500,South Africa Tel. +27 11 849 3939 Info.aza@ammann-group.com

Partners in infrastructure | Panel Discussion

Ammann South Africa Rocco Lehmann | MD | Ammann SA

he quality of Ammann’s equipment and machinery is globally recognised, carrying the hallmarks of Swiss precision, innovation, and a legacy in the roads construction industry dating back to the origin of bitumen-based road building.

Having established a strong presence in the market within a fairly short space of time, which areas of the South African market hold new opportunities for Ammann SA to explore? RL Ammann SA’s goal is simple: to get as many of our machines into the market as demand will allow. South Africa’s market, however, is not that simple. The usual dynamics of supply and demand are complicated by the socioeconomic consequences of its past. Finding opportunities in this market depends strongly on being completely committed to it. South Africa is quite unique in having highly developed urban areas, and huge infrastructure backlogs in its rural areas and some townships. These represent areas of high demand, especially for road building and maintenance, and yet they remain under-catered to.

Why do you think this is the case? The development of South Africa’s road networks mirror its socio-political development, not only in terms of its physical infrastructure, but in the way it operates economically. The national and urban networks include some of the best roads in the world. Fundamental to sustaining our primary industries and commercial sectors, they will remain central in the strategic and operational structures of the older and more established parts of the sector. This network, and the industry that grew up around it,

Ammann SA has been optimising these benefits for the South African market so successfully that managing director Rocco Lehman is engaging the public sector to form partnerships for the benefit of struggling communities.

is in stark contrast to the gravel An industrious municipality can sense of ownership for the comand dust roads that define so become the centre of community munity at large. much of our peri-urban and activity, providing materials and How did the municipality rural areas. equipment for smaller contracrespond? The interest was I’m not saying that the rural tors, training for local labourers, so strong that we were called and peri-urban infrastructure employment opportunities, and a on to present to has been to“Ammann is exploring ways of the mayor and tally ignored; the larger, national partnering with the local government his council, as well the technical contracts increasto make meaningful contributions and managerial ingly require contributions beyond becoming just a supplier.” staff, with the aim of making this a to secondary reality. The shared vision is a roads, but it is not a sustainpowerful return to self-determiable approach to fully realise nation, communal participation, the potential that road building and strong leadership. Ammann holds for these municipalities SA is structured as an ideal and communities. partner in this type of venture. How would you envisWe have the practical agility age a structure involvand experience to transfer ing a private sector the right skills and provide company like Ammann the right support for commuSA? We have been meetnity-based contractors to get ing with some municipal immense value from the robust representatives of an area and fit-for-purpose machines we needing upliftment to exare known for. plore ways of partnering This is about with the local governmore than selling ment to make meaningmachines; what ful contributions beyond else is driving this? I feel becoming just a supplier. We passionately that the time for want to assist municipalities to Ammann SA combines communities to take control of develop sustainable revenue decades of experience their own destiny is now, in streams, while involving the across the entire roadSouth Africa and Africa as communities in building their building discipline to unlock the full potential a whole. An industrious future infrastructure and of communities and municipality can provide their economy. small contractors communities with the key It’s essentially a return to as builders of their own future that unlocks their future, withan old-fashioned practice that out which they find themselves happens to be suited to the prein limbo. It can unlock so many sent. Municipalities often owned socio-economic benefits, as long their own capital equipment as the investments made are fit and asphalt plants, which were for purpose and suppliers like a source of supply for contracAmmann SA provide the needed tors. The advantages of support and training to make it this system are even greatviable and sustainable. er now than they were then.

IMIESA November/December IMIESA October 2015

THE LEADERS IN BIO G TO ENERGY PROJE AS CTS

WEC PROJECTS - YOUR CONTRACTOR OF CHOICE FOR MUNICIPAL

WATER AND WASTEWATER TREATMENT SOLUTIONS WE OFFER: Turnkey bulk water and sewage treatment projects. Turnkey decentralised packaged modular water/sewage treatment plants. Head of works equipment. Clarifier bridges and mechanicals. Mixing equipment. Surface mounted and floating aerators.

Complete fine bubble aeration solutions. Disinfection solutions. Chemical dosing solutions. Digester refurbishment including heating and mixing systems. ALand Sludge dewatering handling solutions. W AYS Biogas to energy projects. Operation and maintenance.

ALWA YS

ADDI VA

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For the better part of the last decade WEC Projects has established itself as the leading contractor in the water sector. Our clients include ERWAT, Johannesburg Water, Umgeni Water and the City of Tshwane among others. We have secured an exclusive agency agreement for the Airprex速 technology (for STRUVITE REMOVAL).

Tel: +27 11 745 5500 | Fax: +27 11 464 2977 | info@wecprojects.co.za | www.wecprojects.co.za /WECProjects1

/WECProjects1

/company/wec-projects

Partners in infrastructure | Panel Discussion

WEC Projects Bryan Louw | Business Unit Manager: Package Solutions | WEC Projects In what ways is WEC Projects structured to add value to your public sector customers? BL WEC has an extensive technology offering that ensures we stand out from the crowd. We have unrivalled experience in biogas Combined Heat and Power plants. We are the South African agents for BioGasclean gas conditioning equipment, as well as for AirPrex® struvite removal systems. Our engineering and design department, fully functional workshop, and assembly yard aid in the design, supply, and construction of equipment or entire treatment systems. WEC has the in-house ability to deliver the best solution for any treatment capacity/flow. Our O&M and WEC Energy departments offer each client the necessary and appropriate aftersales support. WEC has all the required water and wastewater treatment solutions, from inlet to outlet, entirely under one roof – with an immense focus on long-term sustainability.

Where do your technologies and services fit in the utilities supply chain? As a reliable mechanical and electrical contractor in the public sector, we tender on projects for water and wastewater treatment works and install our equipment at the applicable stage of the process. Along with refurbishments of existing infrastructure, this has been our approach in previous years. In the last five years, with the development of our Biogas-toEnergy and Sludge business units, we have the capability to offer a complete solution for an entire wastewater

treatment works (WWTW). This offering would include design, build, and operation as a turnkey solution.

transformers to the required voltage and supplied to the

“WEC has all the required water and wastewater treatment solutions, from inlet to outlet, entirely under one roof.” What processes does WEC use to transfer the necessary skills and support to its utility customers? Along with our detailed commissioning documentation and comprehensive operation and maintenance manuals, we offer extensive training. In addition, our O&M Department has various engineers and process specialists that are on standby for any issues, process advice, or full O&M contracts. This can be customised for full operation and maintenance, frequent site audits, or retraining of the client’s operators and engineers.

Can you provide an example that illustrates the procurement and commissioning of your technologies and services with a public sector client? One of our flagship projects is our CHP plant currently operational at Johannesburg Water’s Northern WWTW. The raw biogas from the anaerobic digesters is conditioned through various treatment stages. This conditioned gas is used in combustion engines that drive alternators to generate electricity. The heat from exhaust gas and the engines’ cooling circuit is utilised to heat the digesters. The electrical energy is then stepped up through

plant network. We have been operating and maintaining this plant for over two years now. We have a similar project at Driefontein WWTW, which will be commissioned shortly.

What are the industry trends that guide your technology development and how does this development ensure your public sector clients are equipped for the future? A crucial challenge for utilities and municipalities is the energy crisis and rising energy prices. A few years back, WEC became aware of this problem and started investigating alternative energy sources. Our innovative Biogas-to-Energy department was a natural, organic progression from our previous digester projects. Further to this, WEC Energy can perform energy audits of entire treatment works. This offers additional savings as a result of reduced energy consumption. Another emerging problem is the handling of sludge and the

top Biogas plant overview above Biogas engine

associated costs. This, coupled with polymer consumption, results in some major headaches. WEC has identified this problem and aims to assist utilities and municipalities. One way we can do this is with our Airprex® system for struvite removal. Not only does struvite removal reduce scaling in pipelines, improve dewatering efficiency, reduce polymer consumption, and reduce phosphorus recycle, but the process also produces a fertiliser product with commercial value. These examples highlight the innovative and strategic approach WEC takes in assisting clients to equip for the future.

IMIESA November/December 2015

Partners in infrastructure | Panel Discussion

joat group Vishal Poona | Director | Joat Group What services do your technologies support? VP Our technologies have applications in many sectors, although we focus primarily on water, sanitation, wastewater, and agriculture. Our technologies, or solutions, are tailored to the specific needs of each sector and client to provide the most reliable, accurate, and efficient outcomes possible. This is accomplished by having the technical knowledge when using the best suited and most relevant products at our disposal. Due to the sheer number of products and technologies that JOAT offers, it is difficult to be specific in this discussion.

How is JOAT structured and operationalised to add value to your public sector customers? Our core business units – Consulting Services, Sales and Services, Instrumentation and Control, and Operations and Maintenance – are structured in such a way that there are dedicated teams that focus on each sector we service. The flexibility within our operation allows for all our skills to be utilised together when required (i.e. turnkey solutions). This power comes from our staff not being below Botanical Gardens 600 mm burst main below right Maintenance work on an advanced PRV controller

bound by regions or markets but rather utilised where their expertise is needed.

tion has proven an extremely successful formula, which sees utilities opting for turnkey solutions. In response to this Where do your techapproach, JOAT has invested nologies and services in wide-ranging technologies fit in the utilities supply and partnerships that can be chain? The products and harnessed for the benefit of technologies that we supply the utilities. Lastly, utilities or implement are should realise that, integral in the while we are “Before effective distributors embarking operations of specific on a project, we and mainbrands tenance and techcan calculate the of utilinologies, potential payback ties’ infrawe are structure. focused on period and savings However, providing the achievable.” due to the norbest solution mal procurement to the problem policies in all utilities, at hand, even if it it is difficult to showcase new means supplying or supporttechnologies and/or products, ing products or technologies as well as their benefits. In that are not in our immediate some instances, JOAT opts to portfolio. The client relationgive utilities three to six months ship is more important than of free usage of the products any single product. That said, and/ or technologies to showwe pride ourselves on having a case their abilities. portfolio that, more often than not, provides the best posWhat should your utilisible solution.

ties customers understand about JOAT’s core strengths and how they solve key challenges? The initial combination of experience in the design and management of reticulation networks and expertise in measurement and instrumenta-

What processes does JOAT use to transfer the necessary skills and support to your utility customers? As part of any project undertaken, training of the utility’s personnel is paramount. We have formal

and informal training sessions throughout the process of integrating new technologies, which is followed by an O&M manual. With all this, we have still found that the skills transfer was not sufficient and we insist that a seconded member of the utility works full-time with our team and, once the project is concluded, this person then goes back to the utility being able to install, operate, maintain, and manage the new tech.

What are the potential impacts on the operational, financial, and customer management functions for your utilities customers? When introducing new technologies to any utility, we tr y to focus not on the capital expenditure of the products involved but rather on the financial payback period and the potential savings thereafter, as well as operational efficiency. These ideas have the potential to be ver y power ful for utilities, as they afford them the chance to make a meaningful impact using the experience we already have and are willing to share and transfer to the utility. Before embarking on a project, we can calculate the potential payback period and savings achievable, thereby giving the client the knowledge to make an informed decision. By improving financial and operational efficiency, this has a positive knock-on effect for customer management.

IMIESA November/December 2015

Waste Water Treatment Works 17 Nel Street | MBOMBELA CITY | 1200 P.O Box 12753 | Nelspruit | 1200 Tel: +27 (0)13 752 6839 Fax: +27 (0)13 755 2618 Share-call 24/7 Control Room: 0861 74 5858 E-mail: enquiries-silulumanzi@sembcorp.com Website: www.sembcorp-silulumanzi.com

As an environmental, quality and safety conscious services provider in the Mbombela city area Sembcorp Silulumanzi places emphasis on customer satisfaction through provision of quality services and avoidance of negative environmental impact. Sembcorp Silulumanzi on behalf of Mbombela Local Municipality is an active participant in the national Departmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Blue Drop (drinking water systems) and Green Drop (wastewater systems) incentive based compliance systems. Sembcorp Siza Water is the water service provider of the Dolphin Coast in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. The company operates 10 reservoirs with a combined capacity of 27,3 megalitres and maintains a water network of approximately 229 kilometres. Reservoirs are monitored and cleaned regularly to ensure water quality compliance. Sembcorp Siza Water is part of the Sembcorp Group, a leading energy, water and marine group with operations meeting the vital needs of communities and industries across six continents worldwide.

Sembcorp Silulumanzi is accredited with the International Standards for ISO 9001 Quality Management, 14001 Environmental Management and 18001 Health and Safety Management Systems. Sembcorp Siza Water is certified ISO 14001:2004 (Environmental Management System), OHSAS 18001:2007 (Health & Safety Management System) and ISO 9001:2008 (Quality Management System).

Partners in infrastructure | Panel Discussion

Sembcorp Silulumanzi Marius van Aardt | MD | Sembcorp Silulumanzi

What services do your competencies support? MVA Sembcorp is a global group with three main core businesses. I will only talk about the utilities business present in South Africa. For both water and power utilities, Sembcorp prefer to be ‘technology neutral’, and would rather focus on packaging a project with the best technology fit for each project. We have an advanced R&D wet laboratory in Singapore for the development of fit-for-purpose water and wastewater solutions specific to clients’ needs. In Singapore, India, and China, we also have a very strong resource pool.

How is Sembcorp structured and operationalised to add value to your public sector customers? In South Africa, we are structured to bring the following value-adds to both the public and private sectors: • strong balance sheet • global best practice • strong project management and project integration skills • commercial know-how • excellent corporate governance.

Where do your technologies and services fit in the utilities supply chain? Sembcorp’s typical business model is to part-own and operate utility assets. We typically own and operate large water and power plants or schemes within long-term concession type contracts.

• Mission: We leverage our group strength and sector expertise to deliver essential solutions that enable clients to do their business better or improve quality of life. We build sustainable businesses that deliver long-term growth and create value for all. • Brand Values: - Insight: We solve the problem. We excel at providing solutions, pioneering and innovating in all our businesses. - Integrity: We walk the talk We maintain the highest levels of integrity at both a personal and corporate level. - Integral: We are one. We are an integrated business, a unified brand that always delivers what it promises.

How are your competencies integrated into your customers’ current infrastructure?

believe in and nurture the partnerships we have with our clients, customers, and the communities we operate in. In these partnerships, there are specific contractual KPI’s based on local requirements and client needs, to ensure local mutual benefit, and skills development and transfer.

Are there any examples that illustrate the procurement and commissioning of your expertise and services with a

What industry trends guide your expertise development and how does do these ensure your public sector clients are equipped for the future? In the water and power sectors, there is a large drive towards sustainability and environmental awareness. This is driving the utility industry towards reducing carbon footprints and water footprints. Therefore, Sembcorp has developed core competencies in water reuse and renewable energy.

public sector client? In

What are the potential impacts on the operational, financial, and customer management functions for your utilities customers? The trend

South Africa, we have two municipal water concessions, both with a 15-year, well-established track record. These are the 30-year concessions with the Mbombela Local Municipality in Mpumalanga (Sembcorp Silulumanzi), and with Illembe District Municipality in KwaZuluNatal (Sembcorp Siza Water). It is important for the public sector to note that the enabling

towards sustainability and environmental awareness has already impacted largely on the South African electricity sector, with the very successful REIPPP programme by the Department of Energy. With the current under-investment and lack of skills in the water sector, we believe that a similar programme for the water sector should be considered.

“Maximising utilities performance to the benefit of clients, customers, and shareholders is our primary focus.”

Sembcorp either owns, part owns, or leases utility assets under long-term contracts, and focuses on the efficient and effective operations and maintenance of utility assets. Maximising utilities per formance to the benefit of clients, customers, and shareholders is our primar y focus. A recycled plant installed by Sembcorp

How does Sembcorp transfer the necessary skills and support its utility customers? We strongly

legislation for long-term PPP water projects is in place, together with PPP Regulations issued by National Treasury’s PPP office. We also wish to extend an open invitation to interested parties to visit our two water concessions mentioned.

What are Sembcorp’s core strengths and how do they solve key challenges? Sembcorp lives up to the following:

IMIESA November/December 2015

APE pumps Pumps at the heart of africa Mining

Manufacturers of: Vertical industrial turbine pumps Multi-stage high pressure pumps Split casing pumps End suction pumps Petrochemicals

Vertical sump pumps API 610 pumps

Power Generation

26 Nagington Road, Wadeville Germiston 1400, South Africa Tel +27 11 824 4810 | Fax +27 11 824 2770

Waste Water processing

PO Box 14733, Wadeville 1422, South Africa Email: apepumps@mweb.co.za Website: www.apepumps.co.za

Partners in infrastructure | Panel Discussion

ape pumps Dave Johnson | Divisional Manager | APE Pumps What differentiates your product offering in the market? DJ We have access to our foundries that manufacture pumps and spares in exotic metals such as super duplex. A number of these super duplex machines have been supplied for seawater applications, where they have successfully withstood conditions of extreme corrosion and abrasion for many years. Most recently, in October 2014, APE Pumps supplied five identical split-case pumps cast entirely in super duplex stainless steel to an abalone farm near Gansbaai.

Regarding product development, lead times, training, servicing, and general support, what should the market understand about your company?

“Understanding what the end user requires and supplying the correct pumps for the application is essential.”

What is APE’s approach to changing market demands? We have an engineering department in South Africa – which constantly works on changing application requirements by offering different materials of construction, sealing methods, etc. – and an R&D department at our head office in WPIL, India. They are equipped with modern programs to design pumps for all applications. Once pumps are designed, we have our own foundries to cast the pumps and our own testing facilities to test performance. We are ISO 9001 accredited and have a level 4 BBBEE rating.

How do emerging contractors benefit from working with you as a supplier? As a group, we supply not only pumps but also all the accessories such as valves, pipes, motors, and control panels. We also assist contractors with installation of the pumps and control equipment, as well as commissioning and operation.

We have the facilities and expertise to carry out training, both on-site and in our factory. We have a Project Division that consists of artisans who have been trained in their respective disciplines – e.g. pump fitters and electricians. We have a quality-control system in place to ensure delivery matches quoted lead times. The factory has a dedicated repair facility where we refurbish pumps back to the OEM specifications. In a word, we have a one-stop shop for all pumping requirements.

What challenges need to be overcome to boost the sector? Understanding

an office and workshop in Kitwe, Zambia, where we service the pumps on the mines. Two years ago, APE Pumps supplied the vertical turbine pumps needed for return water duty at Namoya gold mine, in the DRC. In September this year, we commissioned the last of three pump stations at Walker’s Ferry and Chileka, in Malawi, upgraded for the Blantyre Water Board as a turnkey project valued at some R200 million. Other projects completed in Malawi include three water

what the end user requires and supplying the correct pumps for the application is essential. Individual companies need to give good service to the end users.

What is your company’s geographic footprint for both service and supply? We supply pumps to most African countries and have exported as far as Canada and the UK. We have just recently supplied spares to a company in Germany. We have

treatment plants at Zomba Plateau, Mangochi, and Mzuzu; the extension of Chilumba fuel

receiving depot; and the 4.5 MW hydroelectric scheme at Wovwe North.

from top The largest vertical turbine pump manufactured in South Africa A 1.8 m diameter impeller for CW pump at the power station. The impeller is installed into a concrete volute on the cooling towers A split-case pump

IMIESA November/December 2015

HYBACS is an international award winning innovative wastewater treatment technology ideally HYBACS is an international awardTreatment winning innovative ideallyuse suited to upgrade existing Sewage Plants costwastewater effectively treatment and reducetechnology ongoing energy suited to upgrade existing Sewage Treatment Plants cost effectively and reduce ongoing energy use Recently selected by ERWAT for the increase in treatment capacity at Tsakane STP to 20Ml/d

HYBACS isinternational anselected international award winning innovative wastewater treatment technology Recently by ERWAT for the increase in treatment capacity at Tsakane STP to 20Ml/dideally HYBACS is an award winning innovative wastewater treatment technology ideally HYBACS (HYBrid ACtivated Sludge) is a proven andwinning innovative innovative ü CAPEX savings of up to 50% on upgrades to existingideally HYBACS is an international award wastewater treatment technology suited to upgrade existing Sewage Treatment Plants costCAPEX effectively and reduce ongoing energySTPs use HYBACS (HYBrid ACtivated Sludge) is a proven and innovative ü savings of up to 50% on upgrades to existing STPs

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Capacity increases of up to 100% can be achieved within the existing STP footprint with limited civil works leading to significant cost and time savings.

Award wining process design for the HYBACS Award wining process design for the HYBACS upgrade to 100Ml/d of the Tubli STP in Bahrain. upgrade to 100Ml/d of the Tubli STP in Bahrain. Award wining process design for the HYBACS upgrade to 100Ml/d of the Tubli STP in Bahrain.

Botleng BotlengHYBACS HYBACSSTP STPdesigned designedfor forcost cost effective effective upgrade upgradeto to7Ml/d 7Ml/d(Mpumalanga). (Mpumalanga). Botleng HYBACS STP designed for cost effective upgrade to 7Ml/d (Mpumalanga).

ü ü ü

Scaleable: small onon site package >100ML/d CAPEX savings of upscale to 50% upgrades to plants existingto STPs Scaleable: small scale on site package plants to >100ML/d

Up to 30% reduction in energy use per Ml/d treated

Simple operation and maintenance

Fast and simple installation and commissioning

Scaleable: small scale on site package plants to >100ML/d

HYBACS upgrade from 4Ml/d to 8ML/d for the HYBACS upgrade from 4Ml/d to 8ML/d for the Hartbeesfontein STP (NW Province). Hartbeesfontein STP (NW Province). HYBACS upgrade from 4Ml/d to 8ML/d for the Hartbeesfontein STP (NW Province).

Available in in Package PackagePlant Plantfor foron onsite sitetreatment. treatment. Available PrincetonMeadows MeadowsPackage PackageSTP STP(USA). (USA). Princeton Available in Package Plant for on site treatment. Princeton Meadows Package STP (USA).

www.headstreamwater.co.za www.headstreamwater.co.za Headstream Limited Headstream Water Holdings (Pty) Limited T: 011 886 7805 www.headstreamwater.co.za Available in Package Plant for on site treatment. Botleng HYBACS STP designed for cost effective e: in Package Plant for on site treatment. Botleng HYBACS STP designed for cost effective e: info@headstreamwater.co.za info@headstreamwater.co.za Headstream Water Holdings Available (Pty)Princeton Limited Meadows Package STP (USA). upgrade to 7Ml/d (Mpumalanga). Princeton Meadows Package STP (USA). upgrade to 7Ml/d (Mpumalanga). T: 011 886 7805 e: info@headstreamwater.co.za Available in Package Plant for on site treatment. Botleng HYBACS STP designed for cost effective upgrade to 7Ml/d (Mpumalanga).

Princeton Meadows Package STP (USA).

www.headstreamwater.co.za www.headstreamwater.co.za Headstream Water Holdings (Pty) Limited Headstream Water Holdings (Pty) Limited T: 011 886 7805 www.headstreamwater.co.za T: 011 886 7805 e: info@headstreamwater.co.za Headstream Water Holdings (Pty) Limited e: info@headstreamwater.co.za T: 011 886 7805 e: info@headstreamwater.co.za

Partners in infrastructure | Panel Discussion

Headstream Water Julian Moore | Commercial Director | Headstream Water What infrastructure disciplines does Headstream Water specialise in?

skills to operate and maintain the infrastructure.

JM We currently specialise in wastewater treatment plant upgrades where we are able to cost effectively and rapidly provide significant increases in treatment capacity and performance.

How can better economies of scale be achieved in the municipal sector? How can Headstream Water help? Economies of scale in

What values do you apply to ensure your public sector clients maximise the value of their infrastructure spend? Our core value is to develop a long-term relationship with our clients providing a high-quality product and service that meets all the required regulatory standards, in a cost-effective and timely manner. We always seek to maximise the use of existing infrastructure as this is a valuable asset to clients and enables us to provide what is required at a much lower cost and in a shorter time frame. We concentrate on ensuring that we are available for ongoing support and training to ensure that clients obtain the necessary inset and far right SMART units at the Tubli WWTW in Bahrain below SMART units at Hartbeesfontein

the municipal sector can best be achieved by mandating the larger water service authorities (WSAs) to take a more active role in the development, operation, and maintenance of wastewater infrastructure owned by smaller municipalities. These WSAs have the in-house skills to better manage capital investment projects and can access and control funding more easily. We are working with a number of WSAs and find that we can provide a high-quality service to them covering a number of different projects.

From clients and contractors to suppliers, what are the essential ingredients of a well-coordinated project? The key ingredient is always to have a well-planned clear project programme, with well-documented key deliverables, and ownership assigned to the relevant parties for each of these. Having a project team

that communicates well and regularly is also critical so that any problem areas can be quickly identified and resolved. Prompt payments will always be important, so that suppliers and contractors are not placed under pressure and are able to deliver on time.

What expertise and services does Headstream Water provide throughout the project cycle? As a technology solutions provider, we are involved in the entire process: the initial process specification and design, detailed engineering design, equipment manufacture, supply and commissioning, performance testing, operator training, ongoing performance optimisation, and equipment maintenance are examples of this comprehensive involvement.

What are the key advantages Headstream Water brings to your public sector clients? The key advantage we bring is our innovative and proprietary HYBACS solution, which we licence exclusively from Bluewater Bio in the UK. HYBACS is a biological nutrientremoval wastewater

treatment technology that is ideally suited to retrofitting on to existing activated sludge treatment works, to provide a significant increase in treatment capacity and performance. In most cases, we are able to provide an increase of 100% capacity in a short time frame, with savings of up to 50% compared to conventional upgrade solutions. In addition, HYBACS will provide ongoing energy savings of up to 30%.

What key projects has Headstream Water recently been involved in and why were these significant? We have been involved in several projects with various municipalities around the country. Our current project is with ERWAT and it is our most significant to date. This project involves the upgrade of the Tsakane WWTW from 10 MLD to 20 MLD. This project is significant in that it is the largest HYBACS installation in South Africa to date and our HYBACS solution was chosen from a number of solutions due to its cost-effectiveness, quick implementation, and the proven performance of the process in South Africa and internationally.

“In most cases, we are able to provide an increase of 100% capacity in a short time frame.”

IMIESA November/December 2015

Partners in infrastructure | Panel Discussion

vovani water products Henk Smit | MD | Vovani Water Products What differentiates your product offering in the market? HS Vovani Water Products (VWP) offers our customers personalised ser vice and attention, due to the fact that we are a smaller company than our competitors. This is also true for most of the international companies we represent in Southern Africa, when considering global water treatment companies, our suppliers are focused on

their strengths and a certain target market. VWP is able to supply all customers with at least four to five products they require in their water treatment plants, where most of our competitors can offer one or two. This unique product offering we have for customers enables us to supply components together that complement each other and makes it possible for us to give our customers significant

“We work together with our customers to find the best solution for their water treatment project, and not just sell them a product.” price discounts when they purchase multiple products.

What is your company’s approach to changing market demands? Over the past five years, we have seen what the market and our customers demand of us as a company, and of suppliers of water treatment products in general. Due to the fluctuating exchange rates, which affect the import of all our products, we have realised that we have to focus on keeping more stock of our products in South Africa, so we can better ser ve our customers with

top Installation of ROPV RO pressure vessels left Ultrafiltration membrane modules

IMIESA November/December 2015

their immediate demand for purchasing products. VWP has had to adapt to these market demands. We are constantly growing with our customers to keep a wider range of products in stock, so that we can supply them with products as and when required. Our support and sales team is also expanding to attend to the demand we have experienced from the market, giving us the capability to better ser vice our customers.

FRP PRESSURE VESSELS

market understand about VWP? VWP strives to ser ve our customers’ needs to the best of our abilities, at all times. We work together with our customers to find the best solution for their water treatment project, and not just sell them a product. We offer our quality products, with our exceptional support ser vice, at a ver y competitive price.

In your opinion, what are the key challenges to boost the sector? I believe there C

What advantages are there for emerging contractors in working with you as a supplier? We are able to assist emerging contractors with as much information and training on our products as possible, so they are able to familiarise themselves with our products and understand what makes us different from our competitors. We offer a unique product range, and we work with these contractors to find the best solution to their water treatment project when making use of our products. VWP can also put these emerging contractors in direct contact with our product suppliers, so they have access to the knowledge base we have through our suppliers.

From product development, lead times, training, servicing repairing, and general support, what should the

is a great need throughout our countr y for water MY treatment with the newestCY technologies that are CMY available in the market. K The challenge is for local government to recognise this urgent need at various places in the countr y, and to shift its mindset to contracting and installing the latest water treatment technologies. This will allow the people of South Africa access to the quality of water and life they deser ve.

What is your company’s geographic footprint for both service and supply? VWP has offices in Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Potchefstroom, with our product warehouse in Johannesburg. We supply our products and ser vices across the entire countr y.

IMIESA November/December 2015

THE SOUTH AFRICAN MARKET LEADER IN SPIRALLY WELDED STEEL PIPES

WATER IS LIFE AND THE JOURNEY STARTS WITH US. Group Five Pipe design and manufacture their own pipe making, pipe handling and pipe testing equipment. Group Five Pipe manufacture spirally welded steel pipes ranging from 610 mm to 3.5 m in diameter, using various steel grades up to 25 mm in thickness. Standard lengths are 12 and 19.2 m, but any other length can be manufactured. Group Five Pipe’s involvement in pipe making extends beyond the manufacture of pipes to include a service for the design of the actual pipe needed for a specific application. Group Five Pipe offers linings and coatings that are essential in prolonging the life of any pipeline used in a corrosive environment. Pipes are manufactured to API, SABS or to clients’ specifications. CAPE TOWN Montreal Drive, Airport Industria PO Box 6074, Roggebaai 8012 Cape Town, South Africa Tel: +27 (0)21 386 1923 Fax: +27 (0)21 386 2514

GAUTENG Verwoerd Street, Meyerton PO Box 694, Meyerton 1960 Meyerton, South Africa Tel: +27 (0)16 362 2236 Fax: +27 (0)16 362 2235

pipes@groupfivepipe.co.za

www.groupfivepipe.co.za

Leading Projects insight 2015

Outstanding

civil engineering achievements The prestigious annual SAICE-SAFCEC Awards gala event for the Most Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievements for 2014/2015 was held in Cape Town last month. SAICE received more than 30 project entries from across the countr y to compete for these illustrious awards.

he awards feature categories for international and technical excellence, as well as communitybased projects. On top of that, there are awards for the Engineer of the Year and other individual awards, as well as awards for projects entered by the SAICE technical divisions. The photo competition with civil engineering as the theme attracted more than 50 entries. IMIESA congratulates all winners.

Community-based Projects Winner: Upgrading of Main Road P100 The African Renaissance Roads Upgrading Programme: this R48.8 million project benefited the community without creating a visually unsightly scar in the environment. Due to the successful cooperation between the engineer and the community, Naidoo Consulting used innovative solutions and

top Boomslang walkway winding through the forest left The upgrading of Main Road P100

created jobs through labour-intensive construction. African Construction played its part in this project, which involved building a religious congregation a new church to replace an old, vandalised building. The local youth also benefited from this project by getting nationally accredited training and practical experience.

in Response to Community Concerns National roads have evolved from solely catering for road users in vehicles to more holistically addressing the needs of the affected communities. Sanral commissioned Aurecon to reconstruct the N2, Section 18, between Sitebe Komkhulu and Viedgesville. This approximately R434 million project, constructed by Haw & Inglis Civil Engineering, significantly contributed to the creation of employment and business for the local community.

Technical Excellence Projects Commendation: Evolving Design and Construction of Rural National Roads

The civil engineering industr y makes a huge contribution towards infrastructure

IMIESA November/December 2015

Leading Projects 2015

opposite Witwatersrand Central Basin site, aerial view of an operational plant

creation with the resultant economic and social development in South Africa. Exceptional projects have again been entered and the adjudicators decided on the winner and two commendations. Winner: Kirstenbosch Centenary Tree Canopy Walkway, aka Boomslang Boomslang is an organic steel and timber footbridge, meandering through and over the treetops of an enchanted forest. The R5 million walkway was designed by Mark Thomas (architect) and Henr y Fagan (structural engineer), and constructed by contractor Slingsby & Gaidien The Umgeni Interchange approaching completion, M19 eastbound

IMIESA November/December 2015

left The Jorf Lasfar slurry pipeline project in Morocco

detail during both design and construction. Sanral appointed Hatch Goba to design and administer this project, which was constructed by the Rumdel Cape/ EXR/Mazcon joint venture. The project result is aimed at reducing traffic congestion on one of the busiest sections of the N2. Construction, with steelwork fabricated by Prokon Structures. Commendation: Umgeni Road Interchange The upgrading of the Umgeni Road Interchange was a complex project that required meticulous attention to

Commendation: Acid Mine Drainage: Witwatersrand Central Basin Mining activities on the Witwatersrand exposed underground geology, causing oxidation with the pyrite-bearing rock, forming acid mine drainage (AMD). TCTA appointed Aecom to provide technical solutions to pump and treat

Leading Projects 2015

Projects Awards winners

AMD before it rose to the surface. Valued at R600 million, this project is a great example of how civil engineering has helped to alleviate a major threat to the water supply of the area. Group Five was contracted to this project and ensured that the simultaneous project processes were completed on time.

SAICE Technical Divisions • Environmental Engineering Projects (sponsored by Sika) • Cederberg Nature Reserve • Structural Engineering Projects (sponsored by Vital Engineering) • Malapa Fossil Cave Cover and Visitors’ Platform • Project Management and Construction • Head Office for the Department of Environmental Affairs • Transportation Engineering Projects • First Full-scale EME Construction Project in South Africa • Water Engineering Projects (sponsored by SMEC) • Mdwaka Dam

International Projects of Excellence where South African Engineers are Involved

Winner: Jorf Lasfar Slurry Pipeline Project in Morocco The project was dubbed the world’s largest phosphate ore pipeline, with a capacity to transport 38 million tonnes of phosphate ore per year. This pipeline is the first substantial, long-distance, high-volume slurr y pipeline in Africa, at a length of 187 km. Thanks to innovations by the professional team of Paterson and Cooke Consulting Engineers, and main contractors Tekfen Construction of Istanbul, the project demonstrates that slurr y pipelines offer environmental and economic advantages. Commendation: Nacala Dam Feasibility Study Nacala Dam is a strategic import and export route for Mozambique; therefore, Millennium Challenge Account Mozambique, on behalf of the Mozambican government, appointed Jeffares & Green, in association with Conseng, as well as Lamont, to undertake the environmental and social impact assessment, design, and supervision of the dam rehabilitation. This was done to improve the safety of the

structure and increase the potential for water supply from the impoundment. The design team made sure that this $39.8 million project was undertaken in a manner that considered the environment and the surrounding communities.

SAICE Institutional Awards for 2015 •C ivil Engineer of the Year: Deon Kruger from the University of Johannesburg (sponsored by PPS) • Young Civil Engineer of the Year: Daniel Avutia from SRK Consulting • SAICE Technologist of the Year: Brian Kannigadu from BMK Engineering Consultants (sponsored by Uretek Geo Systems) • Young Technologist of the Year: Bulelwa Leni from Royal HaskoningDHV (sponsored by Uretek Geo Systems) • Student Chapter of the Year: UJ-Civil Society • Branch of the Year: Amathole • Division of the Year: Water Enginee ring Division

IMIESA November/December 2015

IMIESA November/December IMIESA October 2015

4054

IMPROVED N2 UMGENI ROAD INTERCHANGE A BOON TO MOTORISTS

BACKGROUND • The Umgeni Road Interchange project is strategically located at the N2 and M19 intersection and forms part of the Durban Outer Ring Road. • The project is jointly funded by SANRAL (72%) and eThekwini Municipality (28%) in the KwaZulu-Natal province. • There was chronic congestion at the intersection causing substantial queuing onto the N2 in both directions. • Construction started in March 2011 and was completed in July 2015. • The total investment in the project was R512 million. IMPROVEMENTS • The construction of two incrementally launched, “free flow” directional ramp bridges. • The construction of two bridges cast in-situ decks comprising of precast beams of lengths 70m and 55m respectively. • In addition two pedestrian bridges and facilities across the M19 around the interchange were constructed. JOB CREATION AND SKILLS DEVELOPMENT

BENEFITS TO THE COMMUNITY

• 404 people were employed resulting in R57 million being spent on wages. • 17 black-owned SMMEs were employed and a total amount earned by them was R55,9 million. • The project enabled 265 people predominantly from the eThekwini municipal area to be trained in various skills.

• The upgrade allows for the reduction in traffic congestion on the N2 and M19 during peak hours. • Improved safety for pedestrians and motorists; and accident reduction, particularly on the N2 between the EB Cloete and Umgeni Road Interchanges.

AWARD-WINNING CONSTRUCTION • The Concrete Society of Southern Africa chose the Umgeni Road Interchange as the winner of the Fulton Award in the category for civil engineering structures over R100 million in value. • The South African Institution of Civil Engineering (SAICE), KZN Branch conferred the Award for Technical Excellence on the Umgeni Road Interchange project. • The project also received a commendation for technical excellence at the SAICE national awards in October.

Leading Projects 2015 ‘Reaching out’ by Deon Class

Through the lens of engineers

The editor's selection from the SAICE Lafarge photo competition entries. View the winning photos on www.infrastructurene.ws (courtesy of SAICE & Lafarge) ‘Pipeline giraffes’ by Karl Kusel

IMIESA November/December 2015

african cities

Meeting Africa’s infrastructure needs Dirk Theron of Murray & Roberts Construction, receiving the SAFCEC Recognition Award for Outstanding Contribution to Industry by a Member Individual; to the right of Theron is Thembinkosi Nzimande, SAFCEC president

As the civil engineering sector’s readiness to undertake large-scale development and infrastructure projects was once again emphasised at the 2015 SAICE-SAFCEC Awards, Clint Wicomb argues that the local industry finds itself in a unique position.

s downstream suppliers, such as PPC, expand across the continent, they provide civil engineering firms with an ideal opportunity to enter new markets and countries, and also offer a range of sustainable turnkey solutions that will meet Africa’s growth needs well into the future. With South Africa’s economic growth and infrastructure development under significant pressure, players in the collective construction industry, including civil engineers, are looking forward to government investing in critical projects across the country. “The good news for communities in areas earmarked for development is that the civil engineering sector is ready and will be able to commence with infrastructure construction as soon as projects are given the go-ahead,” Wicomb assured guests during his opening address at the South African Institute of Civil Engineering (SAICE) and South African Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors (SAFCEC) Awards dinner. He added that this was true for the collective construction industry – across the full value chain – from suppliers all the way through to the companies that would work on the ground to deliver on these projects: “To this end, PPC would like to take this opportunity to reiterate to government and

all stakeholders present that the industry is not only ready for this work to commence, but we’re also capable. Partnerships such as those between PPC, SAFCEC, and SAICE are indicative of this ability and readiness, and we look forward to the next phase of infrastructure development starting.”

alone. This represents an increase of $103 billion, reaching a total investment value of $326 billion in 2014.” On the ground, this speaks to the fact that almost half of Africa’s population is now urban – resulting in increased consumer spending. RMB’s ‘Where to do Business in Africa’ report notes that Africa has the fastest urbanisation rate globally, and further indicates that there are now over a thousand cities in Africa driving the growth of national economies. Cities like Lagos and Cairo rank in international megacities listings – something we often forget at the southern-most tip of Africa.

Partnerships are crucial This extraordinary rate of urbanisation has resulted in a real need for urban development and associated infrastructure – where players across the collective construction value chain have a critical role to play. The challenge facing the sector, however, remains how to access these opportunities sustainably. W i c o m b explained that PPC’s own experience in Africa had taught the company that partnerships were crucial if one was looking to invest in the long-term future of the continent. “To this end, we are committed to working with SAICE and SAFCEC to build and enable an environment of innovation within companies and communities, and across African borders. As we strive to achieve this, it is equally imperative that we pursue sustainability across our various disciplines in order to redefine the value we are able to add, and to build and shape our cities and continent responsibly for future generations.”

This rate of urbanisation has Infrastructure resulted in a need for opportunities urban development and beyond our borders associated infrastructure Wicomb additionally – where players across noted that countries the construction value beyond South Africa’s chain have a critical borders were offering the sector a new source role to play of infrastructure opportunities, making this an exciting time to live and work on the continent. “Over the past decade, economic growth across Africa has trebled, with the IMF identifying 6 of the 10 fastest growing economies in 2014 as African. “This translates into a critical need for infrastructure – as illustrated in the recent ‘African Construction Trends Report’ compiled by Deloitte. This highlights that the net worth of megaprojects across the continent grew by a staggering 46.2% last year

IMIESA November/December 2015

african cities | Roads

well into the future. This is the only way to ensure you have a clear and holistic view of how your brand is impacting all of its touchpoints – the natural environment, the built environment, and the social environment – now and beyond our own lifetimes. Our understanding of sustainability, thus, needs to be dynamic, so that we’re able to revisit and redefine this based on new knowledge Sustainability came under the spotlight at nsuring these and findings, and change this year’s annual Master Builders South translate into our actions and approach Africa (MBSA) Congress. Kevin Odendaal, realities will, howaccordingly – particularly as ever, require all we look to the future of executive: Business Development, PPC, players in the construcour continent. says there has never been a better time tion value chain to take a Consider, for example, to unpack the possibilities associated long-term view. the fact that sustainable with this business approach – particularly In critically evaluating the buildings deliver healthier definition of ‘sustainabilliving environments with in the African context. ity’, as it currently stands, increased quality of life it’s important to note how and the co-benefits of of their waste, today, it means a great deal social integration, lower health costs, and the concept has evolved over the years. more. Today, it reflects a complete shift in increased rates of performance and producWhereas, in the past, it typically referred to company philosophy and mindset, from start tivity. This translates to reduced costs, with running a responsible, financially efficient to finish, in all respects. business, with green-oriented companies savings on maintenance and, consequently, In the case of the construction industry, can have a significantly positive impact on more considerate as to how they disposed this speaks to everything from how one does the economic security of residents. Given top The interdependence of concrete, business – all the way through to how one Africa’s numerous socioeconomic challengsteel, and aluminium cannot be taken maintains the final structure es, and need for infrastructure, the impact for granted in terms of the long-term delivered to client of sustainable building potentially becomes maintenance and durability of the overall structure priceless. It also provides BELOW Sustainable buildings local companies

Responsible

urban

development

deliver healthier living environments with increased quality of life

IMIESA November/December 2015

african cities | Roads

with a good reason to look beyond South Africa’s borders for future prospects.

WATER

Strategic and focused partnerships Converting these opportunities into realities will require strategic and focused partnerships – something our own experience has taught us. Given that the service part of any building’s lifespan contributes the most to its sustainability, how it is designed and the combination, quality, and durability of materials used in its construction suddenly take on new importance. As such, the interdependence of concrete, steel and aluminium, for example, cannot be taken for granted in terms of the long-term maintenance and durability of the overall structure into the future. This is particularly well illustrated if we look at how temperature control potentially affects the sustainability (and energy consumption and loss) of buildings. Concrete, for example, is able to reduce the amount of energy required to control temperatures because of its thermal mass. This makes its properties worth exploring and understanding in the context of warmer African climates, so that they can be taken full advantage of.

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Water management for sustainable business

Innovation in the value chain That being said, Africa’s context demands that we innovate across the full value chain – from planning right the way through to materials, manufacturing techniques, application, design and construction,

Sustainability speaks from how one does business all the way through to how one maintains the final structure delivered to client well into the future management and logistics, funding and sales – so that we find new solutions that match the continent’s uniqueness. This is easier said than done, though, especially if you’re an emerging independent contractor looking to expand beyond South Africa’s borders. To this end, larger companies with a pan-African footprint can potentially unlock new value chain opportunities for their smaller counterparts and partners – something our own expansion across the continent is again showing us. With PPC currently represented in seven African countries, we are on track to derive up to 40% of our revenue from operations outside South Africa by 2017, having invested well over R4 billion in our pan-African projects. We see ourselves as potentially giving players further down the value chain (including builders and contractors) a foothold for expansion across the continent and a gateway to new markets, as we establish ourselves in these. This expansion has to be rooted in long-term sustainability, however, to ensure the collective and responsible success of all. If one considers that sustainability is about creating possibilities and not about limiting options, it’s critical for our sector to look towards the possibilities that exist for all of us across the continent and the country, and find viable means to partner in order to access these. Given the current statistics and projections, there has never been a better time to strive towards a more sustainable industry together – cognisant of the fact that many of Africa’s opportunities have yet to be discovered.

IMIESA November/December 2015

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infrastructure funding

A case for off-balance-sheet In order to meet the demand for great infrastructure development in South Africa and the rest of the continent, a fresh look at financing is needed, where the payoff from infrastructure investments – in the water sector or any other – receives broader attention. By Dawid Bosman*

tudies show that global expenditure on infrastructure would need to increase by nearly 60% over the next 15 years, or around $3 400 billion per annum, to allow for adequate economic growth. To put that number into context, it would require about 10 times the GDP of South Africa (about $350 billion) to be spent on global infrastructure each year, for the next 15 years. Furthermore, much of the increased expenditure would need to be funded not by national fiscal resources, but through off-balance-sheet project finance, especially in countries encumbered by high debt levels. Effectively, households and business will be funding the infrastructure through tolls and user charges, in addition to general taxation. Fortunately, there is a widely held view among economists that appropriate infrastructure expenditure is conducive to economic growth, not least because it steers capital resources away from bubble-prone sectors, and raises the efficiency of doing business. Infrastructure investment is often deemed to have an economic multiplier of 1.59.

Finding funds Historically, around 3.8% of global GDP has been spent on infrastructure, and most of

IMIESA November/December 2015

infrastructure funding

expenditure on infrastructure

that came from public treasuries. Depending on their stage of development, economic blocks spent different proportions of their GDP on infrastructure. In the 20 years from 1992 to 2011, China had spent a healthy 8.5% of its GDP on infrastructure, India and Japan around 5%, the Middle East and Africa around 3.6%, and the indebted developed world (mainly the US and EU) only around 2.6%. Globally, the expenditure on infrastructure needs to increase to a level of around 4.5% of GDP, to enable the necessary economic growth. To a large degree, the funding exists for this undertaking; it is estimated that about $5 000 billion is available each year from infrastructure funds, institutional investors, public treasuries, development banks, commercial banks, and corporations. This list warrants a second look: public money is listed alongside private money, and grant funding mingles with loans and equity.

finance structure in which debt, equity, and credit enhancement are combined for the construction and operation of a particular facility in a capital-intensive industry. “The debt is placed in stable value protection (SPV), isolated from the sponsor’s general assets or credit (i.e. ringfenced), and security is provided by the cash flows of the SPV (e.g. user payments)”.

Appropriate infrastructure expenditure is conducive to economic growth, not least because it steers capital resources away from bubble-prone sectors, and raises the efficiency of doing business

Attractive investment It should be noted that, over the past five years, infrastructure has become an asset class on its own, being particularly popular with institutional investors looking for the low-risk, long-term yield characteristics required by pension funds in particular. Before the financial crisis of 2008, these investors would typically have been turning to government bonds for those investment mandates but, in recent years, revenuegenerating infrastructure provides a better return. From an investor’s perspective, infrastructure is characterised by the following:

• low demand elasticity, often due to a monopolistic positioning • predictable, inflation-linked, long-term cash flow with almost no exposure to market risk • initial intense capital outlay, followed by consistent long-term returns • predictable evolution of risks • relatively low operating costs, compared to the initial capital outlay • return on investment is less affected by economic cycles, and less risky, than nearly all other investment classes. In a nutshell, pension fund money has found an attractive investment destination in revenue-generating infrastructure. This highlights the distinction between fiscalfunded infrastructure – using the broad tax base – providing a purely public amenity for the benefit of all, and infrastructure funded by a combination of equity and borrowings – where users of the facility pay a fee that covers the operations, maintenance, and long-term debt redemption. In the latter instance, the infrastructure is deemed to have been funded off balance sheet, and is also referred to as a financed project. Project finance can be defined as follows: “A long-term, non-recourse (or limited recourse)

Capacity for bankability

Bringing an infrastructure project to a bankable state, i.e. a condition where it has been thoroughly assessed in terms of financial and economic feasibility, is not a simple task and requires a range of high-level professional skill sets, robust governance, and credible institutions. These elements are often insufficient in developing economies, as indicated by the following statement by the World Economic Forum: “While there is plenty of private sector interest in financing bankable projects, the available project preparation resources are insufficient to advance the projects to a bankable state; thus, the pipeline of wellprepared projects is meagre, and investment opportunities are limited.” A distinct advantage of a financed project is the objectivity and rigorous assessment by the lenders that inevitably accompanies the risk financing, which tends to result in appropriate and efficient infrastructure. In the developing world, and especially the African context, the time has come to consider the role of project finance in infrastructure. An extensive fieldwork-based study, by the World Bank, brings the following insights into Africa’s infrastructure: 1. Spending on infrastructure is a great stimulus for the economy: infrastructure expenditure underpins more than half of

IMIESA November/December 2015

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infrastructure funding

4. Much more expenditure is required: the World Bank study has found that Africa’s infrastructure needs require an investment of $93 billion per annum (around 15% of GDP). This would enable the region to catch up in power generation, allow regional power trading, Over the past five years, infrastructure connect capitals and ports with good quality roads, pro2. Understanding the sources has become an asset class on its vide wet-season access to of funding: existing expenditure own, being particularly popular with high-value agricultural land, on infrastructure amounts to institutional investors looking for the double the crops under $45 billion per year, including irrigation, meet the as-yetboth on- and off-budget ($30 billow-risk, long-term yield characteristics unmet water and sanitation lion together), as well as external required by pension funds in particular Millennium Development financiers ($15 billion). Capital Goals, raise household electrification expenditure is largely funded from tax and those of other developing regions, and by 10%, and give 100% of the populaexecuted through central government budgare being hamstrung by difficult economic tion access to broadband and mobile ets. The operation and maintenance of infrageography and the absence of key regional voice signals. structure assets is largely funded through links. Infrastructure services in Africa are Given that $45 billion is currently being user charges, and executed through statestill about twice as expensive as in other spent, and $17 billion remains unspent owned enterprises. developing countries, largely due to poor due to inefficiencies, it leaves a funding economies of scale and lack of competition. gap of $31 billion, after the inefficiencies 3. Underdeveloped infrastructure is still a Power is the greatest challenge by far, with have been addressed. The funding gap can constraint to growth: the continent’s infrapremium rates being paid for emergency only be closed by raising additional finance structure networks increasingly lag behind power supply. Africa’s growth in recent years, and significant growth potential remains on the same basis. Modelling has shown that, had subSaharan Africa’s infrastructure development been at the level of that of Mauritius, it would have added more than two percentage points to GDP growth.

IMIESA November/December 2015

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IMESA/CESA EXCELLENCE AWARDS

IMESA CALL FOR PAPERS

CATEGORIES 1. STRUCTURES AND BUILDINGS 2. WATER/WASTEWATER 3. RODS/STORMWATER 4. ENVIRONMENTAL 5. COMMUNITY UPLIFTMENT EXPLANATION Give recognition to well-engineered civil engineering projects for infrastructure. Portray the art and science of civil engineering for infrastructure to the general public and indicate how the profession finds answers to challenges. The project must be in Southern Africa. CLOSING DATE 10 JUNE 2015 (Only completed projects as at 30 June 2015 will be accepted for the Awards) ENTRY FORMS / AND AWARD CRITERIA will be available for download in early December 2015 on www.imesa.org.za QUESTIONS Debbie Anderson – IMESA – 031 266 3263 • conference@imesa.org.za

IMESA t +27 (011) 463 2022 f +27 (011) 463 7383 www.cesa.co.za

t +27 (031) 266 3263 f (031) 266 5094 www.imesa.org.za

infrastructure funding

No limits

(i.e. off-budget funding), adopting lower-cost technologies, or having less ambitious infrastructure development targets.

Realistic user payments This brings us to the matter of the affordability of user payments, as required by off-budget-funded infrastructure. In spite of the relatively poor infrastructure, the sub-Saharan African economy has performed rather well in recent years. From the period 1988–2000 to the period 2001–2012, the number of sub-Saharan African economies growing faster than 5% jumped from 8 to 21. The projection for the period 2013–2030 is that 24 economies will exceed 5% GDP growth per annum. It is a notable concern that South Africa is not in this cohort. It is also evident that a consumer class is emerging in subSaharan Africa. An analysis of the sectors that have attracted foreign direct investment (FDI) illustrates a swing away from resources and extractive sectors, towards consumer-facing sectors. Over the 10 years from 2003 to 2013, the FDI share of technology, media, and telecommunications has grown from 14% to 20%. Similarly, the share of retail and consumer products has gone from 12% to 17%, financial ser vices from 12% to 15%, and business ser vices from 6% to 12%. In contrast, the FDI share of metals and mining has declined sharply from 13% to 2%, and that of coal, oil, and natural gas from 11% to 3%. This proportional shift towards consumer-facing investments is a strong indicator that a growing consumer class has been established in Africa, increasingly capable of paying tariffs for the use of utilities, subscribing to premium telecommunication ser vices, and paying tolls for the use of upgraded road infrastructure.

Conclusion The World Bank study has identified the need for additional funding of infrastructure, to be a catalyst for accelerated economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa. The progressive emergence of an African consumer class will contribute to enabling that funding mechanism, by having the means to pay for the privilege of using that infrastructure, even though challenges in project preparation capacity remain. Institutional sources of private equity and project finance have also grown more comfortable with investments into revenue-positive, sustainable infrastructure projects. In a supportive policy environment, and with sufficient capacity to bring projects to a finance-ready status, off-budget project finance could well be the instrument by which African economic development is set on a higher trajector y. *Dawid Bosman is senior manager of advisor y services for the Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority. He holds a BEng Mechanical Engineering from the University of Stellenbosch and an MBA from the University of Cape Town. For a full list of references used for this article, please contact liesl@3smedia.co.za.

IMIESA November/December 2015

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Technical Paper | rural roads

ow-volume unsur faced roads occur mainly in rural areas and often deny communities all-weather access to social services and economic opportunities. The extent of the unsurfaced road network that is formally maintained by eThekwini Municipality is approximately 1 442 km and is spread over 50 of the municipality’s 103 wards. Interspersed with this formal network is an estimated 777 km of tracks and footpaths that have been created by municipal service departments, for operational purposes, or by communities requiring access. In addition to this, the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport maintains approximately 1 200 km of the province’s unsurfaced road network within the municipal boundary. Rural roads play a significant role in enhancing mobility by taking people out of isolation (measured in terms of distance to water, fuel, and basic social services) and, therefore, poverty. Rural roads often receive the least attention in the network and are considered the ‘step-child’ of infrastructure provision in developing countries. One of the reasons for this is that they are often funded and managed with inputs from national, provincial, and local governments without clear policies and guidelines as to whether they should be treated as economic

or social investments. These complexities make it harder for rural roads interventions to achieve expected standards of governance and technical performance. There is, therefore, a need to revise existing construction and maintenance standards to mitigate the risks associated with global climate change and extreme weather conditions. If rural access is an indicator of poverty, then rural roads management is a measure of governance. Upgrading low-volume roads An average of 15 km of gravel roads are currently upgraded to a surfaced standard on an annual basis as part of the municipality’s capital upgrade programme. These are either infill roads in urban areas or public transport routes in rural areas. These upgrades are done in accordance with the guidelines contained in ‘TRH4: Structural Design of Flexible Pavements for Interurban and Rural Roads’ and cost approximately R6 million per kilometre. It is estimated that, given the budget constraints and the current rate of upgrading, it will take approximately 90 years to eliminate the gravel-to-surface backlog if the extent of the network were to remain the same. The challenge is to select viable upgrade projects based on engineering principles

Solving

unpaved roads

and functionality while still satisfying numerous political demands. This was addressed by incorporating the following criteria in the preliminary selection of upgrade projects and verifying the same through project level inspections. eThekwini is cognisant of the risks inherent in upgrading the low-volume network. One of the concerns is that funding will be required, in the long term, for the eventual rehabilitation and continued maintenance of the paved surface. A nicely paved surface may lead to an increase in vehicle speeds and attract more traffic, thereby posing a safety risk to communities. Heavy traffic attracted to the new road may overload the pavement and, if not adequately designed, may lead to even higher maintenance costs. While every effort will be made to maintain the existing vertical and horizontal alignment, paving the road may, in some instances, require a realignment or profile upgrade resulting in increased construction costs. Utilisation of bitumen-stabilised materials (BSMs) BSMs, particularly foam bitumen-treated materials, have been used successfully in the rehabilitation of the municipality’s surfaced road network, meeting both the structural and practical requirements of all road

The use of bitumenstabilised materials to upgrade eThekwini Municipality’s lowvolume, unsurfaced road network

eThekwini Municipality maintains an unsur faced road network of approximately 1 440 km. Regular grading and replacement of gravel places a substantial financial burden on the municipality. These low-volume unsur faced roads occur mainly in rural areas and often deny communities all-weather access to social ser vices and economic oppor tunities.

IMIESA November/December 2015

Technical Paper | rural roads

categories. The following advantages have prompted the use of BSMs for upgrading the municipality’s low-volume roads: • The municipality has accumulated a wealth of expertise in the design, specification, and construction of BSMs. • There are readily available stockpiles of reclaimed asphalt across the municipality that can be used as a BSM. • The use of reclaimed asphalt is costeffective, as the material belongs to the municipality and can be utilised in road construction without further charges. • The use of bitumen-stabilised reclaimed asphalt reduces the demand for costly gravel or virgin aggregate from quarries that are either situated a distance away from the site or are reaching the end of their serviceable lifespan. • BSMs are environmentally sustainable and cost-effective, and, together with the use of good construction techniques, have further enhanced the performance of the pavements. • The road can be trafficked immediately. • The water-resistant nature of BSMs is ideally suited for use in areas of poor drainage. Dynamic cone penetrometer (DCP) In an effort to fast-track the upgrade process and achieve its goal of upgrading 60 km of low-volume roads per annum, the municipality is using its in-house technical staff to carry out the pavement designs. The design process is based on the Republic of Malawi’s ‘Design Manual for Low Volume Sealed Roads’, which makes extensive use of the DCP design method. The philosophy behind the DCP design method is to achieve a balanced pavement design while also optimising the utilisation of the in situ material strength as much as possible. The DCP is not popular in the pavement engineering community, partly because of the lack of a solid correlation between DCP results and modulus values. However, the DCP design technique has been shown to be highly appropriate for the design of low volume roads especially as testing is quick, cheap, and non-destructive.

Road type

Design speed (km/h)

Max. grade (%)

Road width (m)

Desirable

Min. curve radius (m)

Absolute

Local access

12.5

5.5

Low volume

15.0

5.0

Table 1 (Above) Minimum geometric standards Table 2 (Right) Traffic class

Although this is a simple, cheap and effective method for assessing the bearing capacity of in situ materials for the design of new roads or the upgrading of unsealed or existing sealed roads, it is, however, important that the designer has a good understanding of the in situ moisture and density conditions at the time of the DCP testing and understands the relationships between the field (design) and laboratory test (standards and specification) results for the materials involved. Preliminary road evaluation The initial investigation phase incorporates an assessment process designed to evaluate whether the road under consideration meets the criteria for upgrading. The upgraded road must provide all road users with a functional and safe path and act as a catalyst for economic development. It is, therefore, imperative that the road is designed and constructed in accordance with the minimum geometric standards. All existing stormwater facilities are assessed as the increased surface runoff, due to reduced permeability, must be captured, controlled, and discharged into a system that minimises the impact on existing waterways and the environment. Projects requiring major geometric and stormwater drainage improvement are elevated to the capital upgrade programme, where stringent legislative requirements such as environmental impact assessments have to be fulfilled. Geometric alignment and road safety Road-user safety and efficient traffic flow are fundamental aspects of the standard

Traffic class

E80 x 10

LE 0.01 LE 0.03 LE 0.1 LE 0.3 LE 0.7 LE 1.0

0.003 – 0.010 0.010 – 0.030 0.030 – 0.100 0.100 – 0.300 0.300 – 0.700 0.700 – 1.0

geometric requirements for local roads in the municipality. As efficient traffic flow is not considered a priority in the low-volume road upgrade programme, the minimum geometric standards are reduced with the inclusion of additional safety measures to accommodate adverse geometric conditions. Table 1 indicates both the minimum geometric standards for local access roads in the urban environment and the allowances that have been made to facilitate accessibility under the low-volume road upgrade programme. The use of road furniture such as guard rails in sharp curves and steep embankments, guard rail reflectors, reflective road markings, warning signage, and traffic calming measures to reduce speed and improve visibility has assisted in dealing with numerous geometric problems. Stormwater drainage evaluation It is imperative to evaluate the existing stormwater facilities, if any, and to identify and understand the problems that may arise as a result of increasing the impervious area and altering the natural landscape. Every effort is made to measure the anticipated catchment flow and to compare this with the existing stormwater facilities to establish the quantity and positions of new structures that may be required. Traffic Accurate traffic counts are essential for a detailed traffic analysis and pavement

IMIESA November/December 2015

Technical Paper | rural roads

design. Estimating the amount of traffic that a road will carr y is considered a much larger problem on lightly trafficked roads than their more highly trafficked counterparts. This is particularly so in the case of the municipality whose nodal approach to infrastructure development will result in the lightly trafficked roads experiencing an increase in intermittent or temporary traffic. The traffic class is calculated based on the following elements: • a pavement design life of 10 years • an estimated heavy vehicle growth rate of between 3% and 4% • an average road width adjusted by a lane width adjustment factor to cater for the combined effect of the directional distribution of traffic • an estimate of the number of E80s per heavy vehicle and the number of heavy vehicles per day in both directions Table 3 Estimate of in situ soil moisture conditions at time of DCP testing Table 4 DCP design catalogue

• a cumulative growth factor calculated as a function of the pavement design life and the estimated heavy vehicle growth rate • the cumulative traffic design loading (both directions) calculated as a function of the

E80s, heavy vehicles per day, lane width adjustment factor, and the cumulative growth factor • the traffic class is then obtained from Table 2.

In situ moisture condition Extended period of excessive wet weather Extended period of wet weather typical of summer (September to Damp January) Intermittent rain days typical of autumn (March/April) and spring Normal (September/October) Extended period of dry weather typical of winter (June/August) or Dry late summer (February) Drought Extended period of excessive dry weather

Wet

Depth (mm) LE 0.01 0-150 150-300 300-450 450-600 600-800 DN800 800

35 50 65 80

Traffic class

LE 0.03 8 19 33 40 50 39

DCP % 20

5.9 14 25 33 40 52

LE 0.1 LE 0.3 DN (mm/blow) 4 9 19 25 39 73

LE 0.7 3.2 6 12 19 25 100

LE 1.0 2.6 4.6 8 14 24 128

2.5 4 6 13 23 143

IMIESA November/December 2015

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Southern African leading asphalt manufacturer and supplier

Technical Paper | rural roads

DCP survey In order to establish whether the existing gravel road strength may be utilised, the materials in the pavement structure are tested for their actual in situ strength using a DCP. The DCP measures the penetration per blow into a pavement through each of the different pavement layers, usually down to a depth of 800 mm. This rate of penetration in mm/blow (the DN value) is a function of the in situ shear strength of the material at the in situ moisture content and density of the pavement layers at the time of testing. Based on the moisture regime at the time of testing, the percentile values shown in Table 3 are used to adjust the DN value of each layer for design moisture conditions. The rationale behind using the percentile values in Table 3 is that the DN values will vary throughout the year, as a result of the municipality’s varying weather patterns. The use of these respective percentiles effectively provides an estimate of the expected in-service conditions. An Excel DCP programme has been developed to compare the existing pavement structure from the DCP survey with a suitable pavement structure from the DCP design catalogue presented in Table 4. From this comparison, it will become apparent which layers are adequate to carry the design traffic and which are not. For example, when the in situ strength in the uppermost 150 mm is not adequate to carry the design traffic, the strategy is to add a new BSM layer with the required DN value and treat the existing wearing course as the sub-base of the new road. Utilisation of bitumen-stabilised material The complete design method requires that all the layers in the pavement structure must have the appropriate bearing capacity to accommodate the estimated traffic over the life of the road. In this instance, the load-bearing capacity is determined by the material’s resistance to DCP penetration and is measured by the DN value as indicated in Table 4. Following the DCP survey and analysis of the data using the DCP programme, a typical pavement design will involve pretreating the existing gravel wearing course (rip, shape, and re-compact), placing untreated reclaimed asphalt and, thereafter, in situ processing of the reclaimed asphalt layer using foamed bitumen to construct a BSM base over the existing gravel wearing course

(now acting as a sub-base layer). This method was used to upgrade the main lowvolume roads in Gwala’s Farm, a township with hilly topography located in the northern region of the municipality known as Tongaat. Post-construction DCP and indirect tensile strength (ITS) test results carried out on the BSM layer to a depth of 150 mm are presented in Table 5 and Table 6, respectively.

stage of construction if the typical DN values in Table 4 are achieved or, failing that, additional measures may be necessary to obtain the required compaction. Although this process has been simplified by the DCP programme, this method is still a challenge for many practitioners, given the history of using nuclear density gauging equipment to measure compaction. It is important not to conduct DCP tests close to an unsupported edge, as the lack of confinement may lead to spurious data. In these projects, no DCP tests were conducted 1.5 m from both edges of the road.

Construction Prior to importing the RA, the contractor is required to establish level controls using a dumpy level and local benchmarks. A basic engineering survey is utilised to set levels for layer thickness control and to ensure that the minimum cross-fall is achieved. Although simple in nature, the contractor experienced difficulty in performing some of these rudimentary tasks, given the constraints of the existing terrain and topography. The DCP is an ideal tool for managing the contractor’s process control on-site. The contractor may proceed to the next

Material classification Classification was done by comparing the in situ DN value reflected in Table 5 with the specified limits contained in TG2. Although not a requirement, further confirmation of BSM classification was obtained by Table 5 (Below) BSM base – postconstruction BSM DCP results Table 6 (Bottom) BSM base – postconstruction ITS results

Road name

In situ DN 50th percentile (mm/blow)

Material classification (TG2-2009)

RD 82024

4.3

BSM 2

RD 82025

3.0

BSM 1

RD 82127

5.4

BSM 2

RD 82134

2.5

BSM 1

Road name

RD 82024 RD 82025 RD 82127 RD 82134

Field-tested ITS Dry

Wet

329 316 206 329 393 253 225 197 249

269 242 100 103 83 131 149 144 86

Material classification (TG2-2009) BSM 1 BSM 1 BSM 2 BSM 1 BSM 2 BSM 1 BSM 1 BSM 2 BSM 2

IMIESA November/December 2015

SAVE THE DATE 26-28 OCTOBER 2016

THEME

“Siyaphambili - Engineering for the future”

CONFERENCE VENUE

East London International Convention Centre (ELICC)

DATE

26 - 28 October 2016

CONTACT

Debbie Anderson Contact number: 031 266 3263 Email: conference@imesa.org.za Website: www.imesa.org.za

ORGANISER

THE INSTITUTE OF MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING OF SOUTHERN AFRICA (IMESA)

Technical Paper | rural roads

comparing the material’s wet and dry indirect tensile strength (ITS), as reflected in Table 6, with requirements of TG2. The ITS is an indication of the quality of the bituminous mixture and, hence, the potential for rutting or cracking. The DN value and the ITS results both indicate that the quality of the BSM in the base may be classified as either BSM1 or BSM2. Conclusion The DCP pavement design procedure can be used successfully for upgrading existing gravel roads to a paved standard and has been adopted by some road authorities within the sub-Saharan region. In meeting the challenge of developing a technical solution within a constrained budget, the municipality has opted to construct the base layer using bitumenstabilised reclaimed asphalt. The use of reclaimed asphalt has several economic, engineering, and environmental benefits for both the municipality and the road user.

Given a pavement design life of 10 years, the risk of failure on these low-volume roads is consequentially higher than is the norm for standard pavement design applications. Based on the excellent performance of BSM in the rehabilitation of the paved network, it is expected that their use in upgrading low-volume roads will yield similar, if not Road name 82127 TRK 82134 TRK 82025 TRK 80002 TRK

Length (m) 837 312 373 580

better, results. Further testing is planned to ascertain remaining useful life in order to establish whether the initial design assumptions have been met or surpassed. Table 7 (Below) Project costs – 2014/15 financial year Table 8 (Bottom) Classification of BSMs

Width (m) 5 5 5 5

Total cost (R) 985 548.81 354 878.47 657 056.05 829 687.69

Cost per km (R/km) 1 177 477.67 1 137 432.99 1 759 657.06 1 430 496.02

BSM

Description

BSM 1

Used as a base layer for design traffic greater than 6 MESA. Source material is graded crushed stone or RA

BSM 2

Used as a base layer for design traffic less than 6 MESA. Source material is graded crushed stone or RA

BSM 3

Used as a base layer for design traffic less than 1 MESA

IMIESA November/December 2015

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Water & wastewater

Increased cooperation in the risk management of cross-border water basins in the Southern African Development Community is crucial for the region’s water security. Johan Minnie stresses the need for proactive planning between nations.

Strengthening resilience in Africa’s river basins

isaster management responsibility tends to be split into political jurisdictions, but a river basin is a joint resource that needs to be managed and protected. A river basin faces natural as well as man-made hazards, and it can be the source of a disaster or help mitigate disaster impacts. River basin management has a direct influence on the disaster management of river basins and their communities, and this relationship serves as a motivator for more effective collaboration between the two fields of practice. “Disaster management in the water sector is everybody’s responsibility. Communities, hydrologists, meteorologists, river basin commissioners, and disaster managers are all jointly responsible for reducing risk and optimising resilience in our river basin resources,” says Johan Minnie, head: Risk and Resilience, Aurecon. ‘River basin organisations’ (RBOs) is an umbrella term for organisations that look after shared river basins that span across two or more countries. There are 15 RBOs in the Southern African Development Community, which includes Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia,

Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. “We recommend that three aspects of disaster management be considered, namely planning, preparation, and response. All of these need to be performed as part of effective river basin management in order to be positioned to cope effectively with a disaster. RBOs are advised to develop strategies to prepare for expected hazards, including early warning systems and contingency planning, such as flood defences and evacuation strategies,” says Minnie. One of the risks for RBOs is falling into a reactive mode of response. Instead of addressing disaster management in a reactive manner, RBOs need to focus on preventing disasters. Positive planning, comprehensive preparedness, and

anticipator y responses all contribute towards resilience strategies that go beyond the reactive paradigm. “Effective disaster management isn’t reactive, it’s proactive and it focuses on reducing disaster risk before the disaster occurs, while maintaining the necessary resources to respond to the impacts that cannot be prevented. RBOs shouldn’t plan to react, they should plan to reduce risk,” emphasises Minnie. Flooding and drought resilience Two of the hazards that RBOs need to plan and prepare for are flooding and drought. “Many disasters occur in the water sector. Too much or too little water can create disastrous conditions. Floods, droughts, and windstorms are the most frequently occurring

top Vaal River water resource management areas are under threat right Olifants River

IMIESA November/December 2015

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATES AECOM vanessa.partington@aecom.com Afri-Infra Group (Pty) Ltd banie@afri-infra.com AJ Broom Road Products ajbroom@icon.co.za Arup SA rob.lamb@arup.com Aurecon danie.wium@aurecongroup.com Aveng Manufacturing Infraset cgroenewald@infraset.com Bigen Africa Group Holdings otto.scharfetter@bigenafrica.com BMK Consulting brian@bmkconsulting.co.za Bosch Munitech info@boschmunitech.co.za Bosch Stemele bsdbn@boschstemele.co.za Brubin Pumps sales@brubin.co.za BVI Consulting Engineers marketing@bviho.co.za Civilconsult Consulting Engineers mail@civilconsult.co.za Corrosion Institute of Southern Africa secretary@corrosioninstitute.org.za CSIR Built Environment rbapela@csir.co.za Development Bank of SA divb@dbsa.org.za DPI Plastics mgoodchild@dpiplastics.co.za EFG Engineers eric@efgeng.co.za Elster Kent Metering leon.basson@elster.com Engcor Engineers masham@engcorengineers.co.za Fibertex South Africa (Pty) Ltd rcl@fibertex.com GIBB yvanrooyen@gibb.co.za GLS Consulting nicky@gls.co.za Gudunkomo Investments & Consulting info@gudunkomo.co.za Hatch Goba info@hatch.co.za Henwood & Nxumalo Consulting Engineers cc pmboffice@hn.co.za Herrenknecht schiewe.helene@herrenknecht.de Huber Technology cs@hubersa.com Hydro-comp Enterprises dan@edams.co.za I@Consulting louis_icon@mics.co.za ILISO Consulting hans@iliso.com INGEROP mravjee@ingerop.co.za Integrity Environment info@integrityafrica.co.za Jeffares and Green dennyc@jgi.co.za Johannesburg Water rtaljaard@jwater.co.za KABE Consulting Engineers info@kabe.co.za Kago Consulting Engineers kagocon@kago.co.za Kantey & Templer (K&T) Consulting Engineers info@kanteys.co.za Knowledge Base info@knowbase.co.za Lektratek Water general@lwt.co.za Makhaotse Narasimulu & Associates mmakhaotse@mna-sa.co.za Malani Padayachee & Associates (Pty) Ltd admin@mpa.co.za Maragela Consulting Engineers admin@maragelaconsulting.co.za

Marley Pipe Systems info@marleypipesystems.co.za Martin & East gbyron@martin-east.co.za Mhiduve adminpotch@mhiduve.co.za Mott Macdonald PDNA mahomed.soobader@mottmac.com Much Asphalt leon.alberts@muchasphalt.com Namela Consulting (Pty) Ltd melissa@namela.co.za Nyeleti Consulting ppienaar@nyeleti.co.za Odour Engineering Systems mathewc@oes.co.za Pumptron info@pumptron.co.za Pragma nicojobe.mabaso@pragmaworld.net francisg@rhdv.com Royal HaskoningDHV SABITA info@sabita.co.za SALGA info@salga.org.za SARF administrator@sarf.org.za.co.za SBS Water Systems terri@sbstanks.co.za Sektor Consulting cradock@sektor.co.za Sight Lines sales@sightlines.co.za SiVEST SA garths@sivest.co.za Siza Water Company tionette.bates@sizawater.co.za SMEC capetown@smec.com SNA stolz.j@sna.co.za Sobek Engineering gen@sobek.co.za Southern African Society for Trenchless Technology director@sasst.org.za SRK Consulting jomar@srk.co.za Sulzer Pumps Wastewater sales.abs.za@sulzer.com Syntell julia@syntell.co.za Thm Engineers East London thmel@mweb.co.za TPA Consulting roger@tpa.co.za UWP Consulting craign@uwp.co.za Vetasi south-africa@vetasi.com VIP Consulting Engineers esme@vipconsulting.co.za VOMM commerciale@vomm.it VUKA Africa Consulting Engineers info@vukaafrica.co.za Water Institute of Southern Africa wisa@wisa.org.za Water Solutions Southern Africa ecoetzer@wssa.co.za Wilo South Africa marketingsa@wilo.co.za WorleyParsons chris.brandsen@WorleyParsons.com WRP ronniem@wrp.co.za WRNA washy@wrnyabeze.com WSP Group Africa dirk.hattingh@mbs-wsp.co.za

I M E S A A F F I L I AT E M E M B E R S

IMESA

Water & wastewater

natural disaster events and account for almost 90% of the 1 000 most disastrous events since 1990,” says Minnie. In 2012, it was reported that water-related disasters already account for 90% of all natural disasters globally. “As can be seen in Graph 1, the annual total and cumulative number of natural disaster events recorded globally between 1990 and 2006 indicates how water-related disasters far outweigh other disasters,” comments Minnie. The recorded number of water-related disasters, especially floods and windstorms, from 1980 to 2009 shows an upward trend. Extreme water-related events have also become more frequent in recent years: for instance, the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Cyclone Sidr in Bangladesh in 2007, the 2007 UK

environment and this can only be attributed to increased capacity to deal with flooding. RBOs are positioned at the nexus of water-related risk and vulnerability, putting them in a position of great responsibility to influence disaster risk planning.” There are some challenges that are repeatedly identified during debriefs after a disaster response operation. Communication typically tops the list of actions that need more attention and better management.

Investment in risk reduction also needs to be planned for, not only made when there’s an immediate threat. “Investment in risk reduction means investing in interventions such as infrastructure for flood risk reduction and water resource management. Other investments include capturing local and indigenous knowledge about risk reduction measures that have proven to be effective in the past,” Minnie explains.

The right communication “Communication is something that disaster managers need to address. There is usually a problem with how information is disseminated, packaged, distributed, “Floods, droughts, and windstorms received, and interare the most frequently occurring Investing broadly preted between Investment in risk reduction can also disaster managers natural disaster events and Flooding and drought resilience mean investing in advocacy and educaand community account for almost 90% of the tion, not only of the public but also of members. Another Two of the hazards that RBOsevents need to plan and prepare for are flooding and drought. 1 000 most disastrous decision-makers and local political and problem is that “Many in the water sector. Too much or too little water can create disastrous Johan Minnie, Aurecon sincedisasters 1990.”occur traditional leadership. information regardconditions. Floods, droughts, and windstorms are the most frequently occurring natural disaster “The argument for investment will freing flood lines, for events and account for almost 90% of the 1000 most disastrous events since 1990,” says Minnie. floods, Typhoon Ketsana in the Philippines example, might be available on file or on quently need to be based on cost and benIn 2012 was reported water-related disasters for 90%Therefore, of all natural disasters and Vietnam in 2009, and itrecent, severe athat efit statements. sound economic server, but this information isn’talready always account globally. droughts in Australia and Europe. support for investment in risk reduction shared with the people who need it in order From July to September 2015, according to to manage risks. should be shared with the people who need (Niels Vlaanderen, 2015,Some Water-related risk reduction: preventive ReliefWeb, floods and droughts have affectmake these adecisions. The approach, relationship of the most critical informationtools that totoimplement downloaded from: ed many countries including Guatamala, needs to be shared relates to downstream between development and disasters needs http://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/waterandsustainabledevelopment2015/pdf/OP_Governmen Sierra Leone, Pacific island states, and data about river conditions. RBOs need to be understood by all role players,” the Caribbean. In ts_Risks_Niels_Vlaanderen_FORMAT.pdf) Southern Africa, severe to address these types of communication says Minnie. drought is currently being experienced. Minnie recommends that RBOs should be challenges in order to fulfil a disaster manMinnie argues that planning and prepared- agement role,” says Minnie. working more closely with disaster managers Disaster events, water-related and notin order to plan proactively, prepare compreness can have a large impact on hensively, and respond in an anticipative 400 Water related Not water-related disasters. “The manner to any threats. 350 Mozambique “Disasters happen because humans get 300 floods of 2000 in the way of nature. RBOs have a respon250 were devastatsibility to manage their water resourc200 ing. Subsequent es and protect the lives of the people flooding of the that are impacted by the river basins in 150 same severthe SADC region. Working towards resil100 ity had less ience is the way Number of eventsto achieve this,” con50 impact on the cludes Minnie. 0 graph 1 Comparison of water- and non-waterrelated disasters (Source: www. unwater.org)

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Figure 1: Comparison of water and non-water related disasters. Source: www.unwater.org November/December 2015 73 “As can be seen in Figure 1, theannual total and cumulative number of naturalIMIESA disaster events recorded globally between 1990 and 2006 indicate how water-related disasters far outweigh other

Water & wastewater

Sewer augmentation

dditions to Markman main sewer will improve delivery and avoid environmental disaster. A proposed additional 1 000 mm diameter pipe in the Markman main sewer system, designed by wastewater infrastructure experts AfriCoast Consulting Engineers, is set to vastly improve the system and avert future, potentially disastrous pipe bursts. The existing sewage system between Markman and Fish Water Flats is well over capacity and recent leaks in the sewage infrastructure from other pipes crossing the same river have meant ecological and health hazards for the Swartkops River estuary and surrounding communities. AfriCoast project manager Gerrie van de Merwe said the R30 million augmentation will dramatically improve the flow and ensure longevity and sustainability of the system for many decades to come. In January this

year, the Swartkops River Trust issued a public plea for the redesign and replacement of the sewage infrastructure in Nelson Mandela Bay. Van de Merwe said plans for the augmentation had, in fact, been set in motion in 2008 but were stalled due to funding prioritisation. “The hydraulic capacity of the existing pipe is no longer sufficient to support demand on the line, which has increased dramatically over the past 25 years with local population growth. The current 1 510 m length of pipe carries all the flow. The existing capacity is 680 litres per second and, in peak wet weather, the flow increases to more than 1 100 litres per second. “We decided to retain what we already have and add to the existing system to increase capacity, while at the same time creating a backup, as well as a way in which to perform ongoing maintenance and repairs,” he said.

In their pre-design study, engineers also determined that the existing grit chamber in Bluewater Bay was slowing the velocity of the flow in the Markman main sewer, thereby reducing the capacity of the pipeline. “The existing grit chamber is smelly and the build-up of gases is potentially hazardous. Our recommendation is to remove the grit chamber and instead use a dual pipe system we have designed. We will be installing a second 1 000 mm diameter line and will retain the old one in order to give dual system capability. This will vastly improve maintenance capabilities, as well as improve flow and reduce the risk of pipe failure.” The dual system will provide the flexibility to switch between the new and old lines, a capability the municipality has not had. One of the problems in adequately maintaining the system has been that the sewer cannot be closed like a tap. Now, with the additional line, the flow can be diverted and engineers will be able to repair promptly,

IMIESA November/December 2015

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The planned system

where necessary. They will also be able to inspect the condition of old sewer pipes with CCTV cameras and effect repairs, where necessary. The new line will run alongside the N2 national road, rather than through the vulnerable wetlands estuary, as the existing lines do. AfriCoast took extensive risk

and environmental assessment studies into account when engineering the new sewage system, to avoid further disturbance to potentially important fossil heritage and the environmentally sensitive saltwater marsh. Modernised operations at the Fishwater Flats Wastewater Treatment Works, which are currently being enlarged, will also go

a long way to improving the municipal sewage operation. The project is expected to create at least 25 jobs during construction and will also provide opportunities for local SMMEs. Construction is planned for completion in 2017. IMIESA November/December 2015

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public lighting

Lighting the way

n the midst of all the major infrastructure upgrades happening around the countr y, government has not forgotten the role public lighting plays in an improved quality of life for all. Not only does public lighting contribute to a safe and comfortable environment for vehicles and pedestrians during the night, but its potential to save municipalities money has recently been realised. There are currently 281.4 million street lights in the world, according to a report by northeast group llc – a Washingtonbased consulting firm with expertise in the smart infrastructure and smart grid sectors. The firm recently released a Global LED and Smart Street Lighting: Market Forecast (2014–2025), which states that this number will grow to 339.9 million by 2025. The street light market is currently undergoing a period of change, where legacy street lights are being replaced with new and more efficient LED or solid-state lighting technology. The South African government has taken the global queue and successfully begun the transition to LED public lighting. Throughout the countr y, local and provincial government departments are rolling out public lighting projects to update the current technology and light up previously unlit areas. The Western Cape government, in particular, has been ver y successful in this regard.

Retrofitting for a win and a place The City of Cape Town took the lead with an award-winning public lighting programme, which involved retrofitting the city’s traffic and street lights with efficient lighting. This programme has achieved substantial electricity savings

South Africa’s infrastructure is in the process of significant change and upgrades. All around the countr y, road and water works are ongoing as local and provincial governments under take multiple projects to improve the quality of life for their citizens. and involved replacing incandescent traffic lights with LEDs. Since the implementation of this project in 2010, almost 40 000 LEDs have been installed, thereby saving 9 317 MWh (megawatt hours) of electricity per annum and avoiding 9 224 tonnes of CO2 emissions. To date, all of the city’s traffic lights have been completely retrofitted with LEDs. The city has been retrofitting its street lights with energy-efficient lights since 2009 and has, to date, retrofitted just over 43 000 street lights, thereby saving 6 250 MWh (megawatt hours) of electricity per annum and avoiding 6 182 tonnes of CO2 emissions. Installing the best lighting infrastructure is pointless without regular maintenance, which the Western Cape provincial government recently undertook along the N1 and N2 national routes.

The contract is structured in such a way that the first six months are set aside to conduct bulk lamp changes, update single line diagrams, and inventor y all street light pole, outreach arm and luminaire information, as well as rectify all corrosion issues. According to Francois Du Toit, project manager in charge of street/highmast lighting, in conjunction with this, compliance certificates are issued per street light control kiosk as per SANS 10142 Part 1. “During the four-year period, on a monthly basis, electrical meter readings are obtained per street light control kiosk to correlate with the supply authority consumption bills. These involve either City of Cape Town or Eskom supply areas.” Ongoing maintenance work involves replacing accident-damaged poles and luminaires, tracing

The street light market is currently undergoing a period of change, where legacy street lights are being replaced with new and more efficient LED or solid-state lighting technology

Maintaining the glow The four-year, R40 million contract for maintenance on the N2 route started on 1 May 2015 and was awarded to Adenco Construction via a tender process. top Installing the best lighting infrastructure is pointless without regular maintenance, which the Western Cape provincial government recently undertook along the N1 and N2 national routes right Ongoing maintenance work involves replacing accident-damaged poles and luminaires

IMIESA November/December 2015

public lighting

left The contract is structured in such a way that the first six months are set aside to conduct bulk lamp changes below The four-year, R40 million contract for maintenance on the N2 route started on 1 May 2015 and was awarded to Adenco Construction via a tender process

or locating and repairing faulty underground cables and control equipment, and repairs due to theft or vandalism. “Touching on theft and vandalism, on the N2 route, a security company is employed on a fulltime basis, with foot patrols as well as patrol vehicles, to guard against these incidents,” explains Du Toit. “All theft and vandalism cases are reported to the South African Police Ser vice and a case number is obtained. These guards not only protect electrical equipment but all civil infrastructure as well.

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“They also assist stranded motorists, and their contract is a direct subcontract to ours. To state figures, before the security company was employed, theft and vandalism amounted to roughly R600 000 per month, pertaining to electrical equipment only. This declined to approximately R20 000 per month at present,” he notes. For the project to be a success, Adenco Construction has to work in closely with the traffic management centre, provincial traffic officials, and the civil maintenance contractor. The project team also includes expert lighting consultant Bryan Hadfield and Riekus Muller from Aurecon, who is acting as resident engineer. A public lighting project like this one may be considered to be relatively simple; however, on this project, the electrical engineers were faced with a challenge that needed to be addressed urgently, as it posed a danger. “We had 98 street lighting poles (median mounted) failing, due to metal fatigue, between Vangaurd Drive and Borcherds Quarry Road on the N2 route, which posed a danger to motorists. We had to act fast,” explains Du Toit. To tackle this task, Adenco designed a collar to be inserted inside the pole and stub section to support the cracked section as a temporary measure. Within a 24-hour period, a sample was manufactured and submitted to the consultant for approval. Ninety-eight were then manufactured by Adenco’s mechanical workshop, within a period of 5 days, and installed, within a period of 14 days. These poles were later removed and new poles were installed.

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Taking the LED retrofit programmes a step further; these street lights are also being networked together with communications to become ‘smart’ streetlights. City Power recently awarded a contract to Delphius Commercial and Industrial Technologies (CIT) to use the company's street light pole infrastructure in various Johannesburg suburbs to house telecommunications equipment. The street poles will be used to house technology solutions from telecommunications operators in order to provide better voice and data services, including 4G-enabled services. The roll-out of these smart street lights will be in phases, with volumes that could total 200, across various suburbs before year end. According to reports, the number or frequency of poles will be dependent on coverage radius, customer density, and the specific capacity requirements per area. The City of Johannesburg will generate revenue from the rental of the pole and the associated site location, as well as the power supply application, installation and delivery, creating a win-win situation for residents and the city alike.

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IMIESA November/December 2015

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A dangerous business Construction work is a perilous necessity. It is the duty of construction companies to create the safest possible working environment for construction workers and the public.

egulations require employers to create a safe working environment for all construction activities occurring at an elevation. What this safe working environment entails differs from site to site and is evaluated on a case by case basis. In terms of South Africa’s Occupational Health and Safety Act No. 85 of 1993, all work done at heights requires trained competency in working at heights and the use and maintenance of height safety PPE, and a fall protection plan must be in place. Work at height is defined as any work taking place at an elevation, and encompasses any work off the ground, regardless of the scale of elevation. If there is a risk of falling, measures need to be in place to mitigate the risks.

Fall protection plan According to the Construction Regulations 2014, Regulation 10, the fall protection plan requires training, equipment, procedures, and methodology to address relevant risks. A fall protection plan must be developed and evaluated on a site by site basis. All construction personnel who will be working off the ground need special training to be able to work at height. The fall protection plan should include strategies for fall prevention and arrest. Fall prevention is the use of barricading, such as scaffolding, to protect an employee from falling. Fall arrest includes safety harnesses or safety lines that will arrest the employee if he/she falls. The priority is to prevent falls first and arrest them as a last resort. The equipment has to be suitable to the work being conducted and it is imperative that the employee understands and is comfortable working with additional PPE.

Medical competence An employee working at heights must also be in possession of a valid medical

certificate. Conditions such as epilepsy, vertigo, hypertension, diabetes, or a fear of heights – as well as substance abuse – will compromise the employee’s safety off the ground. Thulani Kuzwayo, operational and process safety manager, Eskom, maintains that valid medical certificates are non-negotiable on a construction site. “Employees who are desperate for work will not hesitate to lie or cover up medical conditions that would exclude them from the work they desperately need,” he says.

Grayston temporary bridge collapse The safety of structures such as scaffolding and support structure on construction sites is also regulated by strict safety standards. While the temporary structure over Grayston Drive in Sandton that collapsed in mid-October did not have people working on it, the structure was suspended over public space – the M1 highway – and stands as an example of the importance of safety regulations in civil construction. The tragic collapse of the support scaffolding of the bridge on the evening of Wednesday 14 October that cost two lives and injured 23 others is the worst-case scenario for a construction project. Murray & Roberts spokesperson Eduard Jardim stated shortly after the incident, “The

exact cause of the incident is not known at this time. All of our incident response procedures have been initiated, our support services have been mobilised, and relevant authorities have been advised.” This is in addition to other investigations that have been initiated by the Department of Labour, the City of Johannesburg, the SAPS, and other parties, with which Murray & Roberts is closely cooperating. He went on to say that the pending investigations will include analyses and research conducted by technical, engineering, legal, and forensic specialists. “At this point, we are unable to comment on how long the investigations will take and when they will conclude; we appeal to the public to await the outcome. We are as concerned as everyone to understand what happened, and commit to sharing information as soon as the investigation is complete,” he said. “At this stage, we do not have any information on the cause or causes of the incident. We also do not want to speculate on possible causes. The investigation process must run its course to establish what led to this tragic incident. To achieve this, we are working closely with the various external investigations.”

top All work done at heights requires trained competency right The collapse of the support scaffolding of the Grayston pedestrian bridge (Source: ENCA)

IMIESA November/December 2015

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Substance abuse

Policy essentials All organisations know that implementing safety procedures within the workplace is imperative to ensure the health and safety of all employees. However, they also understand that applying these safety procedures into an organisation can be a daunting task, especially when it comes to alcohol and substance testing.

ost companies in South Africa do not have a substance abuse policy, according to Rhys Evans, director of Alco Safe – a supplier of electronic breath-alcohol detectors and drug-detection equipment and accessories. With 5000 clients around South Africa, Evans finds that Alco Safe is being contacted more frequently by companies seeking to incorporate substance abuse into their health and safety policy. “The reality is that you can’t wake up one morning, purchase a breathalyser, and start testing your staff. You need to follow the right procedures and make sure that everyone is protected,” says Evans. He notes that any company is at risk of an employee developing a drug or alcohol problem and, therefore, regardless of the size of

the company, every company should have a substance abuse policy. “The policy does not have to be longwinded, even a two-page document included in your health and safety policy is enough to cover the bases.” These policies are important, not only as disciplinary measures, but so that companies can take the necessary action to assist staff seeking help. Without these policies, companies are unable to step in and help employees who may need rehabilitation. This is particularly important in high-risk environments such as construction, mining, and any industry where employees are required to work with heavy machinery or dangerous equipment.

Knowledge is power Implementing a substance abuse policy not only requires the ‘buy in’ and the approval

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of employee representatives (unions), it also involves detailed preparation to determine what is required for an effective programme. “We have seen instances where companies implement programmes, which run fine for a month or two, but then stop; and, so, the start-stop pattern continues as unions intervene because they were not properly informed and included in the process of implementation.” When implementing a substance abuse policy that requires testing, it is important to thoroughly explain to staff how things will work. Evans believes that educating staff through training and company newsletters is one of the best ways to ensure that everyone

IMIESA November/December 2015

sheq

as fair as possible,” he adds. The purpose of substance abuse policies is not only to enhance safety in the workplace, but also to decrease absenteeism. Industries that require staff to work in rural areas, away from family and friends, often experience the most issues with substance abuse. This is because staff will often use drugs and alcohol as a way to socialise with one another and pass the time when they are not at work. Some of these industries include mining, milling, and construction.

is on board and understands that these measures are not being put in place to catch anyone out, but rather to promote and enhance a culture of safety in the workplace. “Companies need to be as open as possible, so that we can dispel any rumours. We want people to understand how the machines work and how alcohol comes out of the Rhys Evans, director, Alco Safe body, so that we don’t have people worrying about being Getting it right from the start falsely accused, for example, by drinking Once the policy is in place, companies often cough mixture that has alcohol content.” worry about how often it should be reviewed Fairness above all but, according to Evans, this should not be Evans points out that, during this process, a concern if you get the policy right from it is important to develop a system that is the start. fair, so that employees do not feel victim“In the 90s and early 2000s, we found ised or singled out. “At this point, employlots of cases where substance abuse poliees need to know that the rules regarding cies were not working as well as they substance abuse and testing apply to evecould’ve been, because there was a lot of ryone across the board, and not just to the confusion around the concept of zero tolerone group. Everyone in the company needs ance and the legal alcohol limit used to test to know that, if they are on the construction drivers,” explains Evans. site, they will be tested. From the cleaning “The problem was that people wanted staff to senior management, everyone who to implement a substance abuse policy enters the site will be tested because this using the legal blood alcohol level of 0.05 is the company policy. as a limit. This meant that you could have “We want to create a culture of safety, a beer or a glass of wine before work or and it is important that the testing policy be at lunch and face no consequences if you

“The reality is that you can’t wake up one morning, purchase a breathalyser, and start testing your staff. You need to follow the right procedures and make sure that everyone is protected.”

IMIESA November/December 2015

were tested, because you would be below or within the limit. The problem with this is that some people can’t stop at just one glass. Often, alcohol influences behaviour so, when some people drink, they no longer wish to work and will simply not go to work in the first place. Instead of returning from lunch, they would rather go home and have another drink.” Once the Occupational Health and Safety Act clarified that there should be a zero tolerance approach to employees working while under the influence of alcohol, many companies revised their policies accordingly.

Your business is your business When it comes down to the actual testing, Evans believes your business is your business and, thus, all testing is done internally, by staff chosen by you. Alco Safe offers staff a training course covering how alcohol works in the body, how the equipment works, how it should be calibrated, how to interpret the results, and how to handle the situation thereafter. “Privacy is ver y important, even according to the Occupational Health and Safety Act. By doing the testing yourself, you can protect your company and the person who has tested positive for substance abuse, and deal with your issues internally.” In addition to giving you added control over your privacy, testing your staff internally also saves the company money and allows you to test staff whenever necessary, without having to worry about call out fees. Despite all the hard work that comes with executing a substance abuse policy and testing procedures, there are great benefits and rewards that are realised in the long run. Reduced absenteeism and safety on-site are benefits that construction and mine managers can’t ignore, and this is why you need a substance abuse policy.

Cement & Concrete

s part of the lengthy repair Superior concrete repair mortar additive where damaged parts of project, the application of Sika and protection the wall required replastering. Its finely products spruced up PE’s popu- Two products used from Sika’s Concrete dispersed silica fume reacts with calcium lar beachfront promenade with Repair and Protection range were SikaTop hydroxide, a by-product of cement hydraa complete refurbishment. Sika’s PE con- Armatec-110 EpoCem, an epoxy resin comtion, to increase the overall proportion sultant John Zehmke recommended seven pensated coating material with corrosion of set cement in the mortar. The benworld-renowned Sika products that fit the inhibitor, and Sika MonoTop-612, a cementiefits of this reaction include improved bill. Techni Civils was subcontracted when tious, polymer-modified high-strength repair bond strength, increased workability, and casting of new concrete walling was pro- mortar containing silica fume and synthetic significantly higher flexural, tensile, and posed for the more deteriorated sections fibre reinforcement. compressive strengths. Non-corrosive While SikaTop Armatec-110 EpoCem proof the promenade. Sikacem-810 provides increased resistThe close proximity to the sea meant that tects anodic areas and provides excelance to wear and abrasion, and improved corrosion protection of the promenade was lent adhesion to concrete and steel, Sika impermeability to water. of paramount importance. For this aspect MonoTop-612 provides excellent workability Working against the tide of the project, Sika FerroGard-903+ was characteristics and is ideally suited for appliAwarded the contract for this large refurcation on overhead or vertical surfaces. applied onto all concrete sur faces. bishment project, Techni Civils faced In this project, the MonoTop-612 was used Based on organic compounds, the challenges of not only daily high FerroGard-903+ is a ready-to-apply corro- as a concrete repair mortar. Both products tides, delaying application of some of the sion inhibitor that penetrates the concrete may be spray-applied and provide good products, but also monthly spring tides, and forms a protective monomolecular resistance to water and chloride penetration. when especially high sea levels reached Sikacem-810, a waterproof, reactive synlayer on both the cathodic and anodic those sections of wall built close to the thetic polymer dispersion, was used as a zones of the reinforcing steel. water’s edge. It does not change The balustrading the appearance, nor and all joints between alter the water vapour concrete panels were diffusion properties of sealed with Sikaflex the concrete structure, AT-Facade, an internaand can be applied tionally approved onewhere other repair or component, moistureprevention options curing elastic sealant are not viable. The When the walling and railings along the based on silane-termiFerroGard-903+ is an Port Elizabeth (PE) promenade were in nated polymers. economical, renewable serious need of repair, Nelson Mandela Bay It is specifically corrosion inhibitor that designed for use on can increase the serMunicipality hired the services of Africoast movement and convice and maintenance Engineers to design an effective solution for nection joints, offering life cycles of concrete a movement capability by up to 15 years. the deteriorating infrastructure.

Preserving the PE promenade

The Port Elizabeth promenade before Sika repairs

The completed repairs on the Port Elizabeth promenade

IMIESA November/December 2015

Cement & Concrete

of 25% and low stress to the substrate. With low extrusion force and per fect smoothability, Sikaflex AT-Facade provides excellent adhesion to porous or non-porous substrates and is solvent- and silicone free. By providing the highest UV resistance, colour stability, and ageing resistance, Sikaflex AT-Facade was the perfect product to meet the high aesthetic standards required for the project. To increase concrete cover to steel, on some of the existing concrete, SikaTop Seal-107 ZA was applied 2 mm thick. This two-part, polymer modified, waterproof mortar slurr y comprises a liquid polymer and a cement-based mix incorporating special admixtures. The entire concrete walling sur face was coated with Sikagard-550 W Elastic, a one-component, plasto-elastic, thixotropic coating based on UV-curing acr ylic dispersion, providing excellent crackbridging properties, a high diffusion resistance against CO2, water vapour permeability, and environmental benefits. Sikagard-550 W Elastic also delivers outstanding resistance against weathering and ageing and has a reduced tendency to dirt pick-up and contamination – important factors for this project. Both SikaTop Seal-107 ZA and Sikagard-550 W Elastic comply with the requirements of EN 1504-2 and are suitable for protection against ingress, for moisture control, and for increasing the resistivity.

Securing the city’s tourism industry Standing approximately halfway along the promenade at Humewood Beach is the Promenade Dome or, as is commonly known, the Tin Hat – for its resemblance to a First World War soldier’s helmet. This large concrete dome, standing on six columns, formed part of the repair and protection project. It is situated on one of the older sections of the promenade known as the Princess Promenade, which was officially opened by Prince and Princess Arthur in 1923. Meandering for several kilometres along the beachfront, the Port Elizabeth promenade per forms a significant role in the city’s tourism industr y and it was, therefore, imperative that the most reliable products be used to give the structure longlasting and aesthetically pleasing top The Port Elizabeth protection against the harsh promenade during coastal environment. renovations below The Port Elizabeth promenade during repairs

IMIESA November/December 2015

Cement & Concrete

Watertight work at Driefontein In an endeavour to increase water supply to match the rapidly growing population of Gauteng, permeable to water vapour, and has a uring the Driefontein Johannesburg Water decided high resistance to freeze-thaw cycling. WWTW expansion project, anti-corrosion coatings on a substantial expansion to Smoothing things out and bonding agents were its Driefontein Wastewater As part of the concrete protection on the essential to the repair and rehabilitaplant’s clarifiers and pump stations, three tion processes. Treatment Works solvent-free products were used. Concrete walls were primed with SikaTop (WWTW). Sikagard-720 EpoCem is a three-part, Armatec 110 EpoCem, a cement-based,

epoxy-modified, three-component, anticorrosion coating and bonding agent that provides an excellent bonding coat for subsequent applications of Sika repair mortars. With excellent adhesion to steel and concrete, it acts as an effective barrier to water and chlorides. As steel reinforcement protection, Sika MonoTop-610, which meets the ZTV-SIB requirements for corrosion protection, was applied. It forms a bonding slurr y for the MonoTop-615 HB, a high-build repair and reprofiling mortar that contains silica fume. This mortar was used on the sections of walling requiring thicklayer concrete repairs and, with its excellent thixotropic behaviour, top Sika Rep LW, a non-sag, cement-based, multipurpose patching and repair mortar, was used wherever cosmetic or structural repairs were necessary right The final protection layer on the clarifiers – including launders, valve chambers, and pump stations – was achieved with applications of Sikagard-63 N

it is especially suited for vertical and overhead applications.

Patching power Sika Rep LW, a non-sag, cement-based, multipurpose patching and repair mortar, was used wherever cosmetic or structural repairs were necessar y. Just as easy to mix and apply as the MonoTop products, Rep LW provides excellent adhesion, is shrinkage-compensated,

epoxy-modified, fine-textured mor tar for leveling and finishing concrete, particularly in aggressive chemical environments. It is imper vious to liquids but permeable to water vapour and forms an excellent bond to either green or hardened concrete, whether damp or dr y. It is the ideal preparation for smooth sur face finishes and can be applied by spray-pump machines. Once the easy and fast application is complete, a minimum waiting period is required prior to the application of other resin-based Sika coatings. The final protection layer on the clarifiers – including launders, valve chambers, and pump stations – was achieved with applications of Sikagard-63 N, an abrasion-resistant, two-part, liquidproof epoxy resin coating designed for normal to highly aggressive chemical environments. The Driefontein WWTW is one of the oldest facilities of its kind and caters for the communities in north-western Johannesburg. The expansion will see its present capacity of 30 MLD (megalitres per day) increasing to 55 MLD, and will allow for future expansion to 80 MLD.

IMIESA November/December 2015

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Cement & Concrete

far left Diamond Products' orange razor wire

A cut above

Cape Town-based concrete cutting, coring, and drilling company has successfully completed a number of high-profile projects by making use of Diamond Products’ range of solutions to achieve optimal results. Concrete Worm successfully completed its highly complex scope of work in extending the entrance at Simonstown Stillwater Harbour by 11 m in 2012, by cutting away sections of large concrete walls (caissons) using 135 m of Diamond Products’ orange razor wire. The 11 mm closed-loop wire contains 40 diamond beads per metre, and is rotated at 28 m/s by a 37 kW, 380 V machine. A 360-degree swivelling head allows for horizontal and vertical cutting through thick concrete structures with the wire.

Concrete Worm managing director Peter Fink notes that the wire exceeded all expectations. “The razor wire proved to be far more efficient than we had anticipated which enabled us to cut at an average rate of 3.3 m2 per hour, as opposed to the industry-standard of approximately 2 m2 per hour.” Fink notes that the company recently completed another project in East London, using the same diamond wire to cut a 39 m high concrete tower building. What’s more, Concrete Worm is currently involved in a project that aims to convert a historic, uninhabitable building into a museum and shopping centre in Cape Town. Fink indicates that the company is using the wall saw 800 mm blades from Diamond Products. “The building is not suitable for

left The saw blade

occupation, due to the lack of ventilation. As a result, we are cutting the inside walls to allow for windows and doors to be fitted. The work includes drilling 500 holes in the walls and 1 500 m of saw cutting. We started in early 2014 and expect to finish in late 2016.” “Concrete cutting is a highly specialised field that requires advanced and sophisticated equipment. Over the years, Diamond Products has supplied us with the core barrels, diamond wire, and saw blades that assist us in successfully completing our projects to the highest standard,” he says. Diamond Products director Darryl Gray notes that the company prides itself on its value-added after-sales service offering. “Diamond Products is the only company in the local industry that offers free customer training as part of its after-sales service, thereby providing our customers with a comprehensive solutions package to meet all requirements.” IMIESA November/December 2015

We are there when you create

Making beautiful concrete? Our Information Centre has an inspiring collection of resources for architects and artists. Explore concrete with us. www.theconcreteinstitute.org.za +27 11 315 0300

Construction vehicles, equipment & logistics

he new line-up comprises the Atlas Copco SVE/SVG-truss screed, BG-series trowels, and WTS830 spreader wagon, which are safe, simple, and light.

Lightweight, modular screed

All-new concrete machines

A new line-up of concrete machines, from one of the leading construction equipment suppliers in the country, promises to broaden the business of operators and rentals alike.

The SVE/SVG screed is a lightweight complement to the wellknown heavy-duty BT90 modular screed. The SVE/SVG can handle the 25 m wide concrete pours needed, for example, in tunnel, road, and exhibition hall construction. A single operator can assemble the screed without special tools. Unlike the BT90, the SVE/ SVG is made especially for medium- to high-slump concrete, with less pulling resistance. That means the manufacturer has designed the SVE/SVG to be lighter and more mobile, which, in turn, makes production more effective in the right conditions. The modular screed can be equipped with a gasoline engine and/or an electric motor and is 100% compatible with older and still popular Tremix truss screeds that have been part of the Atlas Copco Group for quite some time.

Safety updates for trowels The company also introduces a brand-new, walk-behind trowel range. Operators can fine-tune the machines according to their needs and they are safer than ever before. The new series includes BG245 E/G, BG375 G, BG475 G, and BG Combi E with gasoline and/or electric propulsion.

IMIESA November/December 2015

the 180- to 200-degree range, well before the handle completes a full turn. It is also well within the new CE2015 standards. All new trowel models have additional safety updates. The belt cover is fitted with a secure tightening technique, which means the operator can’t access the belt by mistake. The blade guard rings have gone through further development to make operation even safer. The BG375 and BG475 trowels are highcapacity machines for demanding industrial floors. They are available with foldable handles in a short and long version to suit every application and operator. Handles come with vibration reduction, which means less risk of hand/arm injuries. The BG245 trowel is made for smaller areas but carries all the safety features of the larger models.

above The Atlas Copco SVE lightweight modular screed below The new Atlas Copco WTS830 hand-pushed wheeled topper spreader wagon

New for the series is the centrifugal clutch, available for every model with gasoline engine. The centrifugal clutch is a complement to the well-known Quickstop solution, and it is a popular choice with many customers. Atlas Copco’s centrifugal clutch is probably the safest on the market to date. It is a proven solution that engages if the operator lets go of the handle by accident. This safe centrifugal clutch is guaranteed to stop the trowel within

Creating a perfect finish

The WTS830 is a new hand-pushed wheeled topper spreader that helps create a perfect finish and can add colour to the concrete slab. The WTS830 is lighter than other comparable spreader wagons and has a mesh drum that anchors the topping to the slab and reduces dust during operation. The spreader wagon is easy to push and, without engine exhaust fumes, it is safe for indoor work.

Construction vehicles, equipment & logistics

Dynamic duo The Mar tin Fourie Group’s MarMac Plant Hire business has achieved enormous growth in little more than a decade and Komatsu is proud to have assisted in the development of this young and dynamic company.

his all began in 2003, when newly matriculated Martin Fourie joined his father in the family’s property development business in the small farming town of Balfour, Mpumalanga. A few years down the track, the company bought a TLB backhoe loader for a specific project and, upon completion, this valuable piece of equipment stood idle. top and below A Komatsu GD675-5 motor grader

So what to do next? This was the moment Martin’s inventive mind kicked into gear, beginning with the leasing of this single unit – this was the first stage in the creation of MarMac, his flagship plant hire business that has created jobs for more than 70 permanent employees. Komatsu came on to the scene in 2007, when MarMac invested in four Komatsu WB93R-5 backhoe loaders and a PC350-7

excavator, followed, in 2008, by the acquisition of two more Komatsu products – a D65E-12 dozer and a WA150-5 loader. The greater par t of MarMac’s business involves the hire and support of equipment to contractors engaged in building infrastructure for mining operations in the Witbank coalfields, Gauteng, and the North West. Service is the cornerstone upon which the company has been founded and this relies

IMIESA November/December 2015

Construction vehicles, equipment & logistics

A strong foundation for infrastructure success

From left: Graeme Armstrong (Komatsu), Martin Fourie (owner of the Martin Fourie Group), and Cecil Brits (fleet manager)

Concrete Pipes

ROCLA’s Rubber Ring Joint Pressure Pipe is a watertight pipe for use in low pressure (2 to 8 Bar) applications. The Spigot and Socket type joint is formed with a widening of the wall of the pipe on the one end, with the joint sealed with a rubber ring. ROCLA is Southern Africa’s leading manufacturer of pre-cast concrete products for infrastructure, including pipes, culverts, manholes, roadside furniture, retaining walls, stock troughs, poles and other related products.

Tel: 011 670 7600 | www.rocla.co.za

Rocla is a subsidiary of ISG, a leading supplier of innovative infrastructure products to the construction and mining markets in Southern Africa.

Unique features

The Komatsu GD675-5 mobile grader comprises: • new 163 KW Tier 3 emissions rated engine • high-pressure common rail fuel injection system with outstanding fuel efficiency • eight-speed, fully automatic transmission with a standard torque converter and lockup clutch • hydraulic-driven cooling fan, with reverse function, for ease of cleaning the new aluminium coolers • updated and refined hydraulic system offering exceptional load-sensing hydraulics, ensuring accuracy and precision while grading • fitted with Komtrax, Komatsu’s remote equipment and fleet monitoring system.

upon key suppliers like Komatsu. “Our reputation depends on being able to supply our customers with reliable products built by leading brands like Komatsu, which we see as a partner in our business. Our relationship has developed as a result of excellent product support and parts availability,” he says. “Komatsu provides excellent service, and keeps in close contact with not only MarMac but also with our hire customers to ensure that their equipment is working at peak performance. This standard of communication and service fosters smooth running and efficient operations, and has encouraged us to grow our fleet with the purchase of a WA320-6 wheel loader and a GD675-5 motor grader.” He adds that the latter purchase was expedited using funding through Rentworks, which provided an efficient and speedy service to ensure that the product was available and up and running well in time to meet his customer’s deadline. Martin predicts an optimistic scenario throughout the remainder of 2015 and stretching into 2016. “We see some good opportunities coming forward in the near future as our customers are anticipating new and important contracts from various players in the mining industry. This will, no doubt, see us expanding our Komatsu fleet further.”

IMIESA November/December 2015

Construction vehicles, equipment & logistics

Towering over construction Although the majority of contractors see a tower crane as simply another piece of materials handling equipment, one of the world’s largest providers of lifting equipment for the global construction industry views this common fixture on many constructions sites as a vital tool.

ower cranes are often the determining factor when it comes to productivity on a construction site, and ongoing product development by Manitowoc is aimed specifically at enhancing the return on investment (ROI) for customers. David Semple, Manitowoc VP of sales: Middle East & Africa, explains that there are a number of things which define the ROI on a tower crane and chief among these is the productivity of the machine. “The speed at which a tower crane can lift and place loads is directly linked to the productivity that a site will be able to achieve on any given day,” Semple says. “Fast-track projects have become the standard throughout the world today, and being able to build rapidly is a major benefit to any contractor. This makes the speed of materials handling the all-important difference between meeting the construction programme or not. “There is a significant difference in the speed at which construction can take place based on the amount of materials moved in a single working day. For example, whether you can pour 100 buckets of concrete or 120 buckets can have an impact on the daily build programme,” he adds.

Quick assembly and disassembly In addition to operational productivity, the speed of erection and disassembly of the tower crane

is just as important. This also receives attention during engineering, as the speed at which the tower crane is erected will dictate the site’s accessibility to materials. Furthermore, the speed at which the unit can be climbed also has an impact, especially when the building being constructed is high-rise. “An example where advanced engineering has made a difference is in the tying of the tower crane into a high-rise building as it climbs. This can be done in six hours as opposed to the conventional eight hours of other, similar cranes,” Semple says. Dismantling of the machine is also important, as this is also a time related task. The Potain tower crane has been engineered to facilitate speed of erection as well as dismantling, and its ergonomic design makes it easier for rigging crews and ensures optimal safety during both activities. Productivity of a tower crane could also be compromised if it is not correctly configured, as it would then not operate optimally. For example, if the winch is undersized, the tower crane could then become a bottleneck, slowing down materials handling and subsequent construction activities.

Partnering with a reputable supplier Torre Lifting Solutions, SA French division, is the Southern African distributor for Potain tower cranes. Technical director Quentin van Breda says that it is important that contractors partner with a reputable equipment supplier who has the depth of technical skill to appropriately configure a tower crane for a specific application. “Tower cranes should be constructed to maximise productivity

without breaching operational performance or safety protocols,” he says. “This requires the input of experienced people who understand both the technical ability of the crane as well as the actual site requirements.” Underpinned by its strategy of improving the ROI on materials handling equipment, this leading OEM is focused on engineering its tower cranes with features that will facilitate the requisite speed of handling yet still offer the level of reliability and performance for which these tower cranes have become recognised.

Quality and reliability Semple says that Potain tower cranes are recognised for their fail-proof design and the excellent lifespan that these engineered machines offer customers. The cranes are produced in accordance with world-class manufacturing processes, ensuring that the highest level of quality and reliability is maintained. This extends to ensuring the optimum integrity and life cycle of all major components that make up a tower crane. Manitowoc operates a product verification centre in France, where all major components are tested to ensure structural and operational integrity. Components are subjected to climatic extremes and stress through simulated tests. Manitowoc is the only crane manufacturer that invests to this level to ensure the absolute integrity of its final product.

left The Potain tower crane can be tied into a high-rise building in six hours as opposed to the conventional eight hours with other similar cranes right A Potain MCT 370 is being used to handle materials on a dam construction project

IMIESA November/December 2015

INDEX TO ADVERTISERS African Construction Expo & Totally Concrete

Corobrick 12

SA Readymix Association

GLS Consulting

Sembcorp 40

Group Five Pipe

ALCO-Safe 82

HATCH Goba

Ammann Construction Machinery South Africa

Headstream Water Holdings

Amanzi Meters

IMESA Excellence Awards

IMESA Save the date

APE Pumps

Atlas Copco

Africities 54

Aquadam 27 Aquatan 75 Aveng Infraset

IFC

Sizabantu Piping Systems

STP Fittings

Structa Group

Technicrete 61

JOAT 38

The Concrete Institute

Kabe Consulting

Tosas 69

Komatsu 18

UWP Engineering

Krohne 63

Vital Engineerings

Vovani Water Products

VNA Consulting

Lekwa 20

Babcock 4

Model Maker

Bagshaw Footwear

National Asphalt

Bell Equipment

Quality Filters

Beka SchrĂŠder

Ritz Pumps

BTW & Associates

Rocla 90

WorleyParsons 57

Builders 2

Sanral 52

WRP Consulting Engineers

OFC

Water & Sanitation

OBC

WEC Projects

IBC

IMIESA November/December 2015

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