Modern Mining April 2020

and was awarded a contract to build a catch pot tank at Total South Africa’s Alrode depot. This division also intends participating in the construction of wind and solar farms, as well as posi- tioning itself as the construction partner of choice in EPC contracts. It will also deploy its extensive skills and experience in structural steel, mechanical, pip- ing and plate work construction, as well as electrical and instrumentation in these markets. In addition to targeting the de-construction mar- ket, M&D Construction Group’s Special Projects Division has applied for a license to operate technol- ogy that turns sludge into resources. The initiative is being complemented by a similar project that entails using sophisticated techniques to turn wastewa- ter into resources, as well as the development of proprietary turbine, pump and energy efficiency technology. These will bolster M&D Construction Group’s already impressive track-record delivering quality water infrastructure for public and private-sector cli- ent bodies. For example, the group is constructing a 4 km- long steel pipeline ranging in diameter from 1,5 m to 2,5 m diameter in Vereeniging on behalf of Rand Water. The project also entails two 1,5 m diameter and two 1,4 m diameter hot taps, said to be the larg- est in the South African market. Other milestone projects for this specific client body include the R250-million 06 Pipeline and asso- ciated infrastructure. These projects are complemented by, among others, M&D Construction Group’s work for Magalies Water, namely the 11 km-long and 508 mm diameter steel Tuschenkost Mine Pipeline and pump station. This is in addition to the 43 km-long, 1 m diameter steel pipeline from Mafenya Reservoir that the group built on behalf of Maseve Investments to Evergreen. Civil works Meanwhile, M&D Construction Group continues to refine its extensive civil construction capabili- ties which have also been harnessed by Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District Municipality to help

deliver a new wastewater-treatment works. The group also undertook the civil works for the Koster sewage treatment plant and outfall sewers, as well as upgraded and extended the Vaalkop water- treatment plant 3 and 4 for Magalies Water. Other flagship civil-engineering construction proj- ects that have been successfully completed by the group include the very technically complex Aeroton Tower on behalf of Johannesburg Water and a 5ML reservoir and associated services for Heineken South Africa. Notably, M&D Construction Group has gained an increased share of the declining capacity in the South African construction industry. This bears testa- ment to the skills and capabilities of the group. Certainly, being an entrepreneurial owner-led business that can respond swiftly to provide solu- tions is a significant competitive edge. Moreover, the group’s focus on only partnering with companies and people with who it has syn- ergies to achieve its mission of “Growing a great company with great people and great partnerships” is also working. The group’s motto of Khula Nathi , which means “Grow with us”, is applied both internally amongst its team, as well as with sub-contractors and suppliers. Importantly, the company demands loyalty and a firm commitment to its own core values of “being safe”, “doing it right”, “finding the best way” and “doing what we say” from all its partners. In turn, they have reaped the benefits of this unwavering commitment to quality by growing with M&D Construction Group. Raghubir is generally optimistic about the state of the South African construction industry over the medium to long term. “President Cyril Ramaphosa has laid strong foun- dations for growth and we should start feeling the outcome of these policies over the short to medium terms. Certainly, the restructured and refocused M&D Construction Group is well positioned to take advantage of the upturn when it arrives. This is con- sidering the growing infrastructure backlog, as well as the sheer extent and complexity of the challenge at hand,” he concludes. 

April 2020  MODERN MINING  37