Construction company awarded R10m residential development contract

17th November 2017 By: Simone Liedtke - Creamer Media Social Media Editor & Senior Writer

Construction company awarded R10m residential development contract

ARCHIE RUTHERFORD The South Hills project will have a positive impact on the local community

Construction company Motheo Infrastructure Contractors will use equipment – such as motor graders, 30 t excavators, compaction equipment and tipper trucks – to the value of about R10-million for its infrastructure contract at the South Hills integrated residential development in Johannesburg, awarded in September.

The infrastructure contract was awarded by turnkey property developer Calgro M3, and encompasses roadworks, services and reticulation, as well as stormwater and sewage reticulation at the development.

The contract has a tender value of about R32-million, according to Motheo.

The South Hills project forms part of the City of Johannesburg’s premier integrated housing developments. It will comprise various types of residential units and forms of tenure aimed at specific target markets such as fully subsidised Breaking New Ground (BNG) housing, as well as gap and open-market bonded housing. The development will include 6 202 residential units, 1 904 BNG housing units, 457 social housing units, and 2 397 gap housing units, as well as 1 446 freestanding open-market bonded units.

“Motheo’s infrastructure contract at South Hills will include various road widenings, intersections, and assisting in alleviating pressure on road and water infrastructure, as well as providing capacity for future residential developments to be undertaken within this corridor,” says Motheo Infrastructure Contractors MD Archie Rutherford.

The company’s contract encompasses about 25 000 m3 of blasting work, the completion of about 40 000 m3 of earthworks, and the installation of a few kilometers of water and sewer lines. The contract will take six months to complete, he notes, with the start date yet to be confirmed.

The South Hills project, Rutherford enthuses, will have a positive impact on the local community, owing to various upliftment initiatives, such as employing local contractors and labour from the communities, using local suppliers, and various skills and development programmes.

Rutherford says major upgrading of bulk infrastructure, such as water, sewerage, roads and intersections, are under way in the area as a direct result of the project.

Projects

Further, Motheo Infrastructure Contractors – part of the Motheo Construction Group – recently completed a rehabilitation project at the access ramps to the Blockhouse 1-Stop (North and South) for oil and gas company Engen Petroleum on the R59, close to Henley-on-Klip, in Gauteng.

The fast-track project – valued at under R10-million – started in September last year, and was successfully completed in January this year.

Following site establishment, Rutherford says the scope of work comprised clearing, grubbing and roadbed preparation, cut-to-spoil and cut-to-fill earthworks, the construction of a stabilised subbase layer, recycling the existing base course and asphalt surfacing, as well as the supply and installation of a drainage system.

“The earthworks consisted mainly of recycling the existing base course on the access ramps, as well as selected internal asphalted areas,” he explains, noting that the scope of work also included replacing the asphalt surfacing, road marking, minor drainage detail and extending a parking lot area in concrete-block paving.

WBHO Development Agreement

Rutherford tells Engineering News that Motheo is one of three black-owned contractors to have signed a development agreement with JSE-listed construction group WBHO in terms of the Voluntary Rebuilding Programme (VRP), which was signed with government in October last year.

The VRP runs from 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2024, and commits seven listed construction companies to ensure that either the equivalent of 25% of their annual local turnover will be carried out by black-owned contractors or that more than 40% of their local business will be sold to black shareholders. The agreement opted for the former option, with a current building and civil engineering turnover of R11-billion expected to increase to R15-billion over the next seven years.

The 25% equivalent equates to a R4-billion-a-year target to be reached by Motheo, alongside construction companies Fikile Construction and Edwin Construction.