Construction World September 2018

Earthworks underway on the Kathu solar park.

Kathu Solar Park being constructed.

drainage, and about 33 000 m 2 of asphalt surfacing will be laid. Recent civils work has also included applying specialised and innovative solutions on road contracts, according to Raubex Infra operations director of the company’s civil and general infrastructure division, Cornel Strydom. One of these was the repair of a major sinkhole on the road between Danielskuil and Kuruman in the Northern Cape. “The sinkhole had many chambers, some which had to be filled with rock and a berm constructed around the area to eliminate no water ingress,” Strydom says. “The rock was compacted in columns using dynamic compaction so we could closely follow the geotechnical engineer’s design. A rock bed or platform was created over the columns to form a ‘bridge’ between the cavities on which the layer works for the road could be placed.” Applying available technology innova- tively, Raubex Infra’s civils division recently stabilised and rehabilitated the gravel road between Douglas and Campbell using a dust suppressant down to a depth of 150 mm. Aside from ensuring a safer more driveable road surface, this will reduce future main- tenance costs. At a private game reserve in Limpopo Province, both paved and concrete

roads have been constructed and cables laid for internet connectivity. Projects in the pipeline include a road rehabilitation and reseal contract between Vanzylsrus and Hotazel, a storm water pond at Lufhereng in Soweto, a water treatment project in Bloemfontein, a water pipeline project at Vanwyksvlei and a borehole con- tract at Carnarvon. In the mining sector, the division con- ducted mass earthworks for a new run-of- mine tip structure for Tronox’s Namakwa Sands heavy minerals mine at Brand-se-Baai on South Africa’s Western Cape coast. This contract included the building of a 3 km trunk road to accommodate the new conveyor belt. Laying optical fibre cables for local and national connectivity networks is a vital specialisation of Raubex Infra, both within South Africa and in African countries. Danie Marais, operations director of the company’s telecommunications and special projects division, says work often takes them north of the border with extensive work carried out in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Burkina Faso and the Democratic Republic of Congo. “As the only company in South Africa with specialised equipment to conduct direct laying of ducting, we offer high levels of efficiency and economy for long distance

cable installation,” Marais says. “With our equipment and expertise our teams can cover up to nine km per day.” Completed contracts include the supply and installation of over 1 000 km of backbone network across Zambia as well as several smaller projects, including laying fibre cable in the Chingola-Solwezi region in north western Zambia. Closer to home, the division is currently Universitas and Waverley. Using dedicated and efficient trenching equipment, a narrow slot is created for the ducting minimising the impact on the roadway itself. A shallow gulley is then dug to channel the optical fibre from the road to the edge of the homeowners’ property. Raubex Infra also has extensive experi- ence in permanent way (perway) construc- tion in the rail sector including laying of ballast, sleepers and tracks. This division also has specialised teams doing overhead track equipment up to 50 kV capacity. “With several specialised divisions within Raubex Infra, it is easy to draw from this ex- pertise and offer integrated solutions across various disciplines,” Steenkamp says. “This broad capability and experience ensures efficiency at all levels.”  rolling out ‘last-mile’ fibre to homes in Bloemfontein’s neighbourhood of

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CONSTRUCTION WORLD SEPTEMBER 2018