Construction World February 2017

Fastest-track construction project in Gauteng The Urban Development division of SMEC South Africa was tasked with the full design of the civil and structural components of the project, followed by site supervision and project management, function manager – buildings Marius Mostert explains.

The R112-million expansion to the select- services, three-star Metcourt will see a further 100 rooms added to the popular hotel. This will boost the hotel from a 248 to a 348-key facility, extending the capacity of Emperors Palace to 757 rooms in total. SMEC South Africa began working on the project in July 2016, in conjunction with Boogertman + Partners as principal architect. “The main challenge is that client Peermont has already taken bookings for December 2016, its busiest trading period of the year. Therefore the project has an unmovable deadline,” comments lead structural engineer Brian Seston. The consulting engineer focused on completing all of the necessary construction drawings for main contractor Boutel to begin the build as fast as possible. Cranage was erected as of July 2016, with the initial focus on pile caps, ground beams, and columns. Seston adds that the piling posed an initial challenge, as existing services had to be accommodated. “The slabs are nominally reinforced concrete slabs, and not post- tensioned. It is a basic concrete frame construction,” he elaborates. The main challenge associated with the design process has been to match up seamlessly with the existing structure. “The Loeriesfontein progress Residents of Loeriesfontein and the surrounding towns of Niewoudtville The wind farms commenced with the transportation of the various wind turbine components on 18 April 2016 and have made great progress with approximately 500 loads successfully delivered to site, before breaking for the school holiday period. The projects expects a further 750 loads to be delivered between 12 January and September 2017. The 53 m long wind turbine blades, tower sections, nacelles and hubs travel on the N10 via Uitenhage, Graaff-Reinet, Beaufort West, Three Sisters, and Carnarvon on to and Calvinia will once again be seeing wind turbine component sections en route from the Port of Ngqura, in Port Elizabeth, to Loeriesfontein Wind Farm and Khobab Wind Farm.

aim is for there to be no visible distinction between the new and old sections, so it resembles a continuous structure. “The design was fairly straightforward. We were locked in by the fact of the existing structure, which meant we have had to match all of the slab levels. We had to redesign some of the ground-floor items in to speed up functional hotel aimed mainly at business travellers and convention centre guests. However, Peermont identified a need to be able to offer more family-friendly rooms, and also to cater for large groups travelling on a budget. The new king and twin-bed configurations of the rooms offer stay solutions for a variety of new markets. The expanded hotel will also feature a single suite, with its own private balcony. The 5 166 m 2 extension includes an addition to the existing F.L.A.G. Café, an additional lift, enhanced access to the rest of the complex, a new façade opposite the Metcourt Suites, and a 24-hour gymnasium. “While our main appointment is the hotel extension itself, we are also involved with some of the smaller works associated with these extra elements and features,” Seston concludes.  the construction process,” he says. The Metcourt is a contemporary, Loeriesfontein. “The blades, towers, hubs and nacelles are transported a distance of around 1 158 km and take approximately three days, travelling at maximum speed of 50 to 70 km per hour,” explained Kevin Foster, Project manager for Khobab Wind Farm. Transportation is prohibited at night, during the school holiday period, on public holidays, during festivals or other special events. In the towns of Graaff-Reinet and Beaufort West transportation will be avoided during peak traffic hours, as far as possible. The wind farms’ websites include travel schedules to assist commuters. Foster continued, “While every effort is made to minimise traffic disruptions, we urge road users to exercise extra caution when close to the abnormal loads and obey all traffic management instructions; extra care should be taken if passing the vehicles as the total length is up to 57,5 m.” Khobab and Loeriesfontein Wind Farms,

Function manager – Buildings, Marius Mostert.

Lead structural engineer, Brian Seston.

Nacelle number four is transported to site.

which together span 6 653 hectares, will produce an impressive combined output of 280 MW generated by their 122 wind turbines. This is equivalent of 240 000 average households being powered each year, providing a massive boost to energy provision in the country. The site was chosen because of its excellent wind resource, its proximity to national roads for wind turbine transportation and the favourable construction conditions. 

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CONSTRUCTION WORLD FEBRUARY 2017