Name of the Project
Giant Flag project.

Location
Eastern Cape, South Africa.

Client
Green Flag Trust.

Project Description
The Giant Flag project will result in the construction of the world’s biggest flag in the vicinity of the small Karoo town of Graaff Reinet, in the Eastern Cape.

It is a 66 ha South African flag, comprising 2.5-million coloured desert plants and a 4 MW solar field. It will be viewable from the moon or when flying over the area. It will measure 1 km in length on either side and reach a height of 0.6 km.

The red, blue, green and yellow parts of the flag will be plants, while the black part will be the solar field, which will house a conference centre and boutique hotel, a small, medium-sized and microenterprise hub, a nursery and an underground reservoir for rainwater harvesting.
The white part of the flag will be a road.

The 4 MW of power to be generated by the project will be sold to the local municipality and Montego Foods.

The flag will be completely off-grid.

Jobs to be Created
Not stated.

Value
The total cost of this project will be about R180-million, comprising three phases:
• Phase 1 is complete and cost R4-million;
• Phase 2 is under way at a cost of about R5-million; and
• Phase 3 – the build phase – will cost about R170-million.
Funds have been conditionally committed from various institutions, including government and private. Additional funds will be sourced from a crowd-funding initiative, which will be launched in the near future.

Duration
The Giant Flag is expected to be finalised in 2016.

Latest Developments
The first satellite image of the Giant Flag has been released, with the outlines of the South African flag clearly visible from the flight path between George and Johannesburg.

Giant Flag founder Guy Lieberman has told Engineering News Online that the project does not have a set deadline, although previous reports have stated that completion is expected this year.

There is a commitment to complete the project, Lieberman has said.

He remains upbeat about the project, noting that, in the context of South African crowdfunding, the campaign has received significant support, having raised close to R400 000.

“However, the scale of the project and the increments of the green line [which indicates how much money has been raised and is available on the Green Flag website] are in such large tranches, that it takes R250 000 to raise it by 1%.

“So, in that sense, we are still on the way towards reaching our target, and which is also why we are re-engaging the public to get behind the Giant Flag in a meaningful way,” Lieberman has enthused.

He adds that a recent R5-million administrative grant from the Eastern Cape Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform is also bringing the project closer to fruition.

Giant Flag has also now secured a power purchase agreement from PowerX, South Africa’s only independent exchange of renewable energy. “It means that we can start building the solar field, which might, in turn, assist us in raising the rest of the funds required for the botanical and tourist elements,” he has said.

Lieberman has lamented that the initial substantial commitment from government that led to the October 2014 launch, “unfortunately fell through in the months that followed. Even so, we have continued towards our goal of building the largest flag in the solar system.”

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Toyota South Africa (vehicles).

On Budget and on Time?
Too early to state.

Contact Details for Project Information
Giant Flag Trust, Guy Lieberman, email guy@giantflag.co.za.
On the Record on behalf of ECDC, Lunga Mtshizana, cell. +27 60 509 6444 or email lunga@ontherecord.co.za.