Construction World January 2016

PROJECTS AND CONTRACTS

The site for the new international hotel and conference centre site in Ezulwini, Swaziland.

SWAZI CONTRACTS SHOW company’s mettle

For years Franki Africa has shown its prowess in working in Africa whether in the surrounding SADC region or even further afield in countries tens of thousands of kilometres from Franki’s base in Johannesburg, South Africa.

taken in the area where the soils were deemed the poorest across the entire site, produced highly favourable results. Pile Echo Testing (PET) tests are being undertaken on every pile as the main contractor excavates and correctly trims each pile. Five star hotel Piling to the FISH Contract, which comprised the installation of 1 016 No. Franki piles, was completed in April this year. The conditions on the FISH site were more favourable than those encountered on the ICC site with a working pile load test producing very favourable results. The structural engineer appointed a representative on site who monitored quality and progress on a daily basis and Franki continuously received positive feedback from them on its performance including its adher- ence to the stringent safety protocol. In addi- tion, an external safety audit praised Franki’s achievements in no uncertain terms which, according to Lalbasanth, is testament to the attitude and commitment of the site manage- ment towards the safety and well-being of all who were involved. The other two jobs were for, firstly, the Hlane bridge, which was awarded to Franki by Inyatsi Construction in February 2015. This project commenced in late March 2015 and was completed within two weeks. Secondly the MVA Head Office, in Mbabane, where Franki was the lowest at tender stage and, after further value engi- neering, the client appointed Franki as the piling subcontractor to Stefanutti Stocks. The scope of works was to install a total of 252 No. Franki piles of which 80% were tested using the PET method. A working pile test was also carried out and the results were well within the acceptable criteria. This contract was success- fully completed in early December 2014. The Franki pile The successful completion of work in Swazi-

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Many other firms – especially in the geotechnical field where the logis- tics of housing teams of people and moving massive, special-

“These high profile contracts required low-risk technical solutions,” says Lalbasanth, “and the Franki pile provided the guarantees that were

sought by the professional team.” International Conference Centre

ised machinery in remote and challenging conditions – have failed where Franki has been unusually successful. The stories of the latest contracts in Swaziland are examples of this success and also demonstrate the power of the Franki pile and of being part of the Keller group. Ninety-two thousand, five hundred and seventy-two. That’s the total non-LTI (Lost Time Incident) man hours worked on the four Frankipile Swaziland contracts that commenced in October 2014. The human resources included a total of 74 local labourers, who were employed on all the contracts. The equipment included six Franki piling rigs, three piling cranes, a service crane and seven auger rigs. Frankipile Swaziland submitted four tenders in 2014, all of which were for the design and construction of piled foundations. These tenders were based on Pre-Drilled Driven Cast-In-Situ piles (Franki piles), whereas the competitors selected the Continuous Flight Augur (CFA)-type pile. Two of the tenders submitted were to the Swaziland Ministry of Economic Planning – one for the new International Conference Centre (ICC) and the other for a new Five Star Hotel (FISH) in Ezulwini. According to Franki project manager, Devendra Lalbasanth, the tenders submitted for both contracts incorpo- rated the Franki pile as opposed to the CFA pile alternatives submitted by competitors.

Of concern to most of the professional team was Frankipile Swaziland’s ability to adhere to the contractual programmes, should both contracts be simultaneously awarded to them. “We managed to allay these fears by stressing the power of the backing of the greater Keller/ Franki Africa group, should additional resources have been required,” Lalbasanth says. As these contracts were to be undertaken under the new Swaziland Construction Regu- lations which stipulate that a Joint Venture with a local construction company was required, Frankipile Swaziland teamed up with Roots Civils on both contracts. The piling contract for the ICC called for the installation of 1 562 No. Franki piles. “One of the challenges encountered on this project was the presence of boulders and although this was highlighted during the bid clarification, the actual quantity and extent of the boulder formation were unexpected. This complication was resolved through the removal of near-surface boulders, coring through the boulders with a Casagrande B180 piling rig, founding the pile on large boulders or spanning the boulders in consultation with the structural engineer,” says Lalbasanth. The work was completed in May 2015 and a working pile load test, which was under-

CONSTRUCTION WORLD JANUARY 2016