Construction and property

Logistics is a growth sector for property companies.

Fortress REIT took a big step in 2021 towards establishing its Eastport Logistics Park as a significant logistics hub with the signing of an agreement with Pick n Pay to jointly develop the park which is located near to OR Tambo International Airport on the busy R21 highway.

Once subdivisions and land transfers have been completed, the supermarket chain will own 60% of the 36ha site while Fortress will fund the expansion of facilities that will take place on the site over time. This partnership with Pick n Pay is another step in Fortress

Logistics’ strategy of developing and owning two-thirds of its portfolio in logistics. The park is due to be completed in 2023.

Logistics, often taken for granted in normal times, became an even more important component of the supply chain during the global lockdown and in the months that followed, with the second half of 2021 characterised by blockages and delays.

Hammanskraal is the site of the construction of South Africa’s first light-frame steel hospital. The need for speed in construction of health facilities in the face of the Covid-19 outbreak made the method adopted perfect for the purpose. Two companies cooperated on the project (pictured), Concor Construction and

Futurecon. The thermal efficiency of the walls will help to reduce the cost of maintaining the building.

An innovative scheme to build a new township in Gauteng is backed by a retirement fund. The Transport Sector Retirement

Fund is building an integrated settlement in the Sedibeng District

Municipality south of Johannesburg. The R2.7-billion development includes a shopping centre and will include a mix of housing types.

A large housing project south-east of Tshwane has been designated a Strategic Integrated Project (SIP) which means that all of the external bulk services will be supplied by the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure. Balwin Properties will develop the residential component of Mooikloof Mega City and the educational, commercial and filling station erven will be sold to a third party. The intention is to build about 16 000 apartments, with the potential to increase to 50 000. The property is on Garsfontein Drive.

Another SIP is Malibongwe Ridge, a mixed-use development that is a joint venture between the City of Johannesburg and the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements. Located next to Cosmos City, housing for 5 500 families is expected to cost R2.55-billion to develop.

By 2030 Gauteng will have two huge new cities, socially diverse, digitally connected and ecologically responsible and sustainable. That’s if the Provincial Government of Gauteng brings to fruition its plans for the west (Lanseria to Hartbeespoort Dam) and in the south, where Vaal River City will stretch from Vereeniging to Sasolburg in the Free State.

In the 25 years since South Africa has been a democracy,

SECTOR INSIGHT A light-frame steel hospital has been constructed.

Providing skills and expertise in consulting engineering.

MPAMOT (formerly known as Malani Padayachee & Associates, or MPA) is a 100% black womenowned and managed consulting engineering and development company, with more than 24 years of experience in the infrastructure and built environment.

Mrs Malani Padayachee-Saman (right) is the chief executive officer, and Mrs Ipeleng Mkhari (left) is MPAMOT’s chair of the board of directors.

MPAMOT Group and our subsidiaries, MPAMOT Africa and MPAMOT Lesotho, have nearly 200 staff members, with offices in Gauteng, the Western Cape, KwaZulu Natal, Lesotho and various site offices. We offer a vast range of services to our clients across Africa, bringing comprehensive capability and proficiency while supplying a great depth of knowledge and service in this rapidlydeveloping sector.

As a consultancy with multinational links, we have the ability to draw on a range of international skills and insights from our global network. MPAMOT’s ability to apply broad-ranging expertise and experience gives us a decisive edge in analysing problems and coming up with creative, sustainable solutions with added value on projects.

Our dedicated energy, infrastructure, transport and advisory teams provide a wide resource pool of expertise covering many aspects of engineering, technology and project management.

MPAMOT’s highly skilled, experienced and professional team provides the following expertise to local, regional and global clients:

INFRASTRUCTURE • Building structures • Industrial buildings • Civil/structural building services • Water and wastewater • PPCM

TRANSPORTATION • Highways • Bridges • Pavements • Transport planning

ENERGY

• Transmission and distribution • System studies • Thermal • Renewable energy • Wind and photo-voltaic • Environmental and social

ADVISORY • Infrastructure finance • Technical advisory • Water advisory • Digital advisory • Development impact • Employment creation

For more information, kindly visit our website www.mpamot.com or email info@mpamot.com

Pick n Pay and Fortress REIT are developing the Eastport Logistics Park. Credit: Fortress

more than 1.2-million subsidised houses have been built by government entities in Gauteng. Provincial government has pledged to release 10 000 serviced stands as part of its Rapid Land Release programme and it intends finishing incomplete housing projects in Alexandra, Evaton, Kliptown, Bekkersdal and Winterveldt.

Bodies such as the National Housing Finance Corporation, Indlu and Umastandi (social capital entrepreneurs) are working together with provincial authorities to find ways to formalise and monetise the township market so that sustainable incomes can be generated and affordable housing and rental stock becomes more readily available.

An important concept for developers in Johannesburg is the tax incentive that accompanies the Urban Development Zone (UDZ). The City of Johannesburg and the South African Property Owners Association (SAPOA) have developed a database for all UDZ properties. Information about the owner of the plot, the valuation and zoning rights is available for every stand.

Various “improvement districts” have also been created, for example the RID (Retail Improvement District) where businesses in a designated area pay levies to secure improved cleaning and security services. The Johannesburg City Improvement District Forum shares information among the CIDs. Expenditure by CIDs collectively on supplementary public space safety, cleaning and maintenance is estimated to be about R61-million annually.

The Gauteng Partnership Fund (GPF) has attracted more than R3.5-billion in private sector funding for affordable housing in the province since 2012. The Brickfields housing and rental development in Newton was funded by the GPF and implemented by the Johannesburg Housing Company (JHC) as one of the first inner-city rejuvenation projects. JHC is a leader in converting bad buildings to usable rental space.

The Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA) projects range from the upgrading of Constitution Hill, the Faraday Station precinct, work on the Fashion District and pavements of the inner city, renovation of the Drill Hall and the Newtown upgrade.

Private developer Indluplace Properties has purchased nine large apartment blocks, taking its total buildings in central Johannesburg CBD, Berea and Hillbrow to 23: 33% of the units are bachelor pads, 22% are twobedroomed flats. The listed company (its major shareholder is Arrowhead) intends to “aggressively grow its portfolio” of high-yielding properties as it believes the rental market has huge potential. ■

ONLINE RESOURCES

Construction Industry Development Board: www.cidb.org.za Gauteng Partnership Fund: www.gpf.co.za Johannesburg Development Agency: www.jda.org.za Johannesburg Social Housing Company: www.joshco.co.za SA Reit Association: www.sareit.co.za