Construction World December 2022

BUILDING CONTRACTORS

NEW HEAD OFFICE FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE LAND REFORM AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

T he Department of Rural Development and Land Reform sent out a Request for Proposal for a Publ ic Private Partnership (PPP) for the development of a new head of fice on 27 July 2009. Much water subsequent ly flowed under the bridge but eventual ly pers i stence by al l part ies resul ted in an Enabl ing Works Contract (EWC) being concluded on 15 June 2018. The PPP agreement was entered into between the Concess ionai re, Tshala Bese Uyavuna Consort ium (TBUC) , and DALRRD ( the Department ) on the 3 December 2020 and Financial Close in Februar y 2021, wi th s i te works commencing short ly thereaf ter. The Department was now set to get thei r new head of fice for 2 159 staf f by the end of Februar y 2023. The TBUC delegated the des ign and construct respons ibi l i t ies to the DRD D&C JV (D&C) made up of WBHO Construct ion (85%) and Mhlaba Propert ies (15%) . Being a complex and potent ial ly high- ri sk project wi th serious consequences for late complet ion, construct ion was s impl i fied wi th flat post-tens ioned slabs and uni t i sed faÇades wherever poss ible. Thi s meant that whi lst the structure was being bui l t on s i te, the des ign, importat ion and manufacturing of façade panels was happening concurrent ly in the background. Thi s ensured that the bui lding envelop could be closed as early as poss ible thus al lowing maximum t ime for fini shing processes so as to ul t imately achieve the best bui ld qual i ty poss ible. Float , or cont ingency t ime, had to be created in the programme so as to best tr y and absorb the inevi table delays caused by the “construct ion mafia”, COVID, importat ion delays , weather and the comprehens ive des ign review processes requi red in PPPs . Subsoi l drainage des ign was done by cons idering a permeable pebble layer that showed i tsel f during the bulk earthworks phase of the contract . The standard per forated subsoi l drain network had to be supported by another concrete pipe network below i t , which could deal wi th the potent ial ly high volumes of water that may be experienced. Thi s al l had to be diverted towards the northern part of the s i te where the 100

year flood levels permi tted exi t into the Apies river. In order to minimi se the ef fects of the 2021 Numsa strike act ion and the ef fects i t had on the countr y’s steel product ion as wel l as the ever- increas ing cost of steel , convent ional ly reinforced slabs were changed to post-tens ioned. Thi s resul ted in a reduced overal l steel demand for the project and quicker turnaround t imes of formwork . To create a column f ree area in the ground floor audi torium, the fi rst , second, thi rd and roof floors above were ini t ial ly supported by temporar y cast ins i tu concrete columns and then final ly supported by large post-tens ioned beams bui l t on the roof slab. Once the roof beams had been cast and tens ioned, the temporar y columns on ground floor could be demol i shed and the remaining floors above then “hung of f ” the roof slab. The large faÇade presented a wonder ful opportuni ty in that i t became the palette for an artwork that extends around the total perimeter of the bui lding. An image depict ing various mountain scapes f rom al l of South Af rica’s nine provinces i s ei ther pixelated into the copper-coloured overclad panels or etched into the glaz ing. We bel ieve that thi s wi l l be the longest s ingle artwork ever created in South Af rica. 

PROJECT INFORMATION

• Company entering: WBHO Construction • Client: Tshala Bese Uyavuna (RF) Consortium • Start date: February 2021 • End date: 16 March 2023 • Main Contractor: WBHO Construction/Mhlaba Properties D&C JV • Architect: Boogertman + Partners

• Principal Agent: DRD D&C JV • Quantity Surveyor: AECOM • Consulting Engineer: Pure Consulting

44 21 st Best Project Awards 2022