Name and Location
Giant Flag project, 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 long 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, a 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.

Value
The total cost of this project will be about R180-million, which has been broken up into 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 Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC) has injected just over R1.2-million into the project, comprising R899 000 for the acquisition of environmental authorisation and town planning services, as well as an additional R356 000 as a contribution toward the costs of launching the Giant Flag project.

The Development Bank of Southern Africa has funded the business plan while the Camdeboo local municipality has shown its support by committing 100 ha of municipal land for the project.

The municipality’s CFO sits on the board of the trust as an active participant.

The trust has been established to oversee the running of the project through the creation of an endowment fund whose express purpose is to generate further opportunities in the innovation, green and social sectors in the Camdeboo and Karoo.

The Giant Flag is currently in the activation phase (Phase 2), which will, at a cost of about $5-million, initiate a year-long global communications campaign to create awareness about the flag, develop a website and Web app, produce a weekly series of documentary short films and mobilise the community.

Phase 3, the build phase, is expected to begin in early 2015.

Meanwhile, Toyota South Africa has thrown its support behind the project. The company will be the driver behind the project through the donation of various vehicles required for the build-up and sustainability of the project.

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.