Construction World April 2022

As activity reaches its height, there are about 1 160 people on site with over 570 labourers from the local area around Beitbridge and almost 350 skilled Zimbabweans employed.

COVER STORY

AFRISAM SUPPORTS RAUBEX IN MEGA BEITBRIDGE BORDER PROJECT Regional Trade is getting a welcome boost from the mega project underway at the Zimbabwean border town of Beitbridge; JSE-listed contractor Raubex is upgrading the border post, with the cement for this momentous scheme being supplied by AfriSam.

T he project is one of Zimbabwe’s first public-private partnerships, and involves the Zimbabwe government and the Zimborders Consortium. The consortium is conducting a wide-ranging expansion of the border facilities, and will operate and maintain them for about 17 years before handing them back to the state. Raubex has been on site since November 2020 and has already handed over Phase 1 of the project, according to Raubex Construction Manager Herkie Sandenbergh. The project is being conducted in three phases, each dealing with a different traffic stream. “The border post has been split into three traffic streams: for freight, busses and light traffic,” says Sandenbergh. “Each stream will have its own terminal building where all customs and immigration documentation will be dealt with, thereby streamlining the processes by applying specific expertise in each area.” The completion of the first phase has already made life easier for the approximately 500 freight trucks passing daily in both northerly and southerly directions across the border. By the end of the project, the three areas of the border post will have their own parking, ablutions and other civils infrastructure, equipped with the relevant information and communication technology (ICT) systems to automate and speed up border-crossing. The second phase – the facilities for bus transport – is currently underway and is on track for handover to the client in May this year. The area for light traffic will be completed by November 2022. “The concessionaire will also be developing infrastructure within the town of Beitbridge,” he says. “This includes an 11,5 million litre reservoir with associated pipelines, an oxidation dam for sewage treatment, a fire station, an animal quarantine facility and a new staff village for border post personnel.” The first two years of the project are focusing on the border post facilities themselves, which involve concrete roads and hardstand parking areas covering some 125 000 m 2 in total. In the last six months, the focus

will be on the other urban infrastructure. The project as a whole is requiring 10 000 tonnes of High Strength 42.5R Cement from AfriSam, supplied from its Roodepoort plant near Johannesburg. According to AfriSam’s Sales Manager Manufacturing for Gauteng, Adele Wentzel, the bulk cement is transported daily by between three and five 34 tonne tankers. About 7 000 tonnes have been successfully delivered to date. “Given our focus on quality and timeous delivery, very close communication with the Raubex team has been essential,” says Wentzel. “There is the 550 km distance to consider between our plant and the site, as well as the complexities of border crossings. This all requires detailed planning and seamless information flow to ensure that deliveries go to plan.” The customs requirement of the cement deliveries includes a requirement that the authorities check the exact composition of the cement being supplied. AfriSam was able to work with the authorities to facilitate a weekly inspection of the relevant silo at the Roodepoort plant, to ensure full compliance while still allowing regular and on-time deliveries. While the new border post promises to improve the flow of traffic, there were considerable logistical challenges in delivering cement during the early project stages, she says. This included freight truck delays at the border which lasted as long as a week. Work on the project has drawn in various strategic partners and also delivered considerable benefit to Zimbabwean suppliers, subcontractors and workers, says Sandenbergh. As activity reaches its height, there are about 1 160 people on site with over 570 labourers from the local area around Beitbridge and almost 350 skilled Zimbabweans employed. Raubex’s own staff on the project comprises an experienced team of 160 employees. AfriSam’s bulk cement deliveries feed the on-site batching plant run by Raubex sister-company OMV, while the crushing of aggregate for the concrete is conducted by B&E International, using local stone. Bricks for the buildings are

22 CONSTRUCTION WORLD APRIL 2022