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R419m student housing development for University of Fort Hare's Alice campus now complete

31st May 2021

By: Schalk Burger

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

     

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With the completion of the 12-block, 1 440-bed Alice Student Village Phase 2 built over two years, the University of Fort Hare (UFH) has 6 049 available beds in Alice, in the Eastern Cape, which are enough to accommodate 70% of students on its Alice campus.

The R419-million greenfield student housing development was unveiled by Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister Dr Blade Nzimande on May 31.

“The new student village addresses critical student accommodation shortages in Alice. In two years, we built and completed the largest student residence development project in South Africa.

"An improved and dignified campus life experience is now a reality for the students of the UFH,” said vice-chancellor Professor Sakhela Buhlungu.

The Alice Student Village Development comprises five cluster developments and two self-standing blocks and can accommodate 2 050 students. It has 34 rooms that are accessibility-compliant for students with physical disabilities.

The overall student village design and walkway integration, including the student centre, has been designed with wheelchair accessibility in mind.

Each of the five clusters, comprising three blocks each, has its own courtyard and landscaped gardens. The internal design of the blocks is apartment style, clustering a small number of rooms with a shared bathroom, giving students more privacy and better social integration.

In addition, the 1 500 m2 student centre has space for shops and a lecture or meeting space with platform seating. There is also an outdoor concourse for student assemblies.

For the Alice Student Village Phase 2 development, the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) contributed a grant of R122-million, development finance institution the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) provided R278-million in loan funding and UFH contributed R19.6-million.

The European Union (EU) Infrastructure Investment Programme of South Africa awarded a direct capital grant of R28-million to UFH, which the university could draw on to pay the interest portion on the DBSA loan while construction was in progress.

Further, 36 small, medium-sized and microenterprises were contracted during the construction for cleaning, wet works, building materials supplies, painting, roof-work, civils, plumbing, hot-rolled steel, supplying materials, closed-circuit television, access control and medical services.

In total, 500 empowerment employment opportunities were created; 326 youth received employment opportunities; 37 women were employed during the construction period; and 115 training opportunities were provided.

“The completion of this student housing development is an important milestone for the university’s ‘Decade of Renewal’ master plan, which is setting the university on an ambitious trajectory of reinvention in the twenty-first century,” said Buhlungu.

“The DBSA, in partnership with the EU, has played a meaningful role in assisting the South African government and the region to deliver and prepare essential infrastructure to the communities in South Africa and the region by supporting infrastructure development to serve the societies and therefore contribute to economic growth, create local jobs and strong vibrant communities,” said DBSA CEO Patrick Dlamini.

The DBSA is committed to supporting government in eradicating the massive backlog in student housing accommodation and has successfully created a funding model for critical infrastructure in South Africa, he said.

“By supporting construction of a 1 440-bed student housing project in partnership with the DBSA and the DHET, EU funds have helped address the student accommodation shortfall at the University of Fort Hare’s Alice Campus in the Eastern Cape. This is an important step in addressing the acute student accommodation backlog,” said EU Ambassador to South Africa Riina Kionka.

Edited by Chanel de Bruyn
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor Online

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