A modern shopping mall, complete with convention centre and cinemas, will grace Cameroon’s financial capital city of Douala by the end of 2019 – and South African turnkey specialist Raubex Renovo is making it happen.

The €45 million Douala Grand Mall is part of a larger development that will include a five-star hotel, offices and residential apartments being built in the near future.

“The mall and convention centre signals to the world that Cameroon is on the move, and is attracting more visitors for business and leisure,” says Matthys Serfontein, development manager at Raubex Renovo. “Our modern construction planning and methods combine with an energy efficient design to make the mall stand out dramatically from its local competitors.”

Its size, for a start, is significant; it will reportedly be Central Africa’s largest mall when complete with a built floor area of 25,600 m2 including 18,732 m2 of lettable retail on its two levels. Importantly the mall is in the immediate vicinity of the international airport with a primary catchment of 1,5 million people.

The ground floor of the complex will have 14,160 m2 of retail space while the first floor will house 11,520 m2 including a modern conference centre, cinemas, food court and retail space. There will also be underground parking in the basement.

Environmental standards have been followed in the design and construction, complying with the EDGE green building certification system developed by the International Finance Corporation. Using insulated cladded panels for the outside walls and the roof, including double glazing on skylights and shopfronts that allow for the best use of natural light, the building will be the first climate-controlled mall in Cameroon.

Focusing on large hospitality and retail projects, Raubex Renovo’s team has 20 years’ experience of construction projects throughout Africa. The company’s capabilities encompass full project development including professional engineering, architectural and design services all managed by a professional construction and development team.

Health and safety is a core focus of the Raubex Group, with attention paid to all aspects of health and safety as well as environmental and social impacts on Raubex Renovo’s projects site. A zero harm approach forms an integral part of the company’s operating strategy with solid safety programmes implemented to ensure the wellbeing of all stakeholders.

“The efficiency and reliability of our work is enhanced by our use of Building Information Modelling (BIM), allowing us to optimise our design, construction and operations activity,” says Ben Pretorius, managing director of Raubex Renovo. “BIM also ensures that up-to-date information on project progress can be easily shared with all stakeholders and contractors.”

Earthworks began at Douala Grand Mall in January 2018, and handover is scheduled for November next year.

“The project is another example of our team’s capacity to plan and implement accelerated construction programmes across the continent,” he says. “The Raubex Group has a solid reference base of completed projects in South Africa as well as in the SADC region in countries like Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique, Zambia, Gabon, Togo, Malawi, Zimbabwe and the DRC.”

Pretorius emphasises the importance of the reputation and backing of parent company Raubex Group, a leading infrastructure development group with 40 years in the business and a listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.