Construction World January 2015

PROJECTS AND CONTRACTS

Watershed for SA ‘SMART CITIES’ Developers of the R1,7-billion Baywest Mall in Port Elizabeth’s western suburbs have signed a landmark deal with South Africa’s largest mobile communication provider, Vodacom, signalling a watershed moment in the development of ‘smart cities’ throughout the country.

to the nearby N2 freeway via a series of on-ramps and off-ramps. The first phase of the network, connecting Walker Drive with the mall and the freeway, is scheduled for completion in March next year, with the link to Cape Road in Bridgemeade/Rowallan Park set for opening next September, he says.

Fast facts about Baywest

progress in leaps and bounds, he said. “It will be a smart city with fibre optics throughout, allowing for high speed internet access. The security and internet access will run off this fibre optic backbone,” says Blows. “The new model of city development needs to have the latest technology.” For tenants of the mall it meant having ground breaking technology at their finger- tips. “The fibre optic network also allows for free calls within the precinct, reduced call rates, easy cloud computing, and live gaming without any lag, among a host of other advantages,” says Blows. “We no longer have to talk about what it means to live in a smart city – we are building one,” says Blows. “Having a high speed fibre optic backbone lit by South Africa’s biggest cellular provider fits well with our slogan: ‘Expect Big Things’.” With just over 1 600 workers currently working on the mall, Blows says tenant installations were on track to start from December. “There are about 3,5 km of shop fronts throughout the mall and about 35 km worth of electrical cabling,” Blows says. Also on track was the R300-milliom Baywest road network, connecting the mall

The deal will see Vodacom light the entire high speed fibre optic backbone of the 320 hectare Bay- west City development, providing

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• The mall size, 87 500 m², is the gross leasable area and excludes the parking area for about 3 200 vehicles. • The development of the mall is a joint venture between Abacus Asset Management and Billion Group. • The construction value of the mall is approximately R1,7-billion, with a further R300-million being spent on developing the road network in the area. The road network includes an interchange onto/off the N2 freeway, as well as the Redhouse- Chelsea arterial road, linking the suburbs of Sherwood and Rowallan Park/Bridgemeade via a road over the N2. • The mall is central to the development of the greater Baywest City project, which will be similar in concept to Cape Town’s Century City development. • About 25% of the 320 ha Baywest City site has been allocated for environmental preservation and will not be developed at all.

high speed internet to Baywest Mall tenants and shoppers alike. By lighting the network, Vodacom will be providing the data to end users using Baywest’s fibre optic infrastructure. Baywest is the first large scale green fields development in the country to incor- porate a wholly functional fibre optic back- bone from inception. A development span- ning the next decade, Baywest City includes commercial and retail offerings, as well as residential nodes with a private school and hospital in a model similar to Cape Town’s Century City development. Baywest Mall, which opens in April next year, is the catalyst for the entire project. Baywest MD Gavin Blows says the deal paved the way for Baywest City to become an interconnected ‘smart city’. It meant homes and businesses within the Baywest precinct could be connected to fast, reliable internet, better managing secu- rity systems while allowing for the technolog- ical development of homes and businesses to

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The developers of Baywest City in Port Elizabeth have announced a landmark deal with Vodacom which will see the communications giant install Baywest’s fibre optic network, giving high speed internet access throughout the development

CONSTRUCTION WORLD JANUARY 2015