Imiesa November/December 2014

I S S N 0 2 5 7 1 9 7 8 V o l u m e 3 9 N o . 1 1 • N o v e m b e r / D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 4 • R 5 0 . 0 0 ( i n c l VAT )

The official magazine

of the Institute of Municipal Engineering

of Southern Africa

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offofofoofooff SSSSSSSSSSouououoououINFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT • MAINTENANCE • SERVICE DELIVERYFRFRFRRFRAAFFFINNNNINI FFFF

Sinazo Sibisi, group executive of Infrastructure Delivery, Development Bank of Southern Africa

www.infrastructurene.ws

IINN TTHHEE HHOOTT SSEEAATT IIIITogether with Minister Pravin Gordhan, we have agreed that there is a need to move away from a one-size-fits-all approach to

municipal solutions.” Minister of Water and Sanitation Nomvula Mokonyane

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The future of asphalt Right here, right now

PARTNERING FOR INFRASTRUCTURE

Panel DiscussionSpecialised consulting for public infrastructure

Consulting EngineeringState of the industry

The ProjectsIMESA CESA Excellence Awards

HEAD OFFICE Unit 19 Alexander Park, 24 Alexander Road, Westmead, Pinetown, KZN, SA 3610 • Postnet Suite 23, Private Bag X4, Kloof 3640

t +27 (0)31 700 1177 • f +27 (0)31 700 9853 • Contact Daryl Spencer [email protected] c 083 555 9996

NATIONAL OFFICES • Pietermaritzburg • Port Elizabeth • Johannesburg • Cape Town • Shelly Beach

In response to this approach, JOAT has invested in wide-ranging

technology and partnerships that can be harnessed for the

benefit of municipalities. Flow metering solutions (permanent

or temporary, monitoring or revenue-generating), data manage-

ment solutions (data loggers, GSM data loggers), control valve

solutions (pressure-reducing valves, pressure controllers, surge

control), leak detection solutions (leak detection equipment

and service) and energy efficiency solutions (variable speed

drives and system optimising) are all available to be presented

into cost-effective, custom-made packages.

JOAT has also expanded into the optimisation of energy

consumption in the water cycle and has a number of in-house

experts that can undertake energy audits and design energy

efficiency solutions for pump stations and treatment works. This

forms part of its overall approach to making the distribution of

water as efficient as possible.

THE JOAT GROUP OF COMPANIES has moulded itself into an

efficient and market-leading solutions-orientated team that pri-

marily addresses the optimisation of water supply to consumers

through the minimisation of water losses, application of appro-

priate technology, revenue improvement and energy efficiency.

The group’s key focus areas of operation are consulting and

operations engineering (essentially the reduction of nonreve-

nue water and stabilising of water supply), product sales and

support, energy efficiency and mentorship. JOAT’s passion and

vision is to ensure that municipalities become as efficient as

possible in delivering water to consumers and has adapted its

approach towards an outcomes-based partnership that has

shared responsibility and accountability. The ultimate objective

of any successful partnership with JOAT is to provide water ser-

vice authorities with an efficient distribution system that they

are fully equipped and trained to continue to operate.

IMIESA November/December 2014 1

VOLUME 39 NO 11 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014CONTENTS

28GOVERNMENT VOICESinazo Sibisi, group executive,Infrastructure Delivery

14 IMESA Excellence Awards

Capex investment in South Africa’s road-building industry is long overdue, with 80% of its core equipment still not technologically equipped to meet national standards. Ammann SA has established a market model in South Africa that enables contractors of all sizes to adopt new, economically accessible asphalt technologies, fully supported by training programmes and maintenance contracts. P6

Nomvula Mokonyane, Minister of Water and Sanitation, is determined to deliver on her mandate. She walks her talk, and IMIESA is honoured to have her in this month’s Hot Seat. P12

RegularsEditor’s comment 3

President’s comment 4

Africa round-up 8

Index to advertisers 88

Cover Story Ammann SA 6

Municipal FeatureThe Pilanesberg Bulk Water

Supply Scheme 10

Hot SeatNomvula Mokonyane – Serving from

the ground up 12

The IMESA-CESA Biennial Project Excellence Awards 2014Celebrating engineering excellence 14

Partnering for Infrastructure DBSA – Implementing infrastructure 28

Panel discussion 31

Consulting engineers 40

OT SSEATTTHHOOOH

Water & Sanitation The importance of independence 44

Filtration innovation for a

water solution 47

Sustainable sanitation project

in Malawi 55

Waste Management Finding the disposal solution 50

Human Settlement Developing Diepsloot 57

SHEQDam rehabilitation 59

Skills & Training Embracing the mentorship

of young engineers 61

IMESA training – A fruitful four days 63

Cement & ConcreteGreening concrete 67

Building an airport in St Helena 68

Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital

selects concrete supplier 70

Meeting deadlines with RCC 71

Reducing energy intensity 73

TechnologyPMSA – Quality control 75

Composites – A new material world 77

Implementing the smart grid 79

Construction Vehicles & Equipment Condensate separators

– Less is more 82

Advances in mass excavation 83

Compact in size, big on delivery 84

Power project gets a lift 87

68 CEMENT & CONCRETEBuilding an airpor t in St Helena

Is this your current situation?

Come over to the winning side,

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insist on the new Molecor 500 O-PVC!

EDITOR’S COMMENT


To our avid readers, check out what we are talking about on our website, Facebook page or follow us on Twitter and have your say.

@infrastructure4 Infrastructure News

PUBLISHER Elizabeth ShortenEDITOR Nicholas McDiarmidEDITORIAL ASSISTANT Liesl FranksonHEAD OF DESIGN Frédérick DantonSENIOR DESIGNER Hayley MendelowDESIGNER Kirsty GallowayCHIEF SUB-EDITOR Tristan SnijdersSUB-EDITOR Beatrix KnopjesCONTRIBUTORS A Bowers, R Janse van Vuuren, N Mannie, H Muller & K van RijswijkCLIENT SERVICES & PRODUCTION MANAGER Antois-Leigh BotmaPRODUCTION COORDINATOR Jacqueline ModiseFINANCIAL MANAGER Andrew LobbanMARKETING MANAGER Hestelle RobinsonDIGITAL MANAGER Esther LouwADMINISTRATION Tonya HebentonDISTRIBUTION MANAGER Nomsa MasinaDISTRIBUTION COORDINATOR Asha PursothamSUBSCRIPTIONS [email protected] United Litho Johannesburg +27 (0)11 402 0571___________________________________________________

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ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION: R550.00 (INCL VAT) ISSN 0257 1978 IMIESA, Inst.MUNIC. ENG. S. AFR.© Copyright 2014. All rights reserved.___________________________________________________

IMESA CONTACTSIMESA Administration Officer: Narisha SoganP O Box 2190, Westville, 3630Tel: +27 (0)31 266 3263Fax: +27 (0)31 266 5094Email: [email protected]: www.imesa.org.za

BORDER BRANCHSecretary: Melanie MatroosTel: +27 (0)43 705 2401Fax: +27 (0)43 743 5266E-mail: [email protected]

EAST CAPE BRANCHClarine ColtmanTel: +27 (0)41 505 8019Fax: +27 (0)41 585 3437E-mail: [email protected]

KWAZULU-NATAL BRANCHSecretary: Rita MatthewsTel: +27 (0)31 311 6382Fax: +27 (0)31 701 2935

NORTHERN PROVINCE BRANCHSecretary: Rona FourieTel: +27 (0)82 742 6364Fax: +27 (0)86 634 5644E-mail: [email protected]

SOUTHERN CAPE KAROO BRANCHSecretary: Henrietta OliverTel: +27 (0)79 390 7536Fax: 086 536 3725E-mail: [email protected]

WESTERN CAPE BRANCHSecretary: Erica van JaarsveldTel: +27 (0)21 938 8455Fax: +27 (0)21 938 8457E-mail: [email protected]

FREE STATE AND NORTHERN CAPE BRANCHSecretary: Wilma Van Der WaltTel: +27(0)83 457 4362Fax: 086 628 0468E-mail: [email protected]

All material herein IMIESA is copyright protected and may not be reproduced either in whole or in part without the prior written permission of the publisher. The views of contributors do not necessarily reflect those of the Institute of Municipal Engineering of Southern Africa or the publishers.

Cover opportunity In each issue, IMIESA offers advertisers the opportunity to get to the front of the line by placing a company, product or service on the front cover of the journal. Buying this position will afford the advertiser the cover story and maximum exposure. For more information on cover bookings contact Jenny Miller on tel: +27 (0)11 467 6223.

STARTING WITH Duncan Daries;

IMESA’s new president was inaugu-

rated on 28 October during the opening

session, which was also the occasion

to reflect on the last two years of Frank Stevens’s

presidency. One of the fundamen tal challenges

faced by municipal engineers is managing their

professional outputs in a system dominated by

politics. The last two years, under Stevens’s

presidency, has seen the voice of municipal engi-

neers get stronger in this context, with meaning-

ful engagement, partnerships and activities with

bodies like SALGA, CoGTA, the Water Research

Commission and the Presidential Infrastructure

Commission. These have led to significant activi-

ties previously referred to in this publication; but

what is increasingly striking is how the institute

is strengthening its position and – ergo – that of

its members, through technical consideration,

engineering expertise and sound professional

value. Leaving the politics to the politicians, while

advocating for technical and planning excellence,

may seem like a longer route, but it is surely the

only feasible one.

Daries picked up this theme in his opening

remarks, noting the consolidation of IMESA’s

progress through a review of its governance

with the aim of increasing inputs and com-

munication of each Executive Council portfolio.

He also emphasised the critical importance of

furthering IMESA’s relationships with strategic

partnerships, especially at this juncture at which

national government is committing resources and

structural revisions towards cleaning up failing

municipalities and addressing the chronic lack of

engineers in rural areas.

Daries pointed out that IMESA will increase

its reach to these municipalities in an attempt

to connect what technical staff they do have

with fellow professionals. Taking its technical

role to the next level, IMESA is rolling out its

Sustainable Infrastructure Asset Management

(SIAM) programme. This undertaking, which incor-

porates the IMESA Infrastructure Management

(IMM) software, as well as the Asset Management

Programme Learning Environment, is a powerful

example of the wide impact IMESA can have on

the future prosperity of the country. Already rolled

out across the Free State, with most municipali-

ties having already created an asset register, the

software and training tools will not only enable the

custodians of the country’s assets to know exactly

what assets they own and what condition they are

in, but will render this data into powerful tools

from which accurate, meaningful budgets can be

developed. This process is crucial in unlocking the

value of the assets we already have, and plays a

vital role in turning political attention to the power

of maintenance. This programme was made pos-

sible by the Global Asset Management Group, and

Roger Byrne, former AMG manager provides ongo-

ing support to the institute. IMIESA magazine will

be running a series of articles on SIAM, providing

relevant touchpoints to connect readers to the

relevant individuals.

In this issue, we provide full coverage of the

IMESA CESA Excellence Awards, which were

packed with high-quality entries, with most cate-

gories attracting upwards of nine entries each. In

our net edition, we will publish a full conference

review, with special interviews and highlights,

and a guide to the presentations.

I would like to thank IMESA’s KwaZulu-Natal

local organising committee for producing this

year’s conference, and congratulate LOC

chair Jannie Pietersen and his team for an

excellent event.

Nicholas McDiarmidEditor

IMESA

The official magazine of the Institute

of Municipal Engineering of Southern Africa

INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT • MAINTENANCE • SERVICE DELIVERY•

I S S N 0 2 5 7 1 9 7 8 Vo l u m e 3 9 N o . 8 • A u g u s t 2 0 1 4 • R 5 0 . 0 0 ( i n c l VAT )“Sasol’s needs are being met and so are government’s, so it is a real win-win

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As another year draws to its close, public sector engineers gather to make sense of challenges, harness change and progress, and map the future of building a better nation. The IMESA 2014 conference braved the challenges and our municipal engineers are made of the right stuff.

The right stuff The right stuff – reinforced engineering– reinforced engineering

Introducing the new

I AM ASSUMING that there

is a need to introduce

myself and offer the follow-

ing short resume:

Born in Cape Town on 19

July 1957, I matriculated from

Alexander Sinton High School in

1975. I studied civil engineering

at the University of Cape Town

1977 to 1980 and obtained a

BSc degree. This happened in

the days when a

permit from the

Department of

Coloured Affairs

was required

to allow me

to study at a

‘white’ university.

Starting in December 1980,

I have only worked for one

municipal employer, but under

various restructured administra-

tions as follows:

• Divisional Council of the Cape

from 1980 to 1987, as a

graduate and senior engineer

based in Constantia and

Elsies River

• Western Cape Regional

Services Council (Cape Town)

from 1987 to 1994, as sen-

ior and principal engineer

based in Constantia and

Elsies River

• Interim Cape Metropolitan

Council from 1994 to 1996,

based in Elsies River

• City of Tygerberg from 1996

to 2000, as area civil engi-

neer: South

• City of Cape Town from

2000 to 2005, as area civil

engineer: South and interim

district coordinator for the

Durbanville Transport, Roads

and Stormwater District

• City of Cape Town from 2005

to 2013, as manager: opera-

tions and assets in the Roads

and Stormwater Department

• City of Cape Town from 2013,

as manager: infrastructure

and plant maintenance in

the Asset Management and

Maintenance Department of

the Cape Town DoT.

My formative years with the

Divisional Council of the Cape

gave me great exposure to

developmental engineering

in a planning, design and

construction environment

via internal depot staff and

external contractors.

I was exposed to the supervi-

sion of experienced profes-

sional engineers of the calibre

of Rory Gilmore, Roy Mee, Tony

Murray and Mohammed Gatiem

Kriel (all IMESA members at

some time). This enabled me

to obtain my Professional

Engineer (Pr Eng) registration

in 1988.

Enhancement of my engineer-

ing management experience

occurred within the city of

Tygerberg, under the guidance

of Kevin Ketterer and Alwyn

Laubscher, a former presi-

dent of IMESA. It was also in

Tygerberg that I became active

as a member of IMESA and

rubbed shoulders with col-

leagues such as former presi-

dents Maurice Pollet and Johan

de Beer.

I am married to Vanessa and

have two sons and a daugh-

ter. In my younger days, I was

active in soccer and cricket,

but lately have substituted

that with golf. I am an ardent

Manchester United

football fan, but

the Stormers and

Cobras are close to

the heart.

A passion for asset

managementThe City of Cape Town has seen

fit to appoint me in an opera-

tions and asset management

role, based very much on the

exposure and experience gained

under the previous adminis-

trations. However, I need to

acknowledge that I have had

the luxury of the support of

highly skilled and competent

professional subordinates as

well as fellow managers and a

director whose support I value.

It is with pleasure that I pen my first article as president of IMESA.

First of all, I want to extend my thanks to the outgoing Executive

Council members who have shown faith in me to head up this

esteemed institute. Special thanks to outgoing president Frank

Stevens for his calm yet astute leadership over the past two

years. We are very grateful to Frank, who has cemented

partnerships with other voluntary associations as well as

government bodies active in the built environment.

IMESA’s initiative with respect to the International Infrastructure Asset Manual and the courses being

offered is giving effect to putting asset management high on the agenda of municipalities.

4 IMIESA November/December 2014

PRESIDENT'S COMMENT

Duncan Daries, IMESA president

president of IMESAHere I must mention the late

Faried Allie (ex-SAICE presi-

dent), with whom I formed a

strategic partnership in develop-

ing the Roads and Stormwater

Department’s structure and

protocols with respect to ser-

vice delivery.

Presently within the City of

Cape Town, asset manage-

ment is very much part of

my responsibilities and I am

proud of the fact that IMESA’s

initiative with respect to the

International Infrastructure

Asset Manual and the courses

being offered is giving effect

to putting asset manage-

ment high on the agenda

of municipalities.

Consolidation, strategic partnerships and municipal outreachMy goal for IMESA is first of

all to consolidate our posi-

tion by being the voluntary

institute of choice for profes-

sionals and graduates within

the municipal environment, by

offering them appropriate sup-

port in continued professional

development, and through an

upgraded website with appro-

priate knowledge sharing and

networking opportunities.

My second goal is to con-

tinue the excellent work under-

taken by previous presidents

in partnering with relevant

volunteer sister institutes,

as well as associations such

as SALGA and MISA. We con-

tinue to reach out to munici-

palities who do not have any

representatives as members

of IMESA, as there surely is a

need for technical staff to net-

work with fellow professionals.

Stemming from our last execu-

tive meeting, we will review our

governance framework (constitu-

tion and by-laws) to consolidate

portfolios on our Executive

Council to ensure greater input

and interaction with the general

council of IMESA.

I look forward to a fruitful

and eventful two-year term as

president of IMESA.


PRESIDENT'S COMMENT

CAPEX INVESTMENT in South

Africa’s road-building industry is

long overdue, with 80% of its core

equipment still not technologi-

cally equipped to meet national standards.

Ammann SA has established a market model

in South Africa that enables contractors of

all sizes to adopt new, economically acces-

sible asphalt technologies, fully supported

by training programmes and maintenance

contracts. Beyond meeting national stand-

ards, there are cost and efficiency benefits

to investing in these technologies that far

exceed initial outlay, with numerous benefits

throughout the value chain.


COVER STORY

The case for new asphalt

AMMANN

Ammann’s Mini Paver is ideal for

smaller contractors, and effective for both small- and medium-

sized contracts

A rapid increase in the adoption of new asphalt technologies will have a radical impact on South Africa’s economy, and is a capital investment that makes sense for road contractors large and small. Rocco Lehman, MD of Ammann SA, unpacks a power ful business case with maximum benefit to all stakeholders.

Driving for better roadsA third of all asphalt produced in the United

States last year was done so using warm-mix

technologies and as much as 73.5 million

tonnes of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP)

was used in new asphalt pavement mixes.

Globally, the trend towards new asphalt tech-

nologies is being driven by environmental

legislation, effective resource management

and simple economics.

The picture in South Africa is no differ-

ent: Sanral’s standard specifications and

design parameters on some selected con-

tracts insist on a minimum 40% RAP in new

replacement pavement mixes, on the back of

environmental legislation geared at optimis-

ing both aggregate and bitumen resources.

“Bitumen in South Africa is becoming

increasingly expensive and in short supply,

and the local price is linked to global prices.

Using 40% RAP shaves 15% off the cost

of asphalt, while easing demand,” explains

Lehman. “It also eliminates a significant por-

tion of the logistics costs; heating, storing

and moving asphalt is a significant propor-

tion of the cost of the final product.”

Aggregates make up more than 90% of

asphalt roads, and unlocking the value of

recycled asphalt is dependent on new asphalt

technologies. “RAP contains high-quality

aggregates, which should not be wasted; but

again, the quality is enhanced when using

the right technologies,” explains Lehman.

Government is reinforcing the coun-

try’s transition to a low-carbon, resource-

efficient and climate-resilient nation, and

while Sanral is already specifying RAP, the

Presidential Infrastructure Commission

is setting clear targets for the use of

Innovative Building Technologies (IBTs),

which are already a requirement in its social

infrastructure projects.

“Road contractors who have not yet started

investing in new asphalt technologies should

start doing so now,” advises Lehman.

The wider costsThe impact of poor practice in road building

on South Africa’s economy is phenomenal.

“The Gauteng Freeway Improvement

Project was a massive investment by Sanral,

funded by the South African taxpayer,” says

Lehman. “While it’s an impressive road

network, it’s been a challenge due to time

constraints, and road repairs started the

very same year the project began.

“Working with old equipment and manual

processes is costing the South African tax

payer massive amounts, in both monetary

terms and impact.” Not only is the road work


COVER STORY

itself doubling up, the impact on commuters,

emissions and logistics is a highly significant

driver of inflation. TomTom’s latest global

traffic index puts the cost of congestion to

the South African economy at R60.35 bil-

lion annually – excluding the cost double-up

costs of the road repairs.

Renewing the industry While macroeconomic drivers for new

asphalt technologies are clear, the micro-

economic advantages for road contractors

are equally compelling. “Asphalt contrac-

tors carry much of the risk in road-building

contracts,” explains Lehman. “In simple

terms, the contractor gets paid for what he

makes. This may seem straightforward, but

the value chain is complicated and fraught

with pitfalls.

“Considering that 85% of the cost of an

asphalt job is tied up in materials, a failure

in the asphalt mix is irretrievable and a

high loss to absorb, especially when RAP is

added,” continues Lehman. “Getting the mix

right is a precise procedure that does not

tolerate estimates well.” Old asphalt plant

technology is putting their business at risk

for no good reason.

“Amman’s asphalt plants are an inte-

gration of mechanical and technological

components – they are ‘smart’ plants. The

monitoring capability is precisely integrated

with the mixing mechanics, which in turn

are integrated with automation and control

technologies. Simply setting the right param-

eters guarantees a perfect mix, every time,”

enthuses Lehman. A capital investment that

reduces a contractor’s risk from 85% to

almost zero should be an imperative. “The

savings on process costs alone more than

justify the business case,” he explains.

Building the value chainIt’s not just Amman’s larger equipment

that has a contribution to make to road-

building industry. Walk-behind rollers are

especially important for smaller contrac-

tors. “Ammann’s ARW 65 walk-behind roll-

ers are sophisticated compactors that can

form the basis of a new contractor’s future

fleet, delivering profes-

sional results on smaller

construction projects,”

explains Lehman.

“The Mini Paver is an

excellent entr y-level

machine, which, at around the same price

as a medium-sized family car, is a serious

asset for an entry-level contractor. Add a

small compaction machine and you have

everything you need to fulfil a maintenance

contract.” Although it is a smaller machine,

it can be used for small- to medium-sized

contracts and will become part of a bigger

fleet for entrepreneurially

minded contractors build-

ing a quality business.

Partnering with the smaller contractorAmmann SA is passionate about the role

of the smaller contractor in the local road-

building industry, and the immense value

they can bring to maintenance of the

country’s roads, providing they have the

right equipment. “The industry needs the

smaller contractors, and ensuring they have

the right equipment for the right job is just

first part of what Ammann does. We provide

as much training and support as needed to

ensure the machines keep working in the

right way.”

Apart from packaging training, support and

maintenance of its products into the capital

cost, Ammann SA offers business support

as well. “We have the skills and capacity to

help smaller contractors access funding from

potential investors, such as the Industrial

Development Corporation, assisting them

with technical presentations and support for

their business cases,” explains Lehman.

Adding value through support, training and manufacturing Ammann SA is far more than an equipment

supplier; it is a company that has been

constituted locally in such a way as to add

value to the entire industry – for contractors

and project owners alike. “In establishing

Ammann SA, we ensured that its manage-

ment and leadership were made up of peo-

ple of who represented a broad skills base

that understands the road-building process

from the point of formation to the final

product,” says Lehman. “This allows us to

optimise the value intrinsic to the machines

we sell through proper product selection and

ongoing support.”

Ammann SA’s management team has

more than 100 years of collective experi-

ence in road building, with members who

have worked in spheres, mix designs in labo-

ratories and machine maintenance. “There

is a limited amount of expertise in the

country” explains Lehman. “Our collective

expertise is the practical edge we have in

the market, allowing us to trouble shoot

and fix problems for our clients, from both

a practical and a theoretical vantage point.

Lehman stresses that this pool of knowledge

is also available to local authorities and road

building agencies.

Ammann SA has geared itself up to provide

and support training for its products, both

in South Africa and the rest of sub-Saharan

Africa, from a unique vantage point that is

guided by its team’s intricate knowledge of

road building in general, and the local condi-

tions in particular.

Ammann SA also adds value by continu-

ously localising manufacturing, while main-

taining European standards. “We consider

local manufacturing to be an important

contribution to the economy, keeping the

costs of our plants down, while ensuring we

meet European standards,” says Lehman.

The company recently supplied an asphalt

plant of which more than a third was

locally manufactured.

“By offering these high standards at local

prices, Ammann SA is becoming an impor-

tant economic contributor,” he concludes.

Ammann Construction Machinery South Africa229 Hull road, Rynfield Benoni

t +27 (0)11 849 3939c 078 488 2945

[email protected]

ELB Equipment – A division of ELB Equipment Holdings (Pty) Limited

Reg. No. 1954/003028/0714 Atlas Road, Anderbolt Boksburg

South Africat +27 (0)11 306 0700

www.elb.co.za

IMIESA offers advertisers an ideal platform to ensure maximum exposure of their brand. Companies are afforded the opportunity of publishing a two-page cover story and a cover picture to promote their products to an appropriate audience. Please call Jenny Miller on +27 (0)11 467 6223 to secure your booking.

technology

Ammann SA’s ASC 110 Compactor is an intelligent compactor that can be run with non-intelligent compactors

OPPOSITE Ammann SA’s ASC 110 and AV 95-2 compactor is an intelligent compactor

INFRASTRUCTURE NEWS FROM AROUND THE CONTINENT

KENYAWorld’s largest geothermal plant opened Kenyan presi-

dent Uhuru Kenyatta recently

opened the 140 MW Olkaria

IV Geothermal Power Plant in

Naivasha, Kenya. Expected

to reduce the cost of electric-

ity in Kenya, the plant is par-

tially funded by the German

Development Cooperation, and

the German government contrib-

uted more than KES10.1 billion

(about R1.2 billion) to Olkaria I

and IV for construction and drill-

ing. The money will fund the

addition of another 210 MW to

the national grid through both

power plants, supplying electric-

ity to more Kenyans.

“The support of the geo-

thermal plants in Olkaria is a

good example of the strong

partnership between Germany

and Kenya to promote renew-

able energies,” said Lars

Wilke, head of the German

Development Cooperation.

Germany intends to provide

more than KES10.5 billion to

renewable energies and energy

efficiency between 2014 and

2017 as part of its contribu-

tion to the national ‘5000+

MW’ goal.

GHANAFunding approved for the Kasoa Interchange project The Parliament of Ghana has

approved a $172.6 million

credit facility agreement for the

design and construction of the

Kasoa Interchange and ancil-

lary works.

The agreement between the

government and Deutsche

Bank, New York branch, and

its affiliates will see the Kasoa

Interchange project move

forward. Work on the project

includes the construction of

a 200 m interchange bridge,

a new roundabout, drainage

and public lighting, 2 000 m

of Accra-Cape Coast Highway,

local roads within the catch-

ment of the interchange and

1 640 m of roads towards

Nyanyano and Bawjiase.

James Klutse Avedzi, chair-

man of Ghana’s Parliamentary

Finance Commitee, described

the project as critical since

it would improve traffic flow,

reduce congestion and stimu-

late local economic growth

between the Accra Metropolitan

Area and the Central Region.

The House also approved

a contract with Brazilian con-

struction company Construtora

Queiroz Galvão SA for the The Olkaria IV power plant

Accra street resurfacing pro-

ject. The project, expected to

cost over $40 million, will be

used to resurface selected

major and minor arterial roads.

NIGERIA ICRC addresses obstructions to PPP in Nigeria The

Infrastructure Concession

Regulatory Commission (ICRC)

has begun aggressive moves

to address obstructions to

public-private partnership (PPP)

projects in Nigeria.

The move is part of

the National Integrated

Infrastructure Master Plan to

bridge the prevalent infrastruc-

ture gap in the country, which is

estimated at about $2.9 trillion.

In a statement at the open-

ing session of a PPP advanced

technical workshop, organised

in collaboration with the World

Bank Organisation, chair-

man of the ICRC governing

body Senator Ken Nnamani

said the major impediment

to PPPs is capacity for

project development.

The workshop was intended

to enhance the capacity and

institutional strength of the

ICRC, agencies of government,

and state PPP units to ensure

that PPP projects are bankable.

AFRICASpeaking at the United Nations annual consid-

eration of the landmark

New Partnership for Africa’s

Development (NEPAD), UN

General Assembly president

Sam Kutesa stressed the cru-

cial role of internal and exter-

nal partnerships in sustaining

Africa’s progress in meeting its

developmental targets.

With the adoption of NEPAD’s

Programme for Infrastructure

Development in Africa in July

2012, African leaders laid a

foundation for the development

of critical regional and conti-

nental infrastructure, he said.

“Africa needs hydropower

dams and transmission lines to

facilitate production. It needs

roads, railways and ports to

facilitate commerce and trade.

It needs core information and

communications technology

infrastructure to support trade

in goods and services, as well

as governance structures,”

Kutesa added.

Kutesa noted that over

the last 12 months, of the

51 NEPAD projects and pro-

grammes envisioned, 16

national and regional projects

were identified as quick wins

for financing and implementa-

tion. He said it is important

that the Comprehensive Africa

Agriculture Development

Programme (CAADP) continues

to receive attention as a guid-

ing framework for the develop-

ment of this sector.

“These projects and others

will require enormous amounts

of resources, but financing

by governments alone is not

enough. Other sources of fund-

ing, especially from the private

sector, including specialised

funds, should be tapped into,”

said Kutesa.

“Strengthened bilateral and

regional cooperation to develop

AFRICA ROUND-UP

UN General Assemby President Sam Kutesa believes erasing infrastructure deficit is key to Africa's development


joint cross-border projects will also be

important going forward,” he continued,

adding that improving access to sustain-

able sources of clean, reliable and afford-

able energy will also be crucial to Africa’s

economic and social development.

SOUTH SUDAN $1 Billion for road construction in South Sudan

The South Sudanese government has ear-

marked $1 billion for the construction of

two highways. Information Minister Michael

Makuei Lueth said a loan from China will

cover the costs.

“A loan of $1 billion from China Exim

Bank will cover the cost of the Juba-

Magala-Gamenza-Bor road and Juba-

Teregeke-Yirol-Rumbek road,” Leuth said.

“It may not be enough but resources will

continuously be mobilised to complete the

two highways,” he added following a coun-

cil of ministers’ meeting.

The 192 km Juba-Nimule highway con-

structed with funding from USAID, at a

cost of $220 million, is currently the only

paved road in the country.

Leuth said the construction of the 194

km Juba-Bor and 618 km Juba-Rumbek

roads will boost road networks in the coun-

try. He did not reveal when actual road

construction would commence or which

companies will implement the multimillion

dollar project.

TANZANIAIMF backs borrowing for infrastructure projects Speaking in Dar es Salaam,

visiting IMF director for Africa Antoinette

Monsio Sayeh said that borrowing to invest

in infrastructure is advisable to any govern-

ment. The country’s sustained economic

growth, which is above the 5.0% of sub-

Saharan Africa, is good for development

and the eradication of poverty, noting that

investment in infrastructure should also

target the agriculture sector.

The IMF chief also advised governments

to carefully consider their lenders to avoid

paying high interest rates. The country’s

discovery of huge natural gas deposits

demands improved infrastructure; hence

the government has an obligation to bor-

row wisely. The deputy permanent secre-

tary at the Ministry of Finance, Professor

Adolph Mkenda, noted that following the

natural resources boom, namely natural

gas, there are many international lenders

who are willing to assist with public invest-

ment in infrastructure.

Prof Mkenda said that the government is

ensuring that public procurement regula-

tions are followed so that there is real

quality and value for money in infrastruc-

ture projects. CRDB Bank MD Dr Charles

Kimei warned that economic slowdown

in the developed world has an impact on

lending rates. This may also affect coun-

tries such as Tanzania, which rely on exter-

nal sources to fund infrastructure.

Growth in sub-Saharan Africa is expected

to remain strong at 5.0% till end of

this year, and 5.75% during next year,

spurred on by sustained infrastructure

investment, a buoyant services sector and

strong agricultural production.

AFRICA ROUND-UP

$1 billion earmarked for construction of two highways in South Sudan


MUNICIPAL FEATURE

INCREASED WATER demands for

domestic consumption and mining

operations in the Magalies Water sup-

ply area within the Bojanala Platinum

District (Moses Kotane and Rustenburg

Local Municipality areas) and Waterberg

District, specifically Thabazimbi, resulted in

the need for major bulk water supply aug-

mentation in the Pilanesberg area.

Domestic consumptionHot spots in the Moses Kotane area include

Seolong, Ratau, Letlhakeng, Makweleng,

Witrandjie, Bapong, Phalane/Tweelaagte,

Witrandjie, Legkraal, Buhule, Sandfontein,

Welgeval, Dikwepi, Segakwaneng, Lerome,

Mabodisa, Ramoga, Mannamakgoteng,

Lesetlheng, Moruleng and east Mankwe.

The urgent need in these areas will be allevi-

ated by an increased bulk water supply of

8.8 Mℓ/d to be delivered by the Pilanesberg

North scheme and 5 Mℓ/d to be delivered by

the Pilanesberg South scheme, for the Ledig

and surrounding areas.

The whole of the Rustenburg and Royal

Bafokeng areas are seen as hotspots and

the urgent need in these areas will be allevi-

ated by an increased bulk water supply of

70 Mℓ/d to be delivered by the Pilansberg

South scheme. The needs in the Thabazimbi

and Northam areas will be alleviated by an

increased bulk water supply of 13 Mℓ/d to be

delivered by the Pilanesberg North scheme.

Department of Water Affairs The Department of Water Affairs is the spon-

sor of the project, through the Regional Bulk

Infrastructure Grant programme. To date,

government has committed grant funding in

excess of R770 million to the project.

This amount, together with the contribution

from Magalies Water and the mines, has not

only guaranteed financial resources for the

project but, more so, ensured that the imple-

mentation of the project is expedited for the

benefit of affected communities.

Infrastructure components of the scheme

currently under con-

struction (to be funded

by Magalies Water and

National Treasury through

the Depar tment of

Water Affairs):

Pilanesberg North schemeA bulk power supply

upgrade from Eskom

has been initiated and

will incur an estimated

cost of R125 million, to be completed by

middle 2015.

The high-lift pump station tender has been

awarded at a cost of R103 million. The con-

tractor has commenced and the project will

be completed by middle 2015.

The construction of the first planned

30 Mℓ/d module of the new Plant 4 of the

Vaalkop Water Treatment Works has com-

menced at a cost of R125 million and will

be completed by early 2015. The next three

30 Mℓ/d modules of the new Plant 4 of the

Vaalkop Water Treatment Works are in the

detailed design phase and, at an estimated

cost of R390 million, should be completed

by 2017.

The 21 km of 950 mm diameter rising

main from Vaalkop Water Treatment Works

to La Patrie tender has been awarded at

a cost of R186 million. The contractor has

commenced and the project will be com-

pleted by early 2015.

The 950 mm, 22 km gravity main from

La Patrie to Padda

tender has been

awarded at a cost

of R157 million.

The contractor

has commenced

and the project

will be completed

by early 2015.

The new 20 Mℓ reservoir at La

Patrie tender has

been awarded at a

cost of R39 million. The contractor has com-

menced and the project will be completed by

early 2015.

Pilanesberg South schemeThe 43 km of 1 000 mm diameter rising

main from Evergreen to Mafenya tender

has been awarded at a cost of

R350 million. The contractor

has commenced and the

The Pilanesberg Bulk Magalies Water provides bulk potable water for industrial and domestic use from its Vaalkop Water Treatment Works to Rustenburg, Moses Kotane and Thabazimbi as well as to mines in area. By Richard Janse van Vuuren

MAIN BENEFICIARIES OF THE PROJECTDomestic consumption:• Moses Kotane Local Municipality• Rustenburg Local Municipality

(including the Royal Bafokeng Administration)

• Thabazimbi Local MunicipalityIndustrial consumption:• Bakubung Minerals (Wesizwe)• Maseve• Platmin

Harnessing water in the majestic Pilanesberg

10 IMIESA November / December 2014


MUNICIPAL FEATURE

Water Supply Schemeproject will be completed by middle 2015.

The two new 26 Mℓ reservoirs at Mafenya

tenders are awaiting to be awarded and, at

a cost of R70 million, should be completed

by early 2016.

The 9 km of 600 mm diameter gravity main

from Mafenya to the mines and the Ledig

area in Moses Kotane near Sun City tender

has been awarded at a cost of R36 million.

The contractor has commenced and the pro-

ject will be completed by early 2015.

Phase 2 of the scheme• A bulk water pipeline from Tuschenkomst

to Ruighoek to relieve the water supply

constraints in Mabeskraal and surrounding

villages in the Moses Kotane local munici-

pality area is planned.

• A bulk water pipeline from Mafenya to

Phokeng and Thlabane in Rustenburg

to relieve the water supply constraints

in the Royal Bafokeng and surrounding

Rustenburg villages is to be laid.

• An upgrade of the bulk water pipeline from

Amandelbult to Thabazimbi to augment

bulk water supply to the Thabazimbi area

is intended.

• Upgrades of the bulk water supply system

towards Northam to augment bulk water

supply to this area will be undertaken.

Future Phase 3 of the schemeMagalies Water is currently investi-

gating the feasibility and scope of the

regional bulk water supply infrastructure

required to extend the scheme to Koster,

Swartruggens and other villages in the

Kgetleng River Local Municipality to relieve

bulk supply constraints.

Current statusCSVwater is responsible for the design of the

civil and mechanical works of the 60 Mℓ/d

upgrade of the Vaalkop WTW where it is

currently commissioning the first 30 Mℓ/d

module, with the second 30 Mℓ/d module

expected to be completed August 2015.

“The existing Vaalkop potable water treat-

ment facility, as operated and maintained by

Magalies Water, comprises a number of unit

processes able to receive and treat raw water

from the Vaalkop Dam. The treatment mod-

ules are sequentially numbered from Plant 1

to Plant 4, and treat raw water received to

potable standards as required by SANS 241,”

states Dr Michele Kruger, associate director

at CSVwater Consulting Engineers.

The treatment facility included for a

counter-current dissolved air flotation/filter

unit process.

“Due to the existing process employing this

technology, it was a requirement that the

contractor apply similar design parameters

for the extension. The contract therefore com-

prises the construction of the last 30 Mℓ/d

module of Vaalkop Plant 3 (Phase 1) and

the first 30 Ml/d module of the new Vaalkop

Plant 4 (Phase 2). The work for Vaalkop

Plant 3 (Phase 1) consists of the construc-

tion of a new 30 Mℓ/d flocculation unit, a new

30 Mℓ/d horizontal sedimentation tank and 2

x 15 Mℓ/d dissolved air flotation/sand filters,

while a 15 Mℓ reservoir will also be construct-

ed. The work to Vaalkop Plant 4 (Phase 2) will

include for the same unit processes as that of

Vaalkop Plant 3 (Phase 1),” explains Kruger.

Further construction activities will be the

installation of a new 1 500 mm raw water

rising main. “The rising main will deliver raw

water to the newly constructed inlet works

situated in a new chemical storage build-

ing. Design work is currently ongoing to com-

bine all the inlet works into one. Provision

will also be made for the current ozone at

Vaalkop Plant 1 to be extended as pre-ozone

to the new inlet works,” continues Kruger.

Indications at this stage are that additional

20 kg/h ozone will be required. Standby

options are also being considered. The

gravity pipeline connecting the sand filters

of Vaalkop Plant 4 (Phase 2) and the on-

site reservoir storage will be installed under

this contract.

VAALKOP WTW UPGRADE• Project manager organisation:

- Ossie Rossouw Management Services

• Lead design consultants & professional engineers: - S&W Limpopo (scope: water

treatment works to the Padda) - Thuthuka Group (scope: the Padda

to the terminal reservoir) - CSVwater Consulting Engineers

(scope: water treatment works) - DJJ Conradie (scope: mechanical,

electrical and instrumentation)

CLOCKWISE FROM RIGHTThe rising main pipeline to La Patrie

Vaalkop Water Treatment Works

An aerial view of the reservoir being constructed at La Patrie



It is apparent that your vision is driven by the daily realities of communities not yet experiencing access to clean water and sanitation; what are the main causes of this problem at this stage in our democracy? MNM

One of the good things about

the fifth democratic government

is that President Jacob Zuma

announced the setting up of

the new Department of Water

and Sanitation (DWS). This

was an acknowledgement of

the challenge we are facing. In

2000, government introduced

the Municipal Systems Act,

which gives municipalities the

authority to uplift communities

What has been a problem is

that many municipalities do

not have human capital that

can do the job. Also, money

that has been pumped into

municipalities is unable to

fulfil the demand because

of ageing infrastructure. In

some instances, it is because

of neglect of operation and

maintenance. In other cases,

it is because of corruption.

In some cases, rather than

investing in maintenance and

rolling out infrastructure, we

outsource the responsibility.

How will DWS work with the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs and the South African

A human dynamo, Minister Mokonyane’s presence has been rapidly and powerfully established in the public eye as well as in the professional infrastructure community. Mokonyane’s engagement with her portfolio and affected stakeholders, in both the public and the private sectors, operates at a level of activity that is difficult keep pace with.

HOT SEAT

Serving from the ground up

MINISTER NOMVULA MOKONYANE

Local Government Association towards strengthening struggling municipalities? We already

are. Together with Cooperative

Governance and Traditional

Affairs Minister Pravin Gordhan,

we have agreed that there is

a need to move away from a

one-size-fits-all approach to

municipal solutions.

Already, we have intervened

in the provinces. For instance,

in the North West, we will pri-

oritise Madibeng and Ngaka

Modiri Molema, and resolve the

Bloemhof situation. We are, how-

ever, doing good work in prov-

inces like KwaZulu-Natal, with

eThekwini Water and Sanitation

getting an international award

in Stockholm. In instances like

socially and economically.

The problems you find are

usually a reflection of what’s

going on in local government.

National government, in the

main, was focusing on bigger

projects, budget allocation and

the development of policies.

Through the presidency’s

20 Year Review, however,

we have reviewed the Water

Services Act.

What options are being considered? Most importantly, we are

revisiting powers, functions,

roles and responsibilities.

The Constitution of South

Africa actually places the

responsibility of providing water

on the central government.

Delivering a power ful budget speech in July, convening

the National Water Summit in August and delivering

one keynote speech after the next, the minister also

engages very publicly on the challenging issues that

present themselves almost daily. If that were not enough, she is

revealing a ‘people’s touch’ and can be found visiting communi-

ties across the country, getting to know their challenges at the

coalface in order to truly understand them. Minister Mokonyane

walks her talk, and IMIESA is honoured to have her in this

month’s Hot Seat.

Makana in the Eastern Cape, it

has a lot to do with corruption,

lack of accountability, political

interference and the lack of main-

tenance. There are no early warn-

ing systems to avoid situations

like the pipe that burst there.

When all is said and done,

we have managed to reduce

our backlog in water and sanita-

tion, despite these challenges.

Do you view the maintenance of existing infrastructure separately from the commissioning of new infrastructure? There is no point in us

not looking after our water

treatment works, and then

going out to look for VIP toilets.

That is not the right solution.

You should rather maintain

your water treatment works

and sort out your sewer pump

stations. Some of the problems

you find are caused by people

who want to benefit from

providing water and sanitation

services, where they buy some

of our communities to destroy

our infrastructure.

How can communities feel more empowered? In the first instance, you have

to earn community trust and

establish community buy-in

for all proposed solutions.

Sanitation and water provision

needs to consider the

communities’ understanding of

the challenges and needs first.

Involving them at the final stage

of delivering water services

is too little, too late, and

ultimately unsustainable.

Take the Jozini Dam for exam-

ple. For more than 30 years,

that dam has been a single-

purpose dam and we are now

c onverting it into a multipur-

pose dam, which finally services

local villages instead of only

distant communities. The chal-

lenges facing the nearby commu-

nity have been well documented,

and they deserve to benefit from

the infrastructure on their door-

step. Imagine the psychological

impact of knowing the infrastruc-

ture is right there, with all the

benefits being channelled off for

the benefit of others. The solu-

tion for this community had to

factor in the local dam, including

what it stood for in the hearts

and minds of those living near it.

Turning to the private sector, you are

the public and private sectors.

I noted at this forum that the

real value of the partnership is

in providing a two-way sounding

board that both the DWS and

the corporate sector should use

to improve water management.

We are so committed to this

that we have decided to assign

two senior members within the

department to drive the part-

nership, which at the moment

is well focused on water loss

management and which we hope

to see extend its commitment to

industrial water use efficiency

as well.

Thank you for finding the time in your extremely busy schedule to talk to us. In parting, do you have one final message? It’s time for Africa to find

solutions that are good for, and

benefit, us. While we appreciate

international support and

funding, there must be a skills

transfer to Africa.

HOT SEAT

scheduled to give the keynote address at Consulting Engineers South Africa’s annual conference; what is your key message to this industry? Cooperation

is very important; decisive

leadership and accountability

on how water is being used

is important. Government

resources are limited, so

the role of the private sector

in driving innovation is very

important. There is nothing

wrong with bringing in the

private sector in the supply of

water and sanitation, but the

most important thing is to make

sure that government has the

capability to drive that. Our

partnership with the private

sector as a whole is crucial to

addressing water security and

national development goals.

I recently met with the lead-

ership team of the Strategic

Water Partners Network, whose

multi-stakeholder forum is led by

OPPOSITE TOP Minister Mokonyane places community involvement as a priority in defining solutions that work for them

BELOW The Pongolapoort Water Supply Scheme is set to serve its own communities

BELOW RIGHT Minister Mokonyane celebrates the launch of the of the Bush Buck water scheme

“When all is said and done, we

have managed to reduce our backlog

in water and sanitation,

despite these challenges.”


IT IS A PLATFORM to showcase and

honour innovation, ingenuity and

originality in solving the problems of

communities around the country, and

the growing maturity of the partnerships

between local government, public utilities

and the private sector demonstrates the

robustness of the infrastructure sector in

South Africa today.

IMIESA congratulates all winners.

IMESA and CESA celebrate engineering excellence

PROJECT BRT Section 5 (City of Johannesburg)CATEGORY Roads and Stormwater – WinnerCOMPANY Nyeleti Consulting 1 THE JOHANNESBURG Development

Agency appointed the Luntek Consortium,

which consisted of UWP Engineers, Nyeleti

Consulting and Lonerock Construction, for

the detail design and construction of the BRT

Section 5.

The entire system is designed to assimi-

late into the existing infrastructure without

compromising safety and efficiency. New

drainage systems such as beanie kerbs were

used in the median to cater for stormwater

in restricted areas. The retaining wall system

had to be designed with reverse footings so

as not to encroach upon existing properties.

The IMESA Biennial Project Excellence

Awards 2014, in collaboration with

Consulting Engineers South Africa (CESA),

is a celebration of the art and science of

infrastructure engineering.

WINNERS ROUND-UPThe new concept of clear view fencing was

applied over sections of the route to allow

for a feeling of open space. The pavement

structure was designed to cater for the heavy

load of the buses.

PROJECT Investigations and bulk stormwater upgrade to prevent flooding, Sydenham (eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality)CATEGORY Roads and Stormwater – 2nd placeCOMPANY BMK Engineering Consultants2 BMK ENGINEERING was appointed by

eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality’s

Coastal Stormwater and Catchment

Management department to investigate and

upgrade the existing infrastructure in the

1 2

EXCELLENCE AWARDS

community of Sydenham, which experiences

extreme flooding. The final combined

stormwater bulk upgrade comprised of a

500 m long bulk pipe upgrade using 1.2 m

diameter concrete pipelines constructed

within servitudes between residential

properties, as well as a high school, that

eventually discharged into an approximate

450 m³ depressed attenuation area adjacent

to a rugby field.

The Sydenham design was split into three

phases, with Phase 1 being the bulk 1.2 m

pipe upgrade and the rugby field attenua-

tion, Phase 2 being the 300 m long concrete

culvert upgrade, and Phase 3 being the

22 000 m³ attenuation dam facility.

PROJECT Extension of Sandown Road (City of Cape Town)



ETHEKWINI

CATEGORY Roads and Stormwater – 3rd placeCOMPANY HHO Africa Infrastructure Engineers 3 THE NEW SANDOWN link was designed

to ease traffic flows in and out of the Table

View and Bloubergstrand areas, and provide

access across the Diep River to the city’s

central and northern suburbs. The M12,

when completed, will improve access to the

N2 (Cape Town International Airport and

Somerset West).

The 2.5 km long Sandown Road includes

a bridge over the Atlantis rail and forms the

first carriageway of the route that links Table

View with Durbanville Hills. As the route will

be used as a BRT corridor in the future, provi-

sions have been made to widen the sidewalk

to accommodate a cycle lane.

PROJECT Isando pedestrian bridge – the Walking Wonder (Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality)CATEGORY Structures and Buildings – WinnerCOMPANY SMEC South Africa4 THE EKURHULENI Metropolitan

Municipality appointed SMEC South Africa to

redesign the Isando pedestrian bridge.

The new bridge replaces two substandard

footbridges from the early 1970s with a

4.5 m wide walkway that accommodates

9 000 commuters crossing each day. With

a total length of 446 m, the bridge and its

approaches connect Isando rail station with

O.R. Tambo International Airport.

The central 126.4 m long section of the

bridge has a four-span configuration with

spans of 25.4 m, 14.8 m, 22.2 m and

64.0 m. The superstructure consists of a

continuous composite steel box girder with a

5.4 m wide concrete deck slab.

The 64.0 m long main span is supported by

two vertical planes of fanned cables that are

anchored into the back spans. A main feature

of the bridge is its two un-braced cigar-shaped

steel pylons. One leans forwards at 11

degrees and the other backwards, hence the

bridge’s name.

PROJECT Electron Road Waste Management Facility (eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality)CATEGORY Structures and Buildings – 2nd placeCOMPANY Jeffares & Green 5 THE KEY FOCUS of the Electron Road

Waste Management Facility in Durban is to

provide a sustainable waste management

solution that reduces waste transportation

costs, and allows waste to be effectively

diverted from the Bisasar Road landfill, which

is nearing full capacity. The Electron Road

transfer station has been designed to transfer

1 200 tonnes each day. Innovations include

a special stormwater treatment process,

advanced control booths, a versatile loading

magazine and the first-ever use of the

modern-day Husmann compaction equipment

and related side-pushers.

PROJECT DCD Wind Towers factory (Coega Industrial Development Zone)CATEGORY Structures and Buildings – 3rd placeCOMPANY WorleyParsons6 THE DCD WIND Towers factory project

involved the construction of a factory that

is earmarked to manufacture tower sections

to the specifications of all OEMs in the

wind sector. The manufacturing facility

consists of a 23 m high x 255 m long x

77 m wide factory, a 3 500 m² storage and

canteen building, a 1 500 m² office building

and 26 000 m² of storage space for the

tower sections.

Some of the project challenges included

the following:

• high wind loads of the exposed terrain

• high loading of the overhead travelling

cranes (OTC) with 12 m lifting heights

• tight tolerance requirements of the OTCs

• an extremely tight construction programme

• flexibility to modify the facility for future

larger production that might be required by

a nuclear project.

PROJECT Ilembe Biogas Project (Ilembe District Municipality)CATEGORY Environmental Winner |

6

3 4

5

Community Upliftment – 3rd placeCOMPANY Khanyisa Projects7 THE ILEMBE BIOGAS Project aims to

install biogas digesters in the homes of the

rural community of Ndwedwe under Ilembe

District Municipality. The biogas digesters

were built from a combination of brick and

mortar, and include a fibreglass dome, an

LDPE greywater line and composite pipe for

the gas line to the kitchen. The 6 m3 digester

caters for up to 40 kg of organic material

daily and up to 1 000 litres of water via the

greywater system. Existing flush toilets were

connected to the digester as well.

The system can produce up to 2 m3 of

methane gas daily as well as nutrient-rich

effluent that can be used for fruit trees and

food gardens.

PROJECT Malmesbury Wastewater Treatment Works (Swartland Local Municipality)CATEGORY Envir onmental and Water and Wastewater – 2nd placeCOMPANY Aurecon8 AURECON INVESTIGATED various options

to extend the capacity of the Malmesbury

Wastewater Treatment Works (WWTW) from

5 Mℓ/d to 10 Mℓ/d and to convert it into

a biological nutrient removal process. The

solution proposed was to extend the WWTW

using a membrane bioreactor (MBR) and

a hybrid system, incorporating the existing

treatment works and a new MBR. The use

of the hybrid system resulted in all flow

up to the peak dry weather flow passing

through the membranes and only the peak

wet weather flow flowing through the existing

clarifiers. The new system also increases the

potential treatment capacity of the existing

site nearly threefold and produces an effluent

that surpasses the standards set by the

Department of Water Affairs.

PROJECT Kirstenbosch Centenary Tree Canopy Walkway (City of Cape Town)CATEGORY Environmental – 3rd placeCOMPANY Henry Fagan & Partners Consulting Structural & Civil Engineers9 THE KIRSTENBOSCH Centenary Tree

Canopy Walkway was designed to be as

delicate as possible so as not to disturb

the natural beauty of the gardens. For this

reason, it needed to be as inconspicuous as

possible and the colour of the bridge needed

to blend in with the treetops.

In order to adhere to these design ele-

ments, the engineers carefully planned the

route of the bridge, using unconventional

methods in its arrangement – such as a

single tube section to form the spine of

the structure and the bottom chord of the

truss, with two box sections for the handrails

instead of adding the deck and handrail on

top of a conventional structure consisting of

trusses or beams.

The bridge was also designed to allow

more movement than engineers would nor-

mally consider acceptable so as to enhance

the experience of visitors on the bridge. This

EXCELLENCE AWARDS


design also allows for a cleaner, and less clut-

tered appearance and feel.

PROJECT Preekstoel Water Treatment Works (Overstrand Local Municipality)CATEGORY Water and Wastewater – WinnerCOMPANY Aurecon10 AURECON WAS commissioned to design

and implement a biological filtration process

to treat borehole water at the Preekstoel

Water Treatment Works.

The biological filtration process has dis-

tinct operational, maintenance, water quality,

water loss, and operating and capital cost

advantages. The biofiltration process was

implemented at Preekstoel for the treatment

of borehole water in conjunction with the

conventional processes for the treatment of

surface water a first in South Africa.

The biofilters were designed with the same

layout and configuration as a conventional

oxidation system. The advantage of this

design is that in the unlikely event that the

process does not function as effectively

as expected, a conversion to conventional

chemical oxidation could be made using the

same infrastructure.

PROJECT Driftsands Wastewater Treatment Works (Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality)CATEGORY Water and Wastewater – 3rd placeCOMPANY Aurecon

7 8

9 10

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11 THE EXTENSION and upgrade of the

Driftsands Wastewater Treatment Works was

commissioned to alleviate the flow in the

upper Baakens sewer catchment area, one

of the three main catchment areas in Nelson

Mandela Bay, by diverting flow to Driftsands.

The existing capacity at the water treat-

ment works was 12 Mℓ/d and the incoming

average dry weather flow already exceeded

this on a regular basis. Engineers were

tasked with constructing three new 10 Mℓ/d

EXCELLENCE AWARDS


construction contractor made use of local

subcontractors, who were allocated batches

of houses.

During the construction phase of the top

structures of the project, the contractor

engaged in a number of community develop-

ment initiatives, which included training cours-

es for local subcontractors in entrepreneur-

ship, home industry, and home maintenance.

PROJECT Boloka Metsi project (Emfuleni Local Municipality)CATEGORY Community Upliftment – 2nd placeCOMPANY WRP Consulting Engineers13 THE BOLOKA METSI project is a water-

loss mitigation project for the greater Emfuleni

Local Municipality, targeted at 115 000

households in Evaton and Sebokeng. WRP

Consulting Engineers worked with the

municipality to identify priority areas targeted

to maximise water savings.

Interventions included plumbing and

fixture retrofits in both domestic and public

buildings, repairs to the distribution system

including meters, and valve audits and repairs

to manage pressure problems.

BEST IN CLASS

IMIESA was impressed at the number

and quality of entries and congratulates

all participants for demonstrating excel-

lence and ingenuity. South Africa can be

proud of its capabilities and commitment to

the role public sector infrastructure projects

play in delivering on the promise of a better

life for all.

It is the calibre of all the entries that sets

the standard for excellence. The following

projects give credit to the stature of this

year’s awards.

PROJECT Atlantis Corridor MyCiTi IRT system infrastructure: Blaawberg and Potsdam Roads (City of Cape Town)CATEGORY Community UpliftmentCOMPANY HHO Africa Infrastructure Engineers

14 THE PROJECT involved retrofitting two

dedicated bus lanes, and a 3 m wide,

parallel continuous non-motorised transport

facility. During the project, engineers

were faced with multiple challenges as

a result of working within an existing

urban environment.

Some of these challenges included

the following:

• existing underground services, in particu-

lar the Chevron pipeline and stormwater

lines, which had to be accommodated

• existing bridge infrastructure (over rail

line and the Diep River), which could

not be widened due to budget and

programme constraints

• the relocation of informal residents

and containers trading from within the

road reserve

• accommodation of existing businesses’

activities and access during construction

on the existing corridors.

Through this project, areas previously sub-

jected to ad hoc land or transportation uses

have been formalised and enhanced by

world-class public transport network facili-

ties, services and urban park landscaping.

PROJECT Thembalethu traffic circle (George Local Municipality)CATEGORY Roads and StormwaterCOMPANY Aurecon15 THE GEORGE Local Municipality

commissioned Aurecon to design and

construct the traffic circle on Nelson

Mandela Boulevard, serving as the current

border marker of the settlement, as well

as a temporary holding facility for the

11

13

14 15

treatment lanes. In order to achieve the

10 Mℓ/d lane, the existing emergency bypass

channel was utilised as a fourth screen lane

and a new bypass facility was constructed. It

also required the construction of a third grit-

removal facility. All these new features were

constructed under live sewer flow conditions,

including the connection between existing and

new facilities.

PROJECT Wolwedans human settlement development project (Mossel Bay Local Municipality)CATEGORY Community Upliftment – WinnerCOMPANY Aurecon12 THE MOSSEL BAY Local Municipality

appointed Aurecon to assist with the design

and construction of 675 fully serviced sites

with 40 m2 houses (two bedrooms complete

with bathroom, solar water geyser and

electricity). The steep slopes on some of the

greenfield development sites required skilled

engineering solutions for house foundations,

the installation of services infrastructure,

stormwater and environmental management.

Approximately 50% of the labour costs were

allocated to the local community and the

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ETHEKWINI | PROJECT

George Integrated Public Transport Network

buses going in and out of the area. Key

challenges during construction included

the discovery of an unflagged, uncontrolled

landfill site, a managing functionality within

cadastral boundaries and accommodating

vehicular and pedestrian traffic around the

nearby school.

PROJECT Wellington: Pentz Street sewage pumping station (Drakenstein Local Municipality)CATEGORY Structures and Buildings | Water and Wastewater | EnvironmentalCOMPANY Neil Lyners & Associates16 THE DRAKENSTEIN Local Municipality

appointed Neil Lyners & Associates to

investigate the problem with the existing

sewage disposal unit system at the Pentz

Street pumping station.

The new pumping station had to be able

to accommodate a wide range of inflows. In

order for the system to meet both the low

and high flows, the municipality required

dual rising mains for additional redundancy.

The intention was therefore to utilise a single

rising main, on a duty-standby configuration,

to cater for the low flows and then activate

both rising mains when the pumping station

is required to pump at peak system capacity.

The new system consists of dual 600 mm

GRP rising mains, a 1 150 ℓ/s pumping sta-

tion and 3.8 Mℓ on-site emergency storage.

PROJECT Happy Valley Housing project – Phase 2 (City of Cape Town, Western Cape Provincial Government)CATEGORY Structures and BuildingsCOMPANY GIBB 17 GIBB'S UNIQUE method of on-site

construction was used on the second phase

of the Happy Valley Housing project. It

comprised a concrete frame that supports

the roof and allowed for the walls to be built

into it. This allowed for a faster construction

process and addressed the

challenges inherent in using brick

and mortar walls as supports for

roofs and the use of inexperienced

local labour.

The project included several

extras to improve the aesthetics

and insulation of the units at

no extra cost to the 1 300

beneficiaries, including electrical

wiring, solar water heaters and

extended roof eaves.

PROJECT Cape Town Backyard Essential Services Improvement Programme (City of Cape Town)CATEGORY Community Upliftment COMPANY GIBB18 THE CITY OF Cape Town initiated the

Cape Town Backyard Essential Services

Improvement Programme to provide electrical

and water and sanitation services to people

living in informal backyard structures on

council rental stock property. The design

work included:

• design of a new street front underground

network to service 1 517 erven in the

Factreton township

• design of a new streetlight network to

replace the existing old system that

was supplied by a midblock overhead

line network

• design of service connections to 188

backyard structures on existing council

rental stock.

During the construction phase of the project,

the contractors employed local community

members. Members of the community were

also appointed to act as safety guards and

community liaison officers helped to ensure

complete buy-in from the community and

virtually no theft was reported.

PROJECT James Kleynhans bulk water supply (Makana Local Municipality)CATEGORY Water and WastewaterCOMPANY Bosch Stemele19 THIS PROJECT will benefit the lives

of approximately 90 100 people in

Grahamstown. The community has been

plagued by intermittent water supply as a

result of persistent drought conditions.

The project entailed the construction of:

• a 450 mm rising main

• a 6 600 kℓ concrete reservoir

• valve chambers

• a bulk meter and interconnecting

pipe work.

Engineers had to overcome various chal-

lenges with the design and construction

of the pipeline and associated structures,

including steep gradients, working in a con-

fined servitude (16 m) due to environmental

constraints, hard rock excavation without

blasting being permitted, and working in

close proximity to an existing 350 mm diam-

eter pumping main and Eskom power line.

PROJECT Mhlabatshane bulk water supply (Umgeni Water/Ugu District Municipality)CATEGORY Water and Wastewater | Community UpliftmentCOMPANY Bosch Stemele20 A CORE ELEMENT of Umgeni Water’s

Mhlabatshane regional water supply project

will provide an assured supply of bulk potable

water to approximately 100 000 people in

the Hibiscus Coast and uMzumbe areas.

The project includes the construction of

a dam on the Mhlabatshane River, rising

mains, pump stations, a 4 Mℓ/day WTW,

gravity mains, holding tanks and reservoirs

and a mobile, temporary 2 Mℓ/d water

treatment plant.

The scheme will play a major role in

alleviating the backlog of basic water sup-

ply to rural communities under the Ugu

District Municipality.

PROJECT The Gezina bulk water pipeline (City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality) CATEGORY Water and WastewaterCOMPANY Nyeleti Consulting21 REPLACING THE 45-year-old Gezina bulk

water pipeline was essential to ensure

16 17

18

19 20


reliable water supply to the Magalies and

Hospital reservoirs in the City of Tshwane.

These reservoirs serve the Tshwane District

Hospital, Steve Biko Academic Hospital and

more than 6 000 households.

Nyeleti Consulting provided design,

documentation, procurement and con-

struction monitoring services in order to

successfully construct:

• 8.3 km of ND500 steel pipeline with a 25

bar pressure rating

• 12 concrete valve chambers with various

specific functions

• five scour valve chambers and numerous

air valve chambers.

The bulk water pipeline traversed several

different environments, including an envi-

ronmentally sensitive area that posed great

challenges for engineers.

PROJECT Mahatma Gandhi Road sewer pump station (eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality)CATEGORY Water and WastewaterCOMPANY Hatch Goba 22 THE COMPLEX Mahatma Ghandi

Road sewer pump station project was

commissioned to free up a prime site within

the Durban Point Development Corporation’s

upmarket development zone. The eThekwini

Metropolitan Municipality decided it best

to move the pump 250 m away to a site

adjacent to the north shaft of the recently

commissioned Durban harbour tunnel.

The relocation required engineers to extend

the gravity sewer, which supplies the pump

station, by 221 m. This tunnel consists of:

• a 113 m straight section from the jack-

ing pit

• a 102 m arc

length with

350 m radius

curved sec-

tion to bypass

the protected

historical har-

bour master

building

• a 6 m straight

s e c t i o n ,

breaking into

the existing

harbour tun-

nel’s nor th

shaft.

PROJECT St Helen’s Rock pump station upgrade project (Ugu District Municipality)

CATEGORY Water and WastewaterCOMPANY Royal HaskoningDHV23 THE ORIGINAL St Helen’s Rock pump

station provided up to 54 Ml/d of raw water

to the Bhobhoyi WTW supplying the greater

Port Shepstone area, stretching as far

as Margate. Some of the work on the pump

station included extensions to the various

gantries and cranes servicing the pump

station. The main pump station cantilever

crane beam was replaced with a 122 kg/m

I-beam, which is 10 m long and secured into

the main reinforced ring beams with steel

plates. The entire mezzanine decking system

within the pump station was replaced.

Today the pump station is providing an

average 66 Ml/d through the off-channel

storage dam into the treatment works with a

maximum capability of 82 Mℓ/d based on the

current Eskom allocation.

PROJECT Umtamvuna water supply scheme upgrade project (Ugu District Municipality)CATEGORY Water and WastewaterCOMPANY Royal HaskoningDHV24 THE UGU DISTRICT Municipality

commissioned Royal HaskoningDHV to

design the overhaul and upgrade of the raw

water supply system to the treatment works.

Key project objectives included linking the

infrastructure to a 172 Mℓ storage dam,

replacing an existing pipeline from the river

abstraction works, and replacing the low-lift

and high-lift pump sets with new, powerful

equipment to double the rated capacity of

the river abstraction works.

PROJECT: Quinera Wastewater Treatment Works upgrade (Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality)CATEGORY: Water and WastewaterCOMPANY: SRK Consulting

EXCELLENCE AWARDS

21 22

23




25 THE BUFFALO CITY Metropolitan

Municipality appointed SRK Consulting to

design and implement the upgrade of the

Quinera WWTW.

SRK also had to upgrade the surrounding

infrastructure. Some of the work on the pro-

ject included:

• installation and commissioning of

mechanical equipment such as a new

concrete splitter box, a second concrete

aerobic reactor, a new waste-activated

sludge dewatering system, a convey-

ance system, a pumping system, a new

chlorine house and extended chlorine

contact chamber

• construction of a water reticulation network

• construction of a new substation building

• construction of a paved access road.

PROJECT Phelandaba sanitation project (Mkhanyekude District Municipality)CATEGORY Community UpliftmentCOMPANY Makhetha Development Consultants 26 THE PHELANDABA sanitation project

involves maximising employment in the

communities of northern KwaZulu-Natal,

between Mbawana (south), Manguzi (east)

and the Mozambique border (north), through

the installation of 6 876 toilets. At the core

of the project is the promotion of community

participation and ownership. Thus far, 102

builders have been trained and 1.7 million

blocks have been made by community-based

block makers.

Builders on the project work as independent

24 25

26


contractors and not as employees, improving

tendering and bargaining skills for partici-

pants. The project has seen a growth in the

development of local entrepreneurs and is

expected to pay a total of R17 million to the

community.

PROJECT GIPTN: Thembalethu roads

CATEGORY Community UpliftmentCOMPANY Sukuma Consulting Engineers28 THE ENGUGA, Entshayabantu and

Macksam community water supply scheme

formed part of the uMgungundlovu District

Municipality’s regional plan and involved

upgrading an existing extraction point on the

Nzinga River to create a supply of potable

water to 15 120 people. This was done

via bulk supply and reticulation networks,

terminating at communal standpipes.

During the construction phase of the pro-

ject, over 500 job and training opportunities

were created; amounting to over 800 000

person-days and R1.3 million in wages.

Further permanent job opportunities have

EXCELLENCE AWARDS

upgrade (George Local Municipality)CATEGORY Community Upliftment COMPANY SMEC South Africa 27 THE PROJECT to design and implement

approximately 2 km of residential streets in

the George neighbourhood of Thembalethu

aimed to provide the community with direct

access to the CBD and improve the existing

stormwater drainage network.

Some of the project outputs included:

• 38 contractors and 26 200 person-days

of employment

• 2 km of new paved roads and 3 km of

new sidewalks

• 18 new bus stops

• 1.2 km of new stormwater drainage.

Through the project, the community received

access to a safe, convenient and accessible

public transport system, work opportunities,

educational and recreational facilities, and

reliable and affordable scheduled service.

PROJECT Enguga, Entshayabantu and Macksam water supply (uMgungundlovu District Municipality)

27

28

29


30

been created by the municipality as a direct

result of additional operation and mainte-

nance activities for which people from within

the community have been employed.

PROJECT Integrated programme to promote food security and job creation (eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality)CATEGORY Community Upliftment COMPANY IMS Department – eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality 29 THE INFRASTRUCTURE Management and

Socio-economic Development department

(IMS) of the eThekwini Metropolitan

Municipality was commissioned to coordinate

activities that promote food security, job

creation and enterprise development.

The project included four programmes that

trained and included the local community in

the construction process. The community

farms programme included the design of

solutions such as earthworks and storm-

water controls to improve drainage, water

storage and landscaping. The rainwater har-

vesting programme involved the construction

of a ferro-cement 5 000 l

storage tank and the use

of an innovative, flexible

gutter system that could

be used on informally

constructed houses.

The aquaculture pro-

gramme involved the

construction of five basic

reticulating rural ponds

and two 6 m3 biogas

digesters, which were

built by local contractors

in Ward 4.

PROJECT Beach and tank set for filming (City of Cape Town)CATEGORY Structures and Buildings | Water and WastewaterCOMPANY WEC ConsultinG 30 WEC CONSULTING, together with

Cape Town Film Studios and Film Africa,

constructed a 70 m x 50 m water tank,

on a 100 m elevated fill, to be used

for filming purposes. The project was an

engineering dream – designing a first-of-its-

kind structure.

The project will change the lives of

countless people and will further enhance

Cape Town’s reputation as a world-class

filming location. The total cost of this project

was R17 million.


www.sasol.com

THIS IS WHERE WETRANSFORM GAS INTO ELECTRICITY

Through South Africa’s fi rst stand-alone gas-to-power plant, that

converts natural gas into low-carbon electricity, we’re reducing

pressure on the country’s power grid. Being able to self-generate

up to 70% of our own electricity requirements, is just one way we’re

investing in South Africa’s success.

PARTNERING FOR PUBLIC

INFRASTRUCTURE

The Development Bank of Southern Africa

has achieved an increase in disbursements of 39.1%, repositioning itself

as both a funding institution and an implementing agent.


The Infrastructure Deliver y

Division (IDD) is the centre of the

bank’s planning and implementing

capabilities and is led by Sinazo

Sibisi, group executive of Infrastructure

Delivery. Sibisi joined the DBSA as its chief

investment officer for its Local Economic

Development Initiative and then headed up

Development Planning at the bank.

The bank then started increasing its client

work with the state, providing assessments,

advisory services and technical support.

Sibisi was group executive for Strategy and

Communication when the bank decided to

find ways of improving its impact on actual

delivery and reposition itself as an imple-

menting agent. This led to the establish-

ment of the Infrastructure Delivery Division.

Impact and reachThe bank also wished to increase its impact

reach beyond SADC, in order to increase

its contribution to driving Africa’s growth

potential overall. The IDD examines ways in

which the DBSA develop, innovative funding

solutions to achieve this.

“As a Developmental Funding Institution,

the bank should increase how much it

funds, which is also a measure for how

much delivery is happening,” says Sibisi.

“The key challenges within South Africa –

and the continent – are around the capacity

to implement.

There is no shortage of funding but it’s

a shortage of projects that is the key chal-

lenge. Strengthening our capacity to imple-

ment was strategic to our ability to increase

our disbursements.”

The power of portfolio planningThe IDD’s activities are geared to improve

the DBSA’s ability to implement projects

in such a way as to maximise their impact

in the most financially sustainable manner

possible. “In the past, projects were often

developed in an ad hoc way, resulting in

missed opportunities for optimal impact and

productivity,” says Sibisi.

The IDD’s capabilities and capacity as an

implementing agent are powerful and allow

it to integrate its planning for countries and

sectors in single portfolios, rather than mul-

tiple agencies with less capacity implement-

ing projects in isolation. “Country develop-

ment and sector development must both be

approached from a portfolio perspective,”

explains Sibisi.

“A key component of what the IDD does

is to take a portfolio approach as a single

implementing agent, and thus value engi-

neer to achieve more viable and efficient

economies of scale,” she continues. “If you

approach projects in a fragmented manner,

using a range of implementing agents, then

each plan is operating at less than ideal effi-

ciency. It all comes down to the planning.”

A country’s portfolio is comprised of the

key drivers of its sustainable economic

growth. These include the infrastructure and

Development Bank The restructuring of the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) in 2012 has delivered big results. The state-owned entity has achieved an increase in disbursements over the last financial year of 39.1%, repositioning itself as both a funding institution and an implementing agent.

services which support the economic activ-

ity of its citizens and its key growth sectors.

Education, health, water, sanitation and

housing enable individual economic activity.

Electrification, transport, mining infrastruc-

ture, agricultural and industrial water supply

support key growth sectors.

A sector’s portfolio is also made up of all

the infrastructure and services specific to

its particular needs, and must be developed

responsively to demographics, trends and

forecast demand within the spatial context

of current infrastructure, its functioning and

the impact of new infrastructure on its

functioning. When development is planned

and implemented from this portfolio per-

spective, the potential for maximum impact

is unlocked by aligning public and private

stakeholders and project owners, and ben-

efiting from economies of scale.

The value of integrated planningThe IDD’s approach to planning also inte-

grates macro- and microeconomic develop-

ment, viewing projects as part of bigger

systems, while evaluating the impact of a

project on the ground. This creates oppor-

tunities to improve economies of scale that

would otherwise not exist, unlocking oppor-

tunities to manage multiple projects, use

Innovative Building Technologies (IBT), opti-

mise construction logistics and ultimately

value engineer infrastructure.

A good example of this approach is found

in the approach DBSA has recently taken to

the development of mining towns. “You start

by taking into consideration the idiosyncra-

sies of the area you are planning for in order

to determine a solution,” explains Sibisi. Will

the area be sustainable when the mining is

over? What type of community lives there?

Are there other mines in the area? What are

the local municipalities and mining compa-

nies planning and working on?

The bank is currently engaged by Sasol and

Anglo American to achieve optimal outcomes

“You start by taking into consideration the idiosyncrasies of the area you are planning for in order to determine a solution.” Sinazo Sibisi, group executive of

Infrastructure Delivery



INFRASTRUCTURE FINANCE6 core focus areas1 Health 2 Education 3 Housing 4 Water and Sanitation 5 Transport 6 Municipalities. “These areas were chosen in support of key national priorities, aimed at enhancing economic development,” explains Sibisi.

3 core services1 Implementing Agent Services 2 Programme Management Technical Support Services 3 Programme Coordination Information Management Services.

of Southern Africafor their infrastructure programmes, which

are being rolled out both in their areas

of operation and their labour sending

areas. “By using our assessment tools,

we can accurately identify priority areas

to achieve sustainable outcomes, while

helping to manage the implementation of

infrastructure programmes.”

Some areas have several mining opera-

tions over a tangible distance, and each

mining company has its own corporate

social investment and social labour plans.

(Rustenburg is a good example of this). “We

engage with all the mining companies to

assess how all these different programmes

could be better aligned,” she says.

The IDD also engages with the respec-

tive municipalities in these areas to align

their needs with the programmes as well.

Key areas of intervention include revenue

enhancement, improving operations and

maintenance, financial management and

communication and stakeholder interven-

tions. The bank is also looking at enhancing

the investment climates in these areas,

encouraging other businesses to invest in

order to create a more sustainable economic

environment, beyond the mines.

The perfect partnerAs the implementing arm of the DBSA, the

IDD has the skills and capabilities to radically

change the way South Africa’s developmen-

tal plans are implemented, with profound

economic and social benefits. Since restruc-

turing, the bank has delivered an impressive

number of projects which demonstrate the

value of a single coordinating implementing

agent, and the value it can unlock.

Department of Health

The major programmes

being implemented with the

Department of Health (DoH)

include the building of doctors’

consulting rooms, clinic refurbishment

and an academic hospitals programme.

The overall programme included doctors’

consulting rooms on 102 sites and the

refurbishment of 681 clinics, with 95 com-

pleted in Phase One, across South Africa.

The academic hos-

pitals programme

included the devel-

opment of a hybrid

model, in terms

of finance and

roll-out. This used

to be the Public

Private Partnership

(PPP) model, but

under the IDD, it is

taking on a much

broader approach,

looking at different types of partner-

ships with the private sector. The IDD is

finalising the concept document for this

programme, and feasibility studies will

be on track by the end of the current

financial year.

The IDD is also establishing programme

management support units with the

Department of Health to provide vari-

ous forms of technical support for the

department, including ad hoc technical

resources and a programme management

information system. This is to ensure

the DoH has accurate and current data

– supported by existing contracts – on

health infrastructure projects nationwide.

This is crucial to establishing consistency

between financial data and project status.

The programme is being handed over to

provincial Departments of Health, which

would then be responsible for ensuring

ongoing data management and reporting.

Not all provinces have equal capacity to

do this, therefore additional support is

recommended at handover. The IDD is

also aiding the DoH to develop a master

THE PROGRAMMES plan for nursing educa-

tion institutes.

Accelerated Schools Infrastructure Delivery Initiative The IDD is working on the Accelerated Schools

Infrastructure Delivery Initiative (ASIDI) with

the Department of Basic Education (DBE),

and have already completed 49 schools in

the Eastern Cape. The division is currently

working on the second batch of 72 schools,

50 of which are also in the Eastern Cape.

These schools range from primary schools to

secondary schools, and are fairly large pro-

jects. The IDD supplied

the DBE with a pro-

gramme management

support unit (PSU) as a

tool to monitor various

implementing agents,

including the DBSA.

It was originally esti-

mated that around

800 schools would be

required, but this fig-

ure is thought to be a

bit low. Assessments

have found that other schools in the area are

simply not adequate and the IDD is propos-

ing a comprehensive assessment of schools

in order to develop integrated development

plans to eliminate these conditions.

“It was through the school building pro-

gramme that we came to appreciate the

importance of relationships with suppliers

and sorting out the logistics well in advance,

dealing with long-lead items first, helping our

contractors with cash flow and transporting

materials to site,” reveals Sibisi.

Although the IDD also provides mainte-

nance plans for the schools, it is a weak

area. “We are proposing to the DBE to

implement maintenance programmes, drawn

from unemployed youth in the areas, who we

would train in various trades to maintain the

“It was through the school building

programme that we came to appreciate the importance of relationships with

suppliers and sorting out the logistics well

in advance.”


The Loding school in the Eastern Cape



the Presidential Infrastructure Coordinating

Council (PICC) to better understand where it

needs to intervene and the reasons behind

any obstacles to these critical projects.

Water and sanitation sectorThe IDD is working on two programmes

in the water and sanitation sector, both

of which are under concept development.

The first is being devel-

oped with the Department

of Water Affairs (DWS)

towards establishing a

joint programme focused

on improving water qual-

ity management, with

specific reference to the

maintenance of boreholes

and other water resources

in deep rural areas. As

with the schools mainte-

nance programme, skills development and

job creation is its core, aimed at training

unemployed youth in the area, guided by

experienced technical leads towards creat-

ing business opportunities or enhancing

potential for employability. A similar pro-

gramme is also being considered for the

maintenance of water.

The DBSA Infrastructure Delivery Academy (IDEA)“We are establishing an academy, partnering

with technical vocational education and train-

ing (TVET) colleges to start creating a skills

pipeline for the water sector as a whole and

providing access to employment.”

Again, it’s the IDD’s coordinating capabil-

ity at work, creating an intervention that max-

imises opportunities, including job creation,

key maintenance challenges and boosting

service delivery. “The academy has three

core components: one being artisan devel-

opment, in partnership with TVET colleges,

as well universities of technology specifically

for health technologies maintenance. The

second component focuses on outcomes-

based learning, which is about improving the

manner in which the built environment sector

operates and building practical infrastructure

delivery management skills.

“In the private sector, the areas requir-

ing skills include IBTs, virtual design and

construction, and value engineering. We

have also found a gap in our tertiary institu-

tions when it comes to multidisciplinary pro-

gramme management. Complex construction

programmes are vital to optimising service

delivery, and there is a lack of this type of

managerial skills, which we want to address.

The other key gap is in planning and schedul-

ing of infrastructure programmes.”

The bank intends to use the 70/20/10

approach, which observes that people learn

most ef fectively

through 70% experi-

ential learning, 20%

social learning, and

only 10% traditional

classroom learning.

“This represents

a complete shift in

how government

and private sector

are currently doing

things, changing

the focus of learning from ‘know what’ to

‘know how’,” enthuses Sibisi. “The pro-

gramme is designed around what they can

do in the workplace, extending the benefits

of learning into something tangible, like

delivered infrastructure.”

SADC programmesThe DBSA has recently initiated the SADC

Water Programme, currently funded by KFW.

The programme entails the identification,

funding and implementation of cross-border

water projects.

“A key problem with cross-border projects

is funding. A water basin may exist in country

A, but could also be a practical water source

for country B. Country B could contribute to

funding the infrastructure to access water,

while country A benefits by receiving the

infrastructure,” says Sibisi, by way of exam-

ple. “The DBSA’s role is to try and facilitate

a level of cooperation between the two

countries by establishing viable structures in

which both parties benefit.”

Another SADC project is the Regional

Spatial Development Initiatives Programme

(RSDIP) which was inherited by IDD during

the bank’s restructuring. The RSDIP also

identifies catalytic projects like the Mtwara

Gas-to-Industry Project in Tanzania.

“In the private sector, the areas requiring skills include IBTs,

virtual design and construction, and

value engineering.”

Phedisong Clinic in Hammanskraal has a solar geyser

schools for a fee on an ongoing basis,” she

continues. “The plan is to let it unfold organi-

cally, and I am sure we will find that some

individuals take an entrepreneurial approach

to it, while others will be happy to focus on

simply supplying the service.”

Human settlementsThe IDD is working with the Eastern Cape

Department of Human Settlements on a

number of housing projects. “This portfolio

has seen a lot of growth. We completed 200

housing units in the first phase, and we are

currently completing 800 housing units in

the second phase. The third project will see

us completing around 7 000 housing units.”

The National Department of Human

Settlements has recently approached the

DBSA for support in their recently announced

megaprojects. “We are still working through

the details of how we will support the roll-out

of the various megaprojects, from planning

through to implementation. Integrated plan-

ning will be especially important with regards

to the bulk services that will support these

mega housing projects.”

Municipal sector – SIP 6 (The coordination function) The Strategic Infrastructure Project 6 (SIP 6)

focuses on the 23 poorest district municipal-

ities in South Africa. IDD has begun its work

with spatial planning, and is currently finalis-

ing business plans for different districts and

identifying and prioritising catalytic projects,

as well as identifying who will do these

projects. A key element of its approach is

to identify existing projects and determining

how they can be better coordinated.

“For example, we may find that the

Departments of Education, Water and

Sanitation, Eskom and Department of

Transport are all working in a specific area,

but coordination between their different

projects would be non-existent. This reduces

the developmental impacts of the projects

and brings about inefficiencies. Taking all

this into account, we will develop a business

plan for the 23 districts, and then monitor

and track delivery and progress.”

This information is then presented to


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RANDNDDDDWWAARR


The effective utilisation of con-

sulting engineers in local gov-

ernment has never been more

important. It could be argued

that South Africa is unique with its highly

skilled private sector, and overly politicised

public sector.

In Sweden, 95% of Consulting engineering

work is done from within the public sector;

in South Africa, this is the reverse. The

development of the construction industry as

a whole occurs in the partnership between

the public and private sectors, and call for

your company’s input.

Quality engineering services are at the

heart of excellence in project design and

delivery. We know that quality is sacrificed

in favour of cost and BBBEE. Added to this,

the procurement system is highly flawed

PARTNERING FOR INFRASTRUCTURE | PANEL DISCUSSION

Partneringand National Treasury is looking for input,

industry-wide, to address this.

Times are changing in South Africa and

the political will to improve the roll-out

of public infrastructure has never been

more evident. From the pronouncements

of Pravin Gordhan, to the Presidential

Infrastructure Commission, to the high-

level engagement of institutions like CESA

– all are geared towards fixing what is

broken and getting South Africa on track.

In this edition’s Panel Discussion,

IMIESA invited consulting Engineers to

engage with South Africa’s most estab-

lished public infrastructure community,

providing detailed perspectives of their

expertise and contributions to building and

maintaining South Africa’s infrastructure

and services assets.

How can your company, at all levels, contribute

to helping public sector decision-makers understand each stage of the infrastructure delivery process? IM It has

long been said that knowledge

is power and it is no different

in addressing the needs of

infrastructure development

in our country. Successful

projects happen when all role-

players share a common focus

understanding and expectations.

Good relationships,

developed over time, allow all

project partners to genuinely

understand each other’s needs.

To this end, AECOM has had

substantial success in the use

of key account management

programmes with major public

and private clients. This

involves proactively focusing a

group of executives within our

business on a particular client

or industry, and developing an

ongoing conversation challenges

that we may face in the

infrastructure delivery process.

These conversations may

occur within structured forums,

such as business chambers, or

industry bodies. For large public

clients, a willingness to engage

with experienced professionals

within the private sector will

ensure that infrastructure

success is achieved. As

AECOM, we are committed

to proactively facilitating

these conversations.

From feasibility and design to roll-out, what

specialty services does your company have to offer local government in achieving best practice? AECOM is able to offer a full

‘cradle to grave’ service. From

economic feasibility studies,

to programme management of

client budgets, through detailed

design, commissioning and

operation, we have experts

in South Africa who have

successfully implemented

every phase of a project.

Our detail design services

cover all engineering

disciplines, and we now offer

architectural, sustainability,

and fire engineering as new

services one-stop shop.

Most recently, the

organisation has formed

an EPCM focused business

line, which is becoming

an increasingly popular

contracting model.

Looking ahead, we see

our design, planning and

economics capability as

particularly useful to local

government clients. Here we

are able to offer genuine pre-

feasibility studies, contracting

and funding model design, and

high-level master planning of

infrastructure that considers

future needs. In addition, our

ability to offer programme

management and capacity

building should make us an

attractive partner.

What innovations in these disciplines are you contributing to the market? AECOM has a global

reach, with 100 000 employees

with experience at the cutting

edge of their respective fields.

They are thought leaders in

a number of fields and this

experience is offered to every

client we service.

What is your company contributing to skills development and transformation? This is a

key focus area for our executive

leadership. Skills development

and transformation is driven

by our CEO. All recruitment

and staff development

initiatives are scrutinised by

our Executive Committee to

ensure that AECOM functions

as a leading corporate citizen

to develop professionals with

technical skills that make a

lasting contribution.

Our skills development

programmes are structured

as follows:

• We have run a successful

bursary programme for

students for decades that

ensures students are able

to pass their undergraduate

degrees and are guaranteed

placement for their first jobs.

• Our new Graduate

Development Programme

focuses on young employees

with limited work experience

who have not come through

our bursary programme,

and supports them with

training, mentorship and

work experience towards

professional registration.

• Our elite Futurenow

Programme is offered to

young technical staff that

are soon to be registered,

providing them with internal

and external mentoring and

training in hard and soft skills.

• AECOM is committed to the

training of all levels of staff.

• Selected senior candidates

are offered structured

leadership training, and

formal academic study for

senior staff is encouraged

through the provision

of bursaries.

AECOM is also fortunate to be

able to contribute substantially

to the training and development

of technical professionals who

are not our own staff.

AECOM is an active

participant in the development

of technical skills in

South Africa and we are

fully committed to the

transformation of our industry

towards a sustainable future.

PARRTNERINGG FOR PPUBLIC INFRAAASTRUUCTUREEImraan Mahomed | SA East District Manager | AECOM


Spring Grove Dam


AECOM’s KEY OFFERING Our business is focused on four basic ‘End Markets’ namely, Buildings and Places, Civil Infrastructure, Construction Services and Resources & Industry, each offering the following business lines:

Buildings and Places• Building engineering• Design, planning

and economics• Programme, cost

and consultancy

Civil Infrastructure • Transportation• Water• EnergyResources and Industry• Environmental • Mining and Metals• Oil and Gas

Phone +27 21 880 0388

Fax +27 21 880 0389

Email [email protected] www.gls.co.za

OUR CLIENTS

Johannesburg Water City of Tshwane City of Cape Town Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality Buff alo City Emfuleni Municipality All the

municipalities in the Western Cape Province Randfontein LM Midvaal LM

Lesedi LM Renosterberg LM Ubuntu LM Emthanjeni LM Siya Themba LM

“Leaders in providing solutions related to the optimal planning and management of water and

sewer reticulation systems”

What range of services does your company

provide? LG Our company

provides a comprehensive

range of services pertaining to

long-term investment planning

for water distribution and

sewer reticulation systems.

This includes the application

of detailed calibrated system

simulation models to perform

optimisation of operation,

master planning and asset

management support analyses,

such as prioritisation of

component assessment,

refurbishment or replacement.

Related services are water

loss and demand management

strategy planning, which

includes water balance audits

and KPI monitoring, water age

and quality modelling, system

risk analysis and related

mitigation measure planning as

well as revenue enhancement

potential analyses with respect

to meter reading issues and

possible related interventions.

What should municipalities know about your company’s particular strengths? Apart from our extensive

experience over more than

25 years in this specialised

field, gained in all types of

situations and configurations,

our strength lies in an outcome-

focused service with no

compromise towards attention

to the details that matter. A

particular strength is also

the fact that we develop and

maintain our own software

systems, internationally

recognised as being at the

forefront of technology, allowing

the engineering specialists in

the company direct access to

rapid additions of functionality

or customisation of the

software, which contributes

very positively to the

client experience.

What services are indispensable in the field asset management? The proper understanding

of the functioning and

hydraulic capacity of water

and sewer systems, and

the corresponding ability to

perform scenario testing,

provides a quantum leap in

realistic asset valuation and

the required life-cycle asset

management. Not only does

the hydraulic analyses inform

with respect to attributes, such

as criticality, utilisation and

performance at component

level, it also provides the

platform for risk-based

refurbishment and replacement

prioritisation and planning.

How does your company partner with municipalities? Our

preferred and most common

form of engagement with our

clients is a longer-term (up

to three years) contract with

a detailed set of deliverables

and monthly payments. This

type of engagement allows for

the establishment of a very

efficient partnership, where

both parties know exactly their

roles and responsibilities to

be performed on a regular

basis. It also enhances the

‘single team’ working format

wherein each party performs

those functions that it is

most knowledgeable and

experienced in.

How do you manage the transfer of skills to your clients? We prefer

a hands-on approach for the

transfer of skills. This implies

that we would perform our work

with the relevant client staff

being involved in the process,

initially through observing, then

through executing work under

our supervision and finally just

with some quality confirmation

by us. The nature of the subject

we deal with is that all parties

need to understand the details

pertaining to data quality,

which also automatically leads

to skills transfer.

What specific types of training do you offer? GLS Consulting offers CESA

CPD accredited courses in the

analysis and design of water

distribution systems using

Wadiso (2 CPD) credits and the

analysis and design of sewer

systems using Sewsan (1 CPD)

credits. These structured

courses are either presented at

the client’s site, our dedicated

training centre in Stellenbosch

or EOH’s training centre in

Johannesburg. We also offer

ad hoc courses in using our

dedicated SWIFT software,

which inter faces with municipal

billing systems to perform

water demand analyses and

related metering statistics, as

well as training in using our

Albion software, which is a

customised CAD/GIS package).

As stated, we also provide

training in all other aspects of

our consulting services.

What differentiates your approach to training? We focus on hands-on training

using our software. However,

the background knowledge is

general and applicable to any

other software package.

What support systems do you offer and how is it integrated into your offering? In performing

our consulting services,

we dedicate a team of

specialists to a client. This

results in providing support

that is always informed and

prepared. This service is

included in the contract costing

model. For customers using

our software, we assure a

24-hour return time on any

queries via email. We also

offer telephonic support, from

general installation-related

issues to specific modelling-

related queries to all clients

who have a valid service and

maintenance agreement that

carries an annual cost.

PARRTNERINGG FOR PPUBLIC INFRAAASTRUUCTUREEDr Leon Geustyn | Director | GLS Consulting


Computer analysis software indicating water distribution zones


SUPERIOR TECHNOLOGY. SUPERIOR SOLUTIONS.

NuWater provides a range of products, services and financing solutions to reclaim or treat almost any quantity and quality of water.

Innovative reverse osmosis (16") and other membrane technologies make NuWater plants more compact and efficient, with lower operating and maintenance costs. Being modular and mobile, our plants are also rapidly deployable and highly scalable, providing ultimate flexibility in a rapidly changing world.

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What range of services does your company

provide? ML NuWater

designs, builds, owns and

operates advanced water and

wastewater treatment plants.

Our plants incorporate both

our proprietary technologies,

such as our patented and

proven 16″ reverse osmosis

(RO) technology, as well as

carefully selected third-party

technologies. We specialise in

compact, modular and highly

scalable plants covering a range

of capacities, starting from as

little as 50 m3/day through to

50+ MLD (million litres per day).

Our primary technology focus is

on membrane technologies and

related pre- and post-treatment

technologies. Our technology

suite extends through to brine

management and zero liquid

discharge (ZLD), and the

management of both organic

and inorganic waste streams.

NuWater also offers a range

of services covering project

development, project execution,

operations and maintenance, as

well direct equity participation in

projects and project financing.

What should the water industry know about your company’s particular strengths? NuWater is a South African

company with world-class

reference plants and projects.

These include our 55 MLD plant

at Singapore’s Public Utilities

Board for the reclamation of

secondary sewage water, a

10 MLD seawater desalination

plant at YTL PowerSeraya in

Singapore, our 20 MLD mine

wastewater reclamation plant

at Anglo American Thermal

Coal in South Africa and mine

wastewater treatment plants for

Gold Fields in Ghana. Although

the NuWater team possesses

the skills and experience to

do so, we are not focused on

EPC projects and rather look to

maintain long-term involvement

in projects through direct

ownership participation, or

through ongoing involvement

in the operations and

maintenance of the plants we

design and build. This ensures

that our interests remain

aligned with those of the

customer and project partners

throughout key periods of the

project life cycle.

How does your company partner with the water infrastructure industry? NuWater’s

range of technical, project

execution and commercial

skills and experience allows

us to work with like-minded

customers and partners in the

water infrastructure industry

to deliver more innovative

solutions to the pressing

challenges that South Africa

and the rest of the continent is

experiencing. This may include

the adoption of our rapidly

deployable and redeployable

plants, the incorporation of

our RO technology into the

projects of our partners, or the

contribution of technical and

financial resources on build,

own and operate projects.

NuWater takes a collaborative

approach with its partners to

deliver the most innovative and

lowest lifetime-cost projects.

This sometimes means that

we have to be very selective

about the types of projects we

undertake, and the partners

we engage with, to ensure

that there is a clear value

contribution from both us and

our partners.

What support systems do you offer and how are they integrated into your offering? The systems

that support our offerings are

both technical and human in

nature. Our plants incorporate

sophisticated instrumentation

and control to ensure they

operate efficiently and adjust to

changing operating conditions.

This includes ensuring that

they protect themselves as

far as possible from damage

due to unexpected events

such as serious feedwater

contamination. Our plants can

also be remotely monitored

and operated. We also

recognize, however, that the

human aspects are even more

important when it comes to the

successful delivery of projects

and the ongoing efficient and

reliable operation of water and

wastewater treatment plants.

We therefore invest heavily

in our people and processes

to support them in their

interactions with partners and

customers.

The starting point for this is

ensuring a corporate culture

that demands openness and

accountability, both within our

own team and when it comes

to interacting with our partners

and customers. This approach

ensures maximum value is

derived by all parties involved

from the support procedures

and systems we have in place.

How do you manage the transfer of skills to your clients? At NuWater, we

believe that the development

of skills in the water sector in

South Africa, and elsewhere,

will lead to a more vibrant

and dynamic sector in general

– something we are ideally

positioned to benefit from.

We aim to be the partner of

choice for both end customers,

as well as their advisors.

In order to achieve this, we

endeavor to provide thought

leadership and innovation

in the sector. This includes

educating all parties we

interact with, both on our

technical offerings as well

as the benefits we can

bring through commercial

collaboration, be that with

private or public sector

customers and partners.

PARRTNERINGG FOR PPUBLIC INFRAAASTRUUCTUREEMartin Lyons | Head of Sales, Southern Africa | NuWater


World First - NuWater’s 16” RO technology at 10 MLD YTL PowerSeraya seawater desalination plant in Singapore


How can your company contribute to

helping public sector decision-makers understand each stage of the infrastructure delivery process? HK WorleyParsons assists

our public sector clients by

developing a Decision Support

Package (DSP), which is a

compilation of key project

information required to

enable an informed decision

to be made by the client on

whether or not to fund the

project or project phase under

consideration. This package

contains information that

has been derived from the

work completed during the

project development, including

supplementary information

prepared by the client

and/or other third par ties

as applicable.

The DSP contains information

to allow decisions to be made

on the basis of three key areas:

• business case assessment

• risk analysis

• technical compliance

assessment.

From feasibility to design and roll-out, what specialty services does your company have to offer local government in following best practices? Over

and above the technical and

project management capability

of our staff, WorleyParsons

has a responsibility to

deliver compliant, safe and

sustainable engineering

solutions for asset life cycle

to our clients that ultimately

promote the health and

well-being of personnel, the

community and the natural

environment. Safe and

Sustainable Engineering for

Asset Life Cycle (SEAL) is

WorleyParsons’ enhanced

engineering delivery model,

developed to improve delivery

of safe and sustainable asset

life-cycle design solutions. The

framework is simple,

built around best practice

approaches to safe and

sustainable design, and can

be customised to suit any size

project and phase of the design

development process, including

improvement projects.

SEAL complements

compliance with a risk-based

approach to planning, design

development, decision-

making and engineering

execution. The benefits of

integrating a risk-based

process into engineering

design development are

numerous. In addition to

the prevention of injury and

disease and harm to the

environment, acknowledging

the following benefits:

• reduced costs

• improved usability of

products, systems

and facilities

• improved productivity

• better prediction and

management of production

and operational costs over

the lifecycle of a product

• compliance with legislation

• innovation – safe design

demands new thinking.

What key disciplines does your company specialise in? WorleyParsons provides

services in four main sectors:

• infrastructure

(public and resource

infrastructure markets)

• power

• hydrocarbons

• mining, minerals

and chemicals.

The public infrastructure

business sector covers:

• transport – roads and

highways, rail and airpor ts

• por ts; marine and terminals

• water and wastewater

• urban infrastructure and

housing development

and resettlements

• geotechnical

• buildings and services

• electrical and mechanical

engineering services

• environmental, restoration

and social (society) services

• advisory services

• waste management.

What innovations in these disciplines are

you contributing to the market? Innovation at

WorleyParsons is not new. For

that reason, WorleyParsons

implemented the Innovation

Incubator. This initiative is

dedicated to fostering the

innovation ecosystem.

The idea of an ecosystem

is important; innovation

doesn’t happen in a

vacuum – it involves people,

ideas, processes and the

development of a culture

that embeds innovation

in all aspects of our daily

work. Everyone working for

WorleyParsons has the ability

and opportunity to par ticipate

and the Incubator is the

mechanism to enable this

across diverse teams.

WorleyParsons has also

developed, as an example,

EcoNomics™. EcoNomics™

is about delivering profitable

sustainability to our

customers’ projects; it turns

our customers’ sustainability

objectives and policies into

project reality. It is delivered

through our existing project

delivery processes. EcoNomics

assessment is a sophisticated

way of considering the

financial, social and

environmental implications

of decisions, providing

quantification in monetary

terms of the economic

sustainability of a course of

action or options.

By explicitly placing rand

values on assets not normally

included in a financial NPV

calculation, such as water,

carbon, biodiversity, and

community amenity, the effect

of these issues on project

decision-making can be

assessed in monetary terms,

on a like-for-like basis.

EcoNomics assessment

quantifies sustainability. This

PARRTNERINGG FOR PPUBLIC INFRAAASTRUUCTUREEHans Karemaker | Manager: Infrastructure & Environment, Business Development & Strategic Marketing | WorleyParsons


38 IMIESA November / December 2014

N17 Leven to Trichardt

way, if a project or option is

economic, it is by definition

sustainable. Uneconomic

options are not sustainable

because society does not

receive enough overall benefit

to justify the costs involved.

What is your company contributing to skills development and transformation? WorleyParsons RSA has an

approved corporate social

investment programme, as per

the economic empowerment

programme, including

enterprise development (ED),

which includes free consulting

services in the areas

as detailed.

We are cer tified by the

economic empowerment

rating agency Empowerdex

as a level-two contributor

as well as a value-adding

enterprise. WorleyParsons

RSA has cer tified black

ownership of 30% and

black female ownership of

13.27%. An ED programme

is funded by WorleyParsons

and an ED business

centre was established in

Johannesburg, consisting

of nine promising small

businesses. WorleyParsons

RSA contributes R150 000

per month by supplying these

small businesses with office

space, computers, telephones

and printing facilities at no

cost to the businesses. The

business owners have access

to technical mentorship and

technical skills transfer from

the local WorleyParsons

knowledge base. Fur ther,

these businesses have been

incorporated into the group’s

supply chain.

Additional assistance

in marketing, financial

advice, tender preparation,

human resources and

business processes have

also been provided to the


business owners. Internally,

WorleyParsons fur ther

helps our staff in the next

vital phases of their career

development and guides them

to their ultimate objectives.

That’s why we’ve developed a

truly innovative and dynamic

graduate development

programme that has been

expertly structured to provide

staff with the maximum

breadth and depth of

engineering experience during

their first three years in the

workforce.

Additionally, WorleyParsons

has an online e-learning

training module, allowing

employees to be trained on

a number of topics including

codes of conduct, health

and safety, procurement and

project management systems,

among others.

What is your company’s vision for a sustainable future, and how does this fit in with the common cause of South Africa’s need for development and investment? WorleyParsons

is a professional services

business, a par tner in

delivering sustained economic

and social progress, creating

opportunities for individuals,

companies and communities

to realise their own futures.

WorleyParsons delivers

projects, provides expertise

in engineering, procurement

and construction and offers a

wide range of consulting and

advisory services. We cover

the full lifecycle, from creating

new assets to sustaining

and enhancing operating

assets, in the infrastructure,

hydrocarbons, mineral, metals,

chemicals and power sectors.

Our resources and energy are

focused on responding to,

and meeting the needs of, our

clients over the long term.

WorleyParsons supports the resources and energy sectors, offering environmental and restoration services, development of water processes, rail and port assets, power generation and transmission sectors. - 1,800 local employees- Deep local knowledge- Global expertise- BBBEE Level 2

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37,50043 166 peoplecountries offices

Complete solutions...

for the resources and

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INFRASTRUCTURE & ENVIRONMENT

Transport | Water | Urban Infrastructure | Power Master Planning | Geotechnical | Environmental Services

Consulting Engineers South Africa’s (CESA)

latest Bi-Annual Economic and Capacity

Survey (BECS), January to June 2014,

indicates that regulation issues, including

the procurement of consulting engineering

services, remain one of the biggest

challenges faced by the industry.

PARTNERING FOR INFRASTRUCTURE | CONSULTING ENGINEERS

40 IMIESA November 2014

services, remain one of the bigges

challenges faced by the industry.

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PROCUREMENT IS currently

based on price and BBBEE

points, with functionality or qual-

ity having a minimum threshold,

thus being largely price driven. This is

affecting tender prices, as firms some-

times tender below cost in view of the

diminished availability of projects.

“The way that the service of consulting

engineers is procured is a sore point and

leaves a lot to be desired. Even our presi-

dent, Abe Thela, cautioned about this prac-

tice that relegates our noble profession to

becoming commodity goods,” says CESA

CEO Lefadi Makibinyane.

Accelerating implementationUnrealistic tendering fees remain a con-

cern for members, while the extended

time it takes to finalise a proposal is

affecting profitability in the industry. The

quality of technical personnel is argued

by some firms to have deteriorated, put-

ting greater risk on the built environment

sector. Skills shortage is regarded as one

of the most significant institutional chal-

lenges faced by the private and the public

sector. CESA has offered their services

to government to procure and implement

projects, and advocates a speedy review

of the Preferential Procurement Policy

Framework Act (PPPFA). This will not only

harmonise the procurement modalities of

the professional services (which includes

consulting engineering) but will bring accel-

erated implementation of the National

Infrastructure Development Plan.

After a more optimistic 2013, conditions

in the first six months of 2014 appeared

to have been less satisfactory. The confi-

dence index for the first six months was

revised downward from an expected level

The challenge of regulation and procurement

“I would like to urge government departments and entities to establish a panel of consulting engineers for the speedy mobilisation

and fair distribution of work among the profession.” Lefadi Makibinyane, CEO, CESA



of 98.3% to 87.7%, suggesting weaker-

than-expected conditions. In spite of the

slower-than-expected star t to the year,

firms are more optimistic with regard

to business conditions for the next 12

months, averaging 96.6% for the last six

months of 2014 and 96.2% for the first six

months of 2015.

Larger firms were unanimous in their

views that the outlook for business con-

ditions is satisfactory over the next 12

months, compared with 82.5% of the

medium-size firms.

Contractors under pressureThe relationship between confidence levels

of engineers and civil contractors dete-

riorated from 2009 onwards, as the busi-

ness environment in terms of consulting

engineering did not seem to deteriorate

at the same pace as that experienced by

the civil construction industry. Opinions

expressed by civil contractors, as meas-

ured by the FNB/BER indices, were more

depressed in the first three quarters of

2014, moderating from a nett satisfaction

rate of 66% in the last quarter of 2013,

to 55%, 44% and 48% in the first three

quarters. The FNB/BER building industry

confidence index, declined to a nett satis-

faction rate of 45% in the third quarter of

2014, from 52% in the first quarter. Thus,

at a contracting level, conditions in both

the building and civil industries are still

very much depressed.

Confidence in the consulting engineering

sector generally lags business sentiment.

Business sentiment slumped back to a

level of 41% in the first and second quar-

ters of 2014, but showed some improve-

ment to a level of 46% in the third quarter.

Business confidence is still negatively

impacted by the industrial strike action in

the first half of the year, poor economic

growth, rising inflation and the expecta-

tion of fur ther monetary policy tightening.

Confidence levels have deteriorated since

2007 (when it was at a level of 69%) and,

until it recovers back to a level of at least

60%, the outlook for increased private sec-

tor investment will remain subdued.

Fraud and corruption is affecting the

ethos of our society, with a lot of talk and

little action accompanying the growing

evidence of corruption. CESA is aware

that members are under pressure from

contractors and corrupt officials to cer tify


payment for work not completed. This is

regarded as an extremely serious matter

for CESA and, as such, the organization

will be relentless in holding those in

power accountable.

Unlocking private sector participationUnlocking greater private sector par tic-

ipation is seen as a critical element

to fast-track delivery, which will support

engineering fees and, as such, engineer-

ing development in the industry. Private

sector par ticipation in this context refers

to involvement on a more technical level

(and not as a client), to improve municipal

capacity and efficiency.

Government must create an environment

for the private sector so that it can play a

much bigger role in infrastructure delivery.

Many of the projects highlighted in the NDP

can be carried out by the private sector

through public-private par tnerships.

Service delivery, especially at municipal

level, remains a critical burning issue. The

consulting engineering industry is threat-

ened by incapacitated local and provincial

governments. As major clients to the

industry, it is important that these institu-

tions become more effective, more proac-

tive in identifying needs and priorities, and

more efficient in project implementation

and management.

The involvement of non-CESA members

in government tenders and procurement

continues to threaten the standard and

per formance of the industry. Non-CESA

members do not seem to comply with the

same standards and principles as those

firms that are members. Whether this is

linked to complaints of ‘below-cost’ tender-

ing, since 2009, is not cer tain, but CESA

members should be better informed about

engaging in below-cost tendering.

Foreign firms are also tendering at rates

that are not competitive for local firms.

Complaints have been received of some

of these firms not producing proper draw-

ings and not attending site visits. Clients,

unfor tunately, are not always properly

experienced or educated to conduct proper

procurement assessments and unknowing-

ly award contracts to these ‘unscrupulous’

firms. While these occurrences may be

limited to smaller rural areas, it remains

an unacceptable practice.

Maintenance critical for growthThe lack of attention to infrastructure

maintenance poses a serious problem for

the industry. Not only is it much more

costly to build new infrastructure, but

dilapidated infrastructure hampers eco-

nomic growth potential.

The cost of resur facing a road after

seven years, at current prices, is estimat-

ed at R175 000 per kilometre, compared

to R3 million per kilometre to rebuild – less

than 6% of the construction price. In many

cases, infrastructure is left to deteriorate

to such a state that makes maintenance

almost impossible.

Panel of consulting engineersA fur ther challenge to the industry is to

find a way to standardise the procure-

ment procedures applied by the different

government depar tments. Procurement

procedures should be standard for the

country, or at least for the specific tier

of government.

“To complement the public sector tech-

nical/engineering capacity, which cannot

be built overnight, I would like to urge

government departments and entities to

establish a panel of consulting engineers

for the speedy mobilisation and fair distri-

bution of work among the profession, and

for competitiveness of the public sector in

regards to infrastructure development and

refurbishment”, reiterates Makibinyane.

He adds that this will ensure the

government gets on with its National

Infrastructure Plan and boosts the need-

ed business confidence from the current

index of 46% to the magical 60% figure.

The lack of attention to infrastructure maintenance poses a serious problem for the industry... dilapidated infrastructure hampers economic growth potential



IT IS TIME to reopen the debate in the

water sector on the somewhat contro-

versial topic of an independent regula-

tor for water services. In my opinion,

this is essential to properly protect the con-

sumer and to support social development

and economic growth.

Let us first sort out the basic question of

why we should regulate water services at all

and then discuss the independence of such

a water services regulator (WSR).

Some water experts like to argue that

water service regulation is only needed when

the private sector is involved. These propo-

nents usually claim that the public and espe-

cially the poor must be protected against the

‘bad forces of the private sector’. There is

indeed good motivation to do so as private

sector water providers can be so profit driven

that water tariffs may be exorbitant, assets

and water infrastructure are exploited and

run-down and that the poor are ignored in

favour of wealthy customers. These experts

will also often use England and Wales as

the example where total privatisation has

necessitated a very sophisticated regula-

tory regime and well-developed institutions

for regulation.

The counter argument, however, and I per-

sonally share this second view, is that public

entities can also be guilty of all of the above-

mentioned ills. Public water service provid-

ers can be driven by popular local politics to

stick to unrealistic tariffs and then collect so

little of what is due, resulting in insufficient

funds for proper maintenance, not even to

mention capital expansions. Public entities

are often guilty of running infrastructure into

the ground and poor people are frequently at

the receiving end of pathetic service deliv-

ery. Does this sound familiar?

If the main purpose of a regulator is to

act in the public interest and ensure that

the consumer, both the poor for social

development and business for economic

growth, can enjoy good services and safe

water, then one can never assume that a

public water service provider will automati-

cally perform to expectations just because

a public entity is supposed to be serving

the public and therefore inherently good and

efficient. On the contrary, some of the South

African municipalities have shown that they

definitely do not act in the public interest

The importance of independenceAn independent water services regulator can improve service deliver y. By Helgard Muller

African municipalities have shown that they

definitely do not act in the public interest

and neither stimulate economic growth nor

ensure services to the poor and vulnerable.

In 2005, a conference was held in

Johannesburg, driven by the topic: ‘Poverty

reduction through improved regulation’. One

of the conclusions drawn from that confer-

ence was (quoting from the formal record of

proceedings): “This does not mean that reg-

ulation is unnecessary or undesirable where

water services are provided by public institu-

tions. On the contrary, regulation can play

an important role in ensuring effective and

efficient delivery of water services by public

institutions. There is therefore, indeed, a

strong case for effective pro-poor regulation

so as to ensure that public service providers

such as municipalities do their rightful job.”

Let us then move on to the fundamental

matters of how independent a regulator

should be and whether it is possible for a

regulator to be totally unbiased.

There is an argument often used by some

experts that the role of a WSR is to ensure

that government policies are executed and,

therefore, the regulator should not be inde-

pendent but rather another functioning unit

in a government department – this is the

current situation in South Africa.

If the main purpose of a regulator is to act

in the public interest and ensure that the

consumer – both the poor and the business

sector – enjoy good services and safe water,

then the WSR should never be influenced by

local political priorities that could be to the

detriment of the same public interest.

A very practical example is the following:

All South African municipalities are mandat-

ed to ensure that drinking water complies

with the National Compulsory Standards

as gazetted in terms of Section 9 of the

Water Services Act. These regulations also

state that drinking water must comply with

SANS 241 as the national drinking water

standard for SA. If a municipality does

not comply with these set standards, it is

essential that a WSR act immediately to

“Public entities are often guilty of running infrastructure into the ground and poor people are frequently at the receiving end of pathetic service delivery.” Helgard Muller, specialist consultant: water policy, regulation and institutions

WATER AND SANITATION | OPINION


WATER AND SANITATION | OPINION

ensure that the public is warned and correc-

tive steps are taken. In such cases, if the

WSR part of a government department and

political interests take preference over the

public interest, the regulator may be told

to ‘go soft’ on the mayor and his officials,

and rather support and not regulate. We

then have a situation where political priori-

ties become more important than serious

health risks.

Is it possible for a regulator to be totally

independent and unbiased? The ideal in this

instance is for the state to ensure that the

WSR is aligned with Government’s broad

policy objectives. In an ideal world, these

policy objectives are also in the public inter-

est. Such a WSR must be allowed to func-

tion at separately from Government. Often,

however, politicians take total control and

argue that public entities such as regulators

should simply do as they have been told.

While it is important for water institutions

such as regulators to align with broader gov-

ernment objectives, it is not healthy if there

is political interference in the day-to-day

operations of regulators. This could ruin

the credibility and objectivity of regulators –

essential core elements of successful regu-

lation. I sincerely hope that the new Minister

Is it possible for a regulator to be totally independent and unbiased?


royalhaskoningdhv.com/za

Welcome to the future – a future of Mwangaza We are all writing a part of the script which tomorrow’s society will play out. At Royal HaskoningDHV we would like the title to read: ‘Welcome to the future’ - and for our chapter in that script to read ‘Mwangaza’ - a Swahili word which means ‘light’. Together with our partners and clients we consider how we can create a welcoming future - developing efficient and smart living.

Whether switching on a light, travelling to work or drinking a clean glass of water - the solutions and work of our engineers surround us, making lives better and brighter. Our work contributes to the sustainable development of communities. Together, we deliver innovative sustainable answers to today’s challenges.

Royal HaskoningDHV is an independent, international engineering and project management consultancy.

for Water and Sanitation will, as part of her

drive to improve service delivery at munici-

palities, reopen this debate with the relevant

players in the water sector.

WATER & SANITATION

Filtration innovation for a water solutionThe biggest threat to a sustainable water supply in South Africa is not the lack of storage, but rather the contamination of limited available water resources through pollution from multiple sources, including mines, industry, municipal waste discharge, urban runoff, and aerial deposition. By Nicholas McDiarmid

CONTINUOUS IONIC filtration (CIF) could be the solution.

Based on the foundation of IX technology, it can be likened

to continuous sand filtration. The salient differences being

that in CIF, charged resins are used as filtration media

instead of sand and, in addition to removing suspended solids, CIF

also ‘filters’ dissolved salts out of the solution.

High results, low maintenanceWater recoveries of more than 95% have been realised using this

system and production of either agricultural-grade or ultra-pure water

with TDS concentration less than 50 mg/ℓ is a reality. The plant has

minimal pre-treatment requirements, uses inexpensive chemicals for

regeneration and has low power requirements, all of which contribute


ABOVE A CIF installation that treats coal seam gas produced water

A CIF plant for groundwater treatment


to lower capital and

operating costs when

compared with compet-

ing technology.

Simple, automated, robustThe main features of CIF include a resin-

cleaning step to allow the system to oper-

ate in the presence of suspended solids,

counter-current flow of aqueous and resin

phases for high-efficiency ion exchange and

that there are minimal moving parts and no

complicated internal structures. The plants

can be containerised and fully automated,

with remote access. These features form

part of a robust system capable of treating

solutions with a high scaling potential.

Remote control for remote locationsThe mobility of the CIF allows for water

treatment in remote locations and, being

automated, can operate independently and

be controlled remotely. Easy to operate and

maintain, the simple system also generates

saleable by-products such as gypsum.

Versatility across many marketsBecause CIF is based on IX technology, it is

able to treat water originating from numerous

sources and can remove a wide range of con-

taminants at various concentrations. Niche

markets identified for CIF include water treat-

ment in acid mine drainage, mine process

and effluent water, groundwater and agricul-

tural sectors using containerised systems, as

well as appealing to emerging markets.

Benefits for the marketThe technology has had significant success in

the treatment of coal seam gas (CSG) associ-

ated water in Australia. With the government

having given the green light for exploration of

offshore subsurface exploitation of natural

gas in the Karoo, as well as other indications

that CSG exploitation might take place in

Southern Africa, this market holds significant

potential for CIF in the future.

Multotec has recently launched a water

treatment and metals recovery solutions

and services division in partnership with

Australian company Clean TeQ. CJ Liebenberg,

environmental process engineer at Multotec,

says that the introduction of CIF locally will

have major benefits for industry as a whole.

Liebenberg says that the CIF technology

complements the other products and ser-

vices in Multotec’s portfolio. “Multotec’s

core business revolves around the supply

of products and services to the mining and

mineral beneficiation industries, including

solid/liquid separation units such as cen-

trifuges and filter presses. Our aim with

CIF is to assist in the alleviation of water

shortage issues and to encourage sustain-

able development in South Africa. Mining is

often regarded as being a non-sustainable

enterprise and we intend to be part of

the solution.”

A modular CIF plant for produced water treatment

WATER & SANITATION

Finding the disposal solution


The changing landscape in South Africa and the drive towards creating a sustainable environment is progressing, but not without its own set of challenges. By Nick Mannie and Aiden Bowers, Aurecon South Africa

NUMEROUS CHALLENGES have

presented themselves in the

waste management area and have

highlighted the fact that solutions

are needed. The ultimate aim is to work

constructively with local municipalities to

eliminate these challenges and provide the

appropriate disposal solution that will lead to

good waste disposal in a sustainable manner.

A compelling needWaste management is a challenge in most

municipalities in South Africa. This is a grow-

ing trend and continues to be an issue for pub-

lic and municipal officials. The Department of

Environmental Affairs and Tourism reports

that 87 per cent of municipalities lack capac-

ity and infrastructure to pursue waste mini-

misation strategies. It estimated that, in

2007, 95% of household waste was directed

to landfill.

Rising costs, limited revenue and finding

alternative ’fit-for-purpose’ solutions continue

to challenge municipalities on rendering an

effective waste service.

Unless the challenges for determining

the correct waste disposal solutions can

be addressed, a workable solution cannot

be achieved.

in Figure 1, pursue the implementation of the

prescriptions of the Act and associated legis-

lative requirements, the challenge that is aris-

ing is determining the right choice of disposal

or waste management solution at a municipal

level, whether it is at local or district level.

It is almost always assumed and practised

that landfills are the ultimate solution for

disposal in mainly the local municipalities.

Due to the vast expanse of the rural local

municipalities, landfills are not the ideal

solution. This is largely attributed to the rural

nature of these towns, distances to travel,

low population densities and extremely low

income levels. However, these communities

regularly recover or recycle waste types, basi-

cally leaving the unusable waste items on

the landfill. Municipal officials in these areas

need to thoroughly assess the specific needs

and plan effectively.

A key problem in municipalities is the histor-

ical development of illegal open dumps, now

termed ’landfills’, which have not been prop-

erly managed and have contributed to the rise

of health and safety issues, contamination

of underground water systems and sources.

Section 156(1) (a) of the Constitution, read

FIGURE 1 Levels of government

The advent of democracy and the leap

towards a transforming nation has sparked

the demand for adequate basic services, of

which waste management is one. Presently,

there exists a comprehensive legislative

framework for waste management in the form

of the National Environmental Management

Waste Act (Act 59 of 2008) (NEMWA). As

government and its respective tiers, as seen

WASTE MANAGEMENT

with Schedule 5, assigns responsibility for

refuse removal, refuse dumps, solid waste

disposal and cleansing to the local govern-

ment. The required level of conformance to

legislation, combined with the escalating cost

of operating and building new landfills, further

influences the problem.

ChallengesSome of the challenges facing municipalities

and their officials:

There is no waste planning for the town.

Past and future trends and dynamics need to

be considered.

There is a lack of waste management

knowledge. Training is needed to understand

waste in the larger context and to develop

institutional and technical ability.

Waste management capacity in the munici-

pal management team is lacking, hampering

the ability to direct and take ownership of

decisions. This service area is often absent

or incorporated into other service areas

These municipalities suffer from financial

constraints. There is a lack of access to

adequate funding from National Treasury,

grants or donor funding.

Poor financial planning can cripple waste

management. Waste infrastructure initiatives

are often not seen as a priority and are not

being planned for in the right period, or not

at all.

Advice offered on available options is often

poor. A limited evaluation of potential solu-

tions often forces clients to use traditional

approaches.

There is a failure to apply ‘back to basics’

approaches. Decision-makers are insufficient-

ly experienced to appreciate that simple, cost-

effective solutions are required to resolve

waste disposal challenges.

The promotion of cost efficiencies is over-

looked. Emphasis in this area could greatly

improve operational and delivery objectives.

Insufficient attention is being paid to health,

safety and environmental issues. Litter and

scavenging on landfills in the local municipali-

ties is an enormous challenge that compro-

mises operations, livelihoods of scavengers

and a safe environment.

Strategy and planningIn general, no optimal planning or strategy

assessment is carried out to understand the

current needs versus the future needs of a

municipality. Many municipalities do not have

suitable decision-making tools or baseline

data to assist them in making an informed

decision on siting, sizing or determining

the type of waste disposal facility or solu-

tion they would require. In some instances,

municipalities do not have a waste man-

agement strategy (WMS) or an integrated

waste management plan. These documents

normally provide direction for the municipal-

ity for waste management. Figure 2 outlines

the various aspects that will be assessed

and addressed through this WMS . Figure 3

describes the planning process around waste

activities at municipal level for both local and

district municipalities.

The ability of municipalities to implement

the right disposal solution is inhibited by the

scarcity of skills in waste management in the

country, and particularly at municipal level.

There are 2 000 waste handling facilities of

which 27% are licensed and an estimated

350 (44%) of South Africa’s known private

and public landfill sites have permits. It is

assumed that most unlicensed sites are

not maintained or operated in accordance

with the Minimum Requirements for Waste

Disposal by Landfill.

A WMS should be developed to assist the

municipalities and its clients in the minimisa-

tion of waste volumes generated, with an ulti-

mate reduction of waste volumes disposed

to landfill. The WMS requires a cooperative

effort from the municipality and waste gener-

ator s. Figure 4 outlines the need for a WMS.

Legislative frameworkThe shortage of trained and experienced

officials with a sound knowledge of legisla-

tive policies, guidelines, frameworks and

agreements is impeding the implementation

of the correct waste solutions. In addition,

the capacity and knowledge base required for

future development is often underestimated.

Legislation such as the National Waste

Management Strategy, the National Domestic

Waste Collection Standards and the Municipal

Waste Sector Plan are crucial instruments of

waste regulation that provide overall guid-

ance on effective waste management and,

as such, disposal and infrastructure are

inherent parts of this.

The Municipal Systems Act 2000

(Act 32 of 2000) describes

the core principles, mecha-

nisms, and processes

that are necessary

inherent parts of this.

The Municipal Systems Act 2000

(Act 32 of 2000) describes

the core principles, mecha-

nisms, and processes

that are necessary

StructuresProcesses• Resourcing• Systems

• Technologies employed

• Loading/offloading• Mechanisation• Routing

• Maintenance• Beneficiation• Controls

Governance• Policies• Guidelines• SOPs• Education• Awareness• Compliance• Indicators

Issues to Address• Shortcomings/

deficiencies• Benchmarking• Infrastructure• Management• Risk

F IGURE 2 (Above) Focus of a waste management strategy

FI GURE 3 (Right) Planning


WASTE MANAGEMENT


to enable municipalities to

move progressively towards

the social and economic

upliftment of communities

and ensure access to servic-

es that are affordable to all.

Its focus is primarily on the

internal systems and admin-

istration of the municipality.

Municipal government

objectives are designed to be

in accordance with Section

152(1) of the Constitution,

which contains the ambi-

tion: “To promote a safe

and healthy environment”,

as well as the principles of

NEMWA and the Bill of Rights

as stated in the Constitution.

Government’s commitment to long-term

sustainable development is achieved when

explicit recognition is given in its policy-mak-

ing processes that its economic systems are

essentially products of, and dependent on,

social systems. These in turn are products of,

and dependent on, natural systems.

Effective management of these interde-

pendencies ( see Figure 5) will require an

integrated and cooperative management

approach to governance that includes an

accurate valuation of environmental goods

and services.

NEMWA enables the process of decentrali-

sation of functions through assigning powers

of general competence to local government.

Municipal by-laws are regulated to achieve har-

mony with national and provincial legislation.

As service authorities, municipalities

remain responsible for the effective

delivery of services and must pro-

vide an appro-

priate policy

and regulatory

framework. This can be achieved through the

most appropriate service provider, ranging

from internal departmental delivery to corpo-

ratisation and joint ventures, to private sector

delivery opti ons. Figure 6 out-

lines a typical organogram

for a district municipality for

waste service. While this is

the ideal structure, there

are capacity and resource

issues to deal with, which

affect the complete service

delivery value chain.

Section 10 of NEMWA

requires that each local gov-

ernment must designate in writ-

ing a waste management officer

from its administration to be

responsible for coordinating

waste management activities, inclusive of

standards and planning.

Financial planningAs outlined earlier, financial con-

straints, deficits in revenue

(amongst smaller municipalities),

lack of access to adequate fund-

ing from National Treasury, grants

or donor funding are some of the

financial challenges facing municipali-

ties. This is exacerbated by the general

lack of experience in financial planning.

Typical challenges: • Waste tariffs are not being correctly

calculated or not allocated according

to service level.

• Municipal officials believe the recov-

ery from waste tariffs will contribute

towards paying for waste services or

infrastructure but this is not the case

in small municipalities, which cannot

recover funds due to the income levels

of their residents.

• The choice of building incorrect infrastruc-

ture or providing more than a basic

waste service places the munici-

pality in a constrained situation.

• Developing landfill infrastruc-

ture further requires munici-

palities to provide for the ulti-

mate closure and rehabilitation of

the landfill, which is a National

Treasury requirement, GRAP 17

and GRAP 19 respectively.

To invest efficient-

ly in trucks,

equipment

waste service places

pality in a constraine

• Developing landfi

ture further requir

palities to provide f

mate closure and reha

the landfill, which is

Treasury requiremen

and GRAP 19 resp

To inve

ly

Needfor

WMSIdentification of

ownership of waste

Revise commodity handling to

minimise waste

To extract valuable resources

contained within waste that can still

be used

To reduce waste directed to landfill To safely process

and dispose of waste with minimal

impact on the environment and

health

Implementation of WM interventions -implementation of waste hierarchy

Integrated WM approach - multi-

stakeholderinvolvement

FI GURE 4 (Above) Need for a waste management strategy

FI GURE 5 (Right) Integrated and cooperative management approach

FIGU RE 6 (Top) District municipal waste structure

WASTE MANAGEMENT

FI GURE 7 Integrated waste management system


and associated plant, there has to be sufficient waste volumes.

Many smaller municipalities invest heavily in this regard and do

not utilise them correctly. On the other hand, some municipali-

ties are not spending and investing according to the demand of

service required.

Waste serviceProviding integrated sustainable waste management services in

some municipalities can prove to be a challenge with the collec-

tion, disposal and treatment of waste. While national government

has committed to providing a basic waste service in rural munici-

palities, households in these areas generally discard waste into

open fields as a result of there being no adequate waste infra-

structure in place. This is mainly owing to the problem of access

and waste streams primarily being organic. Burning of waste is

common practice in these areas and increases the risk of health

and safety issues.

Where there is a landfill, scavenging is a daily activity and

existing infrastructure is repeatedly destroyed or stolen, present-

ing the challenge of how best to provide a sustainable waste

disposal solution.

Transport costs contribute a large portion of the cost associated

with waste management and the long distances to transport waste

to landfills continues to question their feasibility. Consequently,

municipalities should look holistically at waste management in

terms of integrated sustainable waste management.

An integrated waste management system has three major dimen-

s ions (Figure 7):

• stakeholders involved in waste management

• the (practical and technical) elements of the waste system

• the aspects of the local context that should be taken into account

when assessing and planning a waste management system.

ConclusionChoosing the correct disposal solution remains a challenge for all

those involved in managing waste solutions.

The achievement and success of the appropriate waste disposal

solution is largely dependent on the planning process and identify-

ing the specific requirement.

This requires the following aspects to be addressed:

• The upskilling of staff needs attention and, equally, the educa-

tion of officials and waste officers will need to be included as

part of the planning.

• raining of waste officers in the current legislation and the

requirements thereof is equally important to successfully imple-

menting the right solutions in the municipalities.

• Obtaining the correct technical advice and support is another

solution to overcoming the challenges of making the right

decisions.

Waste officers need to thoroughly evaluate the ’needs’ and

demand requirements for specific types of waste infrastructure,

rather than delve straight into developing a waste facility.

The cost of each type of waste facility in terms of capital and

operational cost must be weighed.

In essence, is it affordable and does it serve the current and

projected future needs?

For a full list of references, please contact [email protected].

WASTE MANAGEMENT

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WATER & SANITATION

HOME TO UP to 115 orphaned

children and staff, and with its

own school attended by more

than 300 other children from

the local area, Namisu Children’s Village

is run by UK charity Aquaid Lifeline, which

was founded in 1999 to provide care

and education for orphaned and needy

children in Malawi. In order to solve

the home’s twin challenges of replacing

unsustainable wood as a

fuel source and safely dis-

posing of human waste,

the charity, in collaboration

with Sustainable OneWorld

Technologies, installed the

innovative Flexigester, an integrated faecal

treatment system.

In the purpose-built latrine block, waste

is carried away from the toilets through

Effast PVCu pipes from Polypipe before

entering the Flexigester. Capable of per-

forming anaerobic digestion to conver t

waste into biogas, which it then stores

until use, the system can also be used

for pasteurisation of liquid by-products,

deactivating many of the potentially harm-

ful pathogens that may be found in the

waste. The new system allows the village’s

children and staff to use pour flush toilets

rather than pit latrines, improving hygiene

and health, while also providing biogas,

which can be used as cooking fuel to sup-

plement the current fuel, wood.

The liquid by-product of the sys-

tem can also be heated to kill path-

ogens and then used as sustainable,

chemical-free fer tiliser.

Polypipe’s Effast range of market-leading

thermoplastic pipework was selected for

its durability and ease of installation, and

was donated to the project.

Easy to join, the Effast range also con-

tributed to the rapid installation of the sys-

tem, which was erected and ready to use

in only three days – a fraction of the time it

takes to build traditional anaerobic diges-

tion facilities. The next stage of the project

is to use Polypipe’s Effast range to provide

latrine kits that are lightweight in nature

so that they

can be sent

by air freight

to countries such as Malawi, but are

strong enough to form the main ‘space

frame’ structure of the latrine, as well as

carrying waste.

Used worldwide for plumbing systems

as well as for the supply of potable

water, Effast also features an incredibly

smooth bore provid-

ing good flow charac-

teristics, as well as

abrasion resistance.

Les James of

Polypipe commentes:

“It has been very rewarding to contribute

to an innovative project that delivers the

dual benefits of improving health and

hygiene for up to 200 users a day, while

producing a sustainable fuel source.

The potential for systems such as the

Flexigester is huge, as aid organisa-

tions seek to improve sanitation in Africa

and beyond.

The Effast pipes and fittings we have

donated are working very well as par t of

the wider system.”

Sustainable sanitation project in MalawiPlastic piping systems donated by Polypipe have been installed in an exciting waste treatment and energy conversion project at Namisu Children’s Village in Malawi.

Connecting up the gas pipe work

“It has been very rewarding to contribute to an innovative project that delivers...health

and hygiene for up to 200 users a day.”

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infrastructure development. Our range includes concrete pipes, culverts,

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railway sleepers, turnouts, maintenance-free railway

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HUMAN SETTLEMENTS

THE EXPANSIVE construction project

consists of 9 000 houses of vari-

ous types and tenure options, three

schools, five multifunctional nodes,

three shopping centres, five neighbourhood

parks, a magistrate’s court and a hospi-

tal. Esor Construction, through subsidiary

Safdev Tanganani, is the turnkey contractor

and developer of the 237 ha project.

Bridging the old and the new“We started constructing two landmark and

iconic pedestrian bridges across William

Nicol Drive to the value of R52 million in

July 2013. These bridges form part of the

bulk infrastructure for the development and

will link the current Diepsloot to the new,”

Kevin Duncan, Esor Construction divisional

MD, says.

Designing high-density living“Currently we are utilising our civils capa-

bilities for the two pedestrian bridges while

our building skills will be deployed for some

of the top structures. There is not a single

free-standing top structure in the entire

development, as everything will be either

semi-detached or multistorey units. In fact,

the bulk of it will be three storeys, mak-

ing it one of the highest-density integrated

developments in Gauteng at the moment.

That is the way designs are moving and it

is inevitable given the extreme shortage of

well-located land and the exorbitant costs of

providing bulk services.” Duncan adds that

Diepsloot has been classified as one of the

top seven National Priority Projects in South

Africa at present.

Conducting the multiple and varied resources“We manage all the subcontractors, whether

electrical, civils or building, while the profes-

sional team at this stage is managed by the

Gauteng provincial government through its

appointed project manager. Another require-

ment from Gauteng is that 30% of the

work by value has to be undertaken by

local resources.” Duncan says that Esor

Construction brings in the necessary super-

visory skills and then deploys small, focused

teams to acquire skills as they carry out the

actual work. However, the pedestrian bridges

are challenging monolithic structures that

are being built largely without the involve-

ment of smaller contractors. “The pedestrian

Developing DiepslootA R2 billion integrated housing and infrastructure development in Diepsloot, northern Johannesburg, began with the construction of footbridges last year. Its humble beginnings certainly didn’t suggest the massive extent of this National Priority Project.

bridges presented an engineering challenge

in that it is tricky and difficult to work at a

substantial height over a major road.”

Making sure the bullfrog won’t croakThe presence of threatened giant African

bullfrogs on-site has necessitated onerous

requirements in terms of the environmental

management plan. “The idea is that as we

start building on-site; through some ‘struc-

tured coercion’, the bullfrogs will migrate

down to the vlei portion of the site that has

been designated as a wildlife reserve for

their preservation.” Due to the extent of

the project, it has also not been decided

yet as to whether or not the infrastructure

and housing components should be tackled

jointly or separately. “From a contractor’s

perspective, it will be wonderful just to com-

plete the infrastructure for the entire devel-

opment before building the first house.”

Mixing it up in a divergent marketDuncan says the South African housing mar-

ket is showing green shoots at present. “We

The North Bridge taking shape over William Nicol Drive near Diepsloot

WATER AND SANITATION | TECHNICAL PAPER


are still sitting with a very under-supplied

market, especially on the affordable hous-

ing side. There are signs of growth in that

projects are being kick-started and the

banks are lending again. The government

also has to deliver in terms of its national

housing budget.” Looking at some of the

latest trends in the housing sector, Duncan

says that the Diepsloot development will

incorporate a large number of community

rental units in order to cater for the bottom-

end of the market. “Rental is becoming a big-

ger and bigger component of the affordable

and subsidised housing markets.”

Pioneering to advance affordablexhousingDuncan concludes that the Diepsloot project

is a landmark integrated development not

only for Gauteng but for South Africa as

a whole.

“It is developments such as these that

are advancing the affordable and subsidised

housing markets in the country. There are

a number of trends being pioneered at

Diepsloot, such as the ‘total street concept’,

where the entire road servitude is paved in

order to accommodate pedestrian walkways,

and cycle and traffic lanes.

“Such extensive blacktop is more expen-

sive but it is a far better concept in terms

of urban planning as it definitely enhances

the living space of the residents.” Duncan

adds that the fully subsidised housing units

at Diepsloot will feature insulation and even

double glazing, in addition to a 20 m2 rental

unit attached to each 40 m2 house in order

to create micro landlords and help generate

additional income for residents.

The iconic ‘bird wing’ structures can be seen on the South Bridge

SHEQ

AURECON HAS BEEN appointed to supervise the con-

struction of these rehabilitation works. Following the rais-

ing of the full supply level of the dam by the installation

of six large spillway crest gates, a sudden failure of the

outlet conduits in

May 2008 resulted

in an uncontrolled

discharge of approxi-

mately 1 000 m3

of water per second

to the downstream

area, threatening the safety of the dam.

Funded by the African Development Bank, the project will

enhance the safety of the dam and render it fully operational

again, increasing its capacity to supply downstream irrigation

demands and thus enhancing the local economy.

Aurecon was previously appointed to investigate the cause of

failure of the bottom outlet works, design the rehabilitation

of the bottom outlet works, compile tender documentation

and provide technical services for the client.

“In designing the rehabilitation works, we drew on our

previous experience in delivering cost-efficient and con-

structible major dam infrastructure projects in Africa for

many clients,” Aurecon dams leader Peter Blersch said.

“Our local engineers, who have experience working with

ARA-Sul, and who are familiar with the local environment,

will be supervising the construction and they will be sup-

por ted by specialists in South Africa,” Blersch said.

The rehabilitation works comprise the installation of

6.4 m diameter steel liners into the existing reinforced

Dam rehabilitationThe National Directorate of Water, through the Regional Administration of Water

South (ARA-Sul), has awarded a contract for the rehabilitation of the damaged

bottom outlets and related works on the 48 m high Massingir Dam in the Gaza

province of Mozambique.

concrete outlet conduits; installation of hydropower off takes,

mass and heavily reinforced infill concreting and grouting; and the

rehabilitation of the two downstream radial control gates, includ-

ing entirely new hydraulic and electrical equipment.

Other work on the dam

includes the construc-

tion of large-diameter

pressure relief wells,

the installation of sup-

plementary dam safety

instrumentation and

crest lighting on the 4.5 km long ear th fill embankment. The

supervision contract also includes a new water supply and distri-

bution system for the town of Massingir, involving 24 km of various

diameter pipelines, construction of a 150-seat conference centre,

new roads, the repair of existing roads, and the rehabilitation of

existing buildings and other building works.

“In designing the rehabilitation works, we drew on our previous experience in delivering

cost-effi cient and constructible major dam infrastructure projects in Africa.”


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Embracing the mentorship of young engineersThe Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA),

Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development

(GDID) and the University of Johannesburg (UJ) signed a

MOU aimed at supporting recipients of GDID bursaries.

THIS TRIPARTITE initiative comes

after the GDID articulated the need

to mentor first- and second-year

students, since the majority fail to

complete their qualifications as they are

unprepared for the level of academic com-

mitment required when studying engineering.

This has been linked back to the need for

stronger life skills support, and ECSA, as

the custodian of the engineering profession

in South Africa, has designed the pilot model

for the support of students in partnership

with both the GDID and UJ.

The first-year hurdleProfessor Angina Parekh, deputy academic

vice-chancellor at UJ, emphasises that the

success of a student’s first year determines

whether they are likely to stay within a ter-

tiary institutions system. “UJ has introduced

a national First-Year Experience (FYE) pro-

gramme, as a student’s overall success is

linked to how well they adjust academically

and socially within the university environ-

ment,” she says. This FYE has increased the

success rate for students to 83%.

Member of the executive council of the

GDID, Honourable Nandi Mayathula-Khoza,

acknowledges the partnership by indicat-

ing that it marks an important milestone

in addressing the broader needs of the

province. “The GDID is committed to creat-

ing and sustaining partnerships with uni-

versities in the province as it provides an

opportunity to actively support the first-year

students through life skills training, mentor-

ing and coaching in study techniques. The

SKILLS & TRAINING

support for students from the GDID will

extend to grade 10 learners, who, through

Sci-Bono, will be assisted in maths and

science subjects.

A tried and tested model for successCyril Gamede, president of ECSA, points

out that this initiative allows ECSA to play a

significant role in the social development of

South Africa. Sipho Madonsela, CEO of ECSA,

adds to this by indicating that the launch

marked a proudly South African moment and

says, “The Pipeline Model utilised in this

programme is modelled according to the

Thuthuka Model, found-

ed by the South African

Institute of Chartered

Accountants (SAICA),

which has proven to be

very effective.”

Listed as prior-

ity focus areas for

ECSA are matters

pertaining to:

“…this initiative allows ECSA to play a signifi cant role in the social development in South Africa.” Cyril Gamede,

president of ECSA

“The Pipeline Model utilised in this programme is modelled according to the Thuthuka

Model, founded by SAICA.”

Nandi Mayathula-Khoza


• improving the ‘talent pipeline’ and talent

schools into the University of Johannesburg

on a pilot project basis

• improving the poor throughput pass per-

centage at undergraduate level among

previously disadvantaged students

• transforming the profession by delivering

high-level engineering skills with a specific

focus on previously disadvantaged engi-

neering practitioners

• facilitating mentorship for

engineering graduates.

Responding to needs beyond the mandate“This partnership is a true demonstration

of organisations that are aimed at address-

ing problems that are undeniably visible

in the academic environment. As ECSA,

we are obliged to go beyond the regula-

tory function and add value to society,”

Gamede concludes.

The GDID will oversee the funding and

sponsorship of this project, as well as

the provision of bursaries and practical

experience for the students, while UJ will

be responsible for providing a healthy

learning environment for the bursary

recipients, and meeting facilities for the

engineering students.

MEC Mayathula-Khoza concludes by stating

that the programme would later be extended

to other universities in the province, namely

the University of Pretoria and the University

of the Witwatersrand.

A fruitful four daysIMESA arranged a series of courses on infrastructure asset management on behalf of MISA (Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent) in Kimberley.

ON THE OPENING morning of the

four-day infrastructure asset

management course held at the

Protea Hotel in Kimberley at the

beginning of August 2014, more and more

people continued to arrive for an already

well-subscribed course (and more and more

tables and chairs had to be brought into

the course venue), until no less than 36

delegates were assembled, exceeding the

number that could comfortably be handled.

Nonetheless, all were made welcome.

Almost all of the delegates came from

municipalities, spread across six of the nine

provinces. About 60% had technical back-

grounds, whereas nearly all of the remain-

der had financial backgrounds, with other

individuals coming from community par-

ticipation, programme management, housing

and property.

An essential part of the four-day course is

the periodic group work, followed each time

by presentations by the groups. The groups

chose their own names: imaginatively, those

on this course adopted names such as

‘Diamonds’, ‘Innovators’, ‘Front-Runners’,

‘Big Hole’ and ‘The Big Five’.

One evening, about two thirds of the del-

egates took advantage of the hotel’s loca-

tion immediately adjacent to the Big Hole

Museum, and went on the guided tour.

The material presented, and the way it

was presented, offered some flexibility. For

example: from the morning of the second

day, the whole of Kimberley suffered water

cuts, thanks to a faulty pump at the main

reservoir. The course turned this to practical

use as a quick illustration of the equation

‘Risk Exposure = Probability of Occurrence

x Impact of Occurrence’. A short walk to,

and talk at, the 10 000 l JoJo tank installed

by the hotel showed how the hotel had

exercised good risk management in reduc-

ing the risks associated with water mains

supply cuts.

The ‘Building Inspection’ exercise with

which the four-day course usually concludes

is normally tricky to undertake, for a number

of reasons, prominent among which is the

varied delegates’ very different levels of

comprehension of building terminology. This

was eased somewhat on this course by the

selection of the 1898 De Beers directors’

private railway coach, together with the sta-

tion platform and canopy under which the

whole thing has sat for 60 years, as the

‘building’ to be inspected by the delegates.

This combination provided more than enough

alternatives for each delegate to find a selec-

tion of component parts, each with one or

more ‘defects’, and for them to determine

the ‘degrees’, ‘extent’ and ‘relevancy’ of

each defect observed.

The course material (workbook,

PowerPoints) is standard for each course,

and neither it nor the presentation is tailored

to the skills or level of seniority of the del-

egates on a particular course. This is by no

means ideal – for example, on this course,

we had senior people in charge of operation

and maintenance, and others who described

themselves as ‘an asset clerk’; people radi-

cally different in terms of both responsibility

and prior understanding. An issue with which

MISA is grappling is how to assess the value

of the courses.

The value, that is, not just to the delegates

but also to the organisations. And, if the

delegates have made a positive difference

to the municipality, how to measure it?

Has the presence, during a course, of a

delegate or two from a municipality made a

difference to the way in which that municipal-

ity maintains and values its assets, adopts

IMESA TRAINING

ABOVE Group work was a core component of the course

BELOW The hotel's backup water tank is an example of proper risk managerment as explained by Paul Chilton


Engineering & the Built Environment

University of Cape Town

www.uct.ac.za

www.aya

ndam

ban

ga.co

.za

Postgraduate Programme in Civil Infrastructure Management and Maintenance

The proposed programme is designed to offer training in the most major disciplines of civil engineering, underpinned by principles of infrastructure management. The broad areas of interest cover deterioration science, assessment technologies and renewal engineering.

The key objectives of the programme are to develop a clear understanding of the following aspects: • the concept of civil infrastructure management • practical application of infrastructure management principles in selected infrastructure systems • causes and implications of material and structural deterioration • infrastructure assessment technologies such as non-destructive testing • infrastructure maintenance and rehabilitation strategies • principles of life cycle – life assessment as applied to various types of infrastructure • project management principles for infrastructure maintenance and renewal.

The programme is designed to attract students who are aiming to graduate with an MEng or MScEng degree. Both full-time students, aiming to complete all the requirements within one or two years, and part-time students can be accommodated.

1203

22COURSE CONTACT WEEK AND TEST DATES FOR 2015

Course Code Credits Contact week

1. Advanced Infrastructure CIV5067Z 20 1 – 5 June Management

2. Project Planning CON5016Z 20 tba and Implementation

3. Durability & Condition Assessment CIV5116Z 20 29 June – 3 July of Concrete Structures

4. Structural Dynamics CIV5113Z 16 14 – 18 July with Applications

5. Bridge Management CIV5115Z 16 7 – 11 September and Maintenance

For further information, visit our website at www.civil.uct.ac.za/postgraduate or contact the Postgraduate Administrator, Ms Rowén Geswindt, on tel. 021 650 3499 or via email: [email protected]

life-cycle costing practices, or operates more

consciously of the need to manage risks?

The subjects of courses still to be held

during 2014 include GRAP 17, risk manage-

ment, condition assessment, and levels

of service.

Infrastructure asset management four dayAll modern econo-

mies are under-

pinned by a vast

infrastructure of

roads and other

transport systems,

water supply, waste

disposal, energy,

telecommunications

and recreation-

al networks.

The infrastructure of a nation supports the

fabric of modern living, which is taken for

granted until something fails or no longer

provides the expected service. Infrastructure

represents a major investment, which, in

developed countries, has been built up

progressively over the last 100 years or

longer. This, in itself, is reason enough for

applying the best management skills to

ensure that it continues to provide sustain-

able and economic service.

There are, however, other even more com-

pelling reasons for ensuring that best prac-

tices are applied to our national, regional

and local infrastructure, i.e. infrastructure

networks provide the platform for economic

and social development, it is the corner-

stone of public health and safety, etc.

In the National Development Plan 3 Goal

12, ‘Highly developed and reliable infra-

structure’, government states: “A highly

developed and reliable infrastructure raises

productivity and lowers production costs.

Deficient infrastructure – along with weak

management and poor economic organisa-

tion – accounts for a large share of low fac-

tor productivity in developing countries.”

IMESA TRAINING

Future subjects include GRAP17, risk management and condtion assessment


CEMENT AND CONCRETEData shows a significant steady growth in cement consumption, indicating a continuous increase in the use of concrete in general construction and infrastructure. As c ement and concrete markets become increasingly dynamic, the need for innovation is important, while precast cement has seen some important developments.


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CEMENT & CONCRETE

SO SAYS Monty Olivier of

Sustainable Green Consulting,

speaking at the recent Southern

Africa Readymix Association

(Sarma) conference in Johannesburg

recently. He noted that even seemingly

small initiatives, such as harvesting rain-

water, recycling paper and turning off

office lights when not in use, can have an

unexpectedly valuable impact on the envi-

ronment – especially when mul-

tiplied by the 200-plus mem-

ber organisations that belong

to Sarma.

In future, green cer tification

will become an increasingly

important aspect of doing busi-

ness with construction companies that

want to follow environmentally friendly

policies and Sarma has the opportunity of

Greening concreteSmall steps taken by the country’s leading readymix concrete

manufacturers can lead to a groundswell of green initiatives being taken

up by the rest of the construction industry and so have a positive effect

on the environment.

being among the first construction-related

associations to comply.

Green vs sustainable“Green is really the small, day-to-day

things we do like switching off the light

when nobody is in the room. Sustainable

practices, rather, are the changes in actual

practices that have effects downstream

in future.

“In order to go green, we need to think

about the small things we do; like that it

takes 200 litres of water to be able to sup-

ply you with a 200 mℓ cup of coffee. If you

isolate just the water, it is clear to see that

just the smallest adjustments can make a

big difference. It’s not that we should stop

drinking coffee, it is simply about choosing

alternatives that are less harmful to the

environment,” says Olivier.

Olivier adds that climate change is

already causing shifting weather condi-

tions and unpredictable weather. If all

companies do their bit to reduce energy

consumption, and go green, it can make a

massive difference in future.

Sarma is already a leader in promoting

environmentally sound practices. In future,

he suggests, readymix companies can play a

leadership role for the rest of the economy to

follow, by simply taking some simple steps

to reduce their impact on the environment.

“In the meantime, readymix companies

can set the ball rolling by building more

energy-efficient buildings, purchasing local

products, supporting local communities,

reducing waste and saving water,” con-

cludes Olivier.

Monty Olivier of Sustainable Green Consulting

If all companies do their bit to reduce energy consumption, and go green, it can make a massive difference in future

GREEN FACTSClean drinking water undergoes a highly energy-intensive process to deliver it to your tap

10ℓof water. What it takes to flush a toilet

3ℓof water to produce 500 mℓ of bottled water

30% of energy produced from coal power stations is lost

before it can be used

GREEN IDEAS FOR THE CONCRETE INDUSTRY • Reducing electricity

consumption • Promoting renewable energy• Embracing technology to

reduce travel (Skype, etc.)• Water conservation• Recycling

CEMENT & CONCRETE

ALL THE MATERIALS used in the production of the

concrete required, apart from the crushed aggregate,

were sourced off the island. Dune sand was obtained

from Walvis Bay, while the cement came from Ohorongo

Cement in Namibia, the fly ash from Ash Resources’ Lethabo plant

in Vereeniging and admixtures from Chryso’s plant in Cape Town.

“It was extremely important to keep quantities of materials to a

minimum as there was limited space on Basil Read’s cargo ship,

NP Glory 4,” Brenton Brouard, Chryso Southern Africa‘s techni-

cal manager, explains. “When designing different concrete mix

designs, for example, we could not use vast quantities of dune sand

because that still had to be transported to the island.”

Concrete was specified for the airport runway, terminal building,

air traffic control building, fire department building and permanent

wharf. Chryso Plast Omega 101 was used in all of the general con-

crete as well as the concrete for the runway and the precast con-

crete used to construct the 700 precast Core-loc armour units and

hollow blocks for the wharf. The 100 m long, 10 m high and 13 m

wide wharf has a rock

breakwater that had

to be protected from

any possible damage

Construction products have travelled 2 300 km over the South Atlantic Ocean to St Helena, one of the most remote islands in the world, to be used at the Basil Read St Helena Airpor t Project (BRSHAP).

caused by ships.

“When formulat-

ing the concrete

mix design for the

precast units, it

was important to

achieve a mix with

optimised properties. The concrete had to fill complex mould shapes

with limited bleed and settlement. Excessive bleed water would lead

to unsightly voids in certain element sections, as well as increas-

ing the risk of both plastic settlement and shrinkage cracking,”

Brouard says.

Therefore, 12 mm Chryso Fibre Plus polypropylene microfibres

were used to increase the cohesiveness of the mix, while Chryso

Plast Omega 101 assisted in creating an optimised slump. Chryso

Dem Oleo SM was used on all of the moulds to ensure an easy

release once the concrete had set, without causing damage to the

moulds or concrete.

Concrete also had to be transported over long distances on the

island, affecting the slump retention and workability. Chryso Tard

CE retarder was used to delay the concrete setting time. When nec-

essary, Chryso Rescue Pack slump revival admixture was added to

Building an airport in

All of the materials used in the production of the concrete required, apart from the crushed aggregate, were sourced off the island


CEMENT & CONCRETE

the concrete in a readymix truck immediately before discharge.

“This increases workability and makes it easier to pump or

discharge concrete from trucks that may have travelled long dis-

tances or been stationary on-site for extended periods,” Brouard

says. Chryso’s biodegradable, environmentally friendly cleaning

agents Barracuda, Fusion and Truck Wash were used to clean

and line the readymix trucks and keep them in good condition.

In order to reduce the need for future maintenance, it was

decided to build the runway with concrete instead of asphalt.

Manufactured from 27 000 m³ of concrete, the runway is

1 950 m in length, 45 m wide and has a maximum thickness of

350 mm, with reduced thickness to the off-keel sections. The

runway is mostly unreinforced.

Commenting on the complexity and size of the project, Jimmy

Johnston, project director, BRSHAP, says: “The long logistical

chain made planning vital, and BRSHAP needed reliable suppli-

ers such as Chryso, who can provide the correct product at the

required amount on an agreed date and time.”

St Helena

TOP Over 700 units of precast Core-loc armour units (7 tonnes per unit) and hollow blocks (27 tonnes per unit before filled with stone) were placed by crawler cranes via GPS around the wharf, from the surface bed to just above sea level

BELOW About 700 litres of Chryso’s products have been shipped 2 300 km across the South Atlantic Ocean to St Helena


services in the fields of haematology/

oncology, pulmonology, cardiology,

neurosciences, craniofacial, nephrol-

ogy and general paediatric surgery.

The hospital will be located adjacent

to Wits University’s medical school and is in

close proximity to other medical facilities to

allow for paediatric academic teaching access

from the medical school, in addition to max-

imising operational efficiencies and staffing

models. The hospital will employ about 150

doctors and 451 paediatric nursing profes-

sionals, in addition to allied services.

Group Five’s appointment as main con-

tractor by the Nelson Mandela Children’s

Hospital Trust followed a selection pro-

cess adjudicated by SIP Project Managers

in conjunction with Mbatha, Walters &

Simpson consultancy. “This represents a

key milestone in our efforts to make Nelson

Mandela’s last wish of building a chil-

dren’s hospital in South Africa a reality,”

Nana Magomola, deputy chairperson of the

trust, says.

CEMENT & CONCRETE

Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital selects concrete supplier A

FRISAM HAS been awarded a

contract by Group Five to supply

17 650 m3 of readymix concrete

for the construction of the Nelson

Mandela Children’s Hospital in Parktown,

Johannesburg. “It is a wonderful opportu-

nity for AfriSam to contribute to the lasting

legacy of the late Nelson Mandela,” Graham

Hannah, account manager: Multi-Products

Solutions at AfriSam, says.

“The establishment of this non-profit hos-

pital was Mandela’s personal dream and,

once completed, will be one of only four such

hospitals on the African continent,” Hannah

comments. Construction commenced on 23

June 2014 following the successful comple-

tion of bulk earthworks and piling on-site.

Due to open its doors in 2016, the 200-

bed specialist paediatric hospital will provide


CEMENT & CONCRETE

WITH AN EXPRESSED focus

on the key milestones of the

project, the entire project

team ensured that impound-

ment was achieved within the project

delivery schedule. The optimisation of the

roller compacted concrete (RCC) mix went

a long way in helping the team keep this

commitment, paving the way for President

Jacob Zuma to inaugurate the dam on 19

November 2013.

A delicate mix for optimal strengthAn element of the dam’s success ema-

nated from the development of the opti-

mised high-paste RCC mix, which facili-

tated a viable construction period due

to the concrete’s restraint to the wet

weather elements.

AECOM and the Group Five Pandev JV

used innovative and advanced technolo-

gies to optimise the RCC to produce a

high-paste mix. High-paste RCC requires

extreme attention to materials and fine-

tuning of the mix to ensure a fine bal-

ance between workability, the cost of

the binder, shrinkage and strength. A

maximum aggregate size of 38 mm, with

relative high-paste content, improves work-

ability and reduces segregation. The low

cement content of the optimised RCC mix

made the paste dry enough that it could

be placed with ear thworks placing and

compaction equipment.

From the lab to the site – testing and modifyingThe RCC mix design was tested thoroughly

in preliminary trials during the tender

design stage, at a laboratory in Pretoria,

followed by tests of suitable materi-

als from the quarry to confirm the RCC

Meeting deadlines with RCCThe Spring Grove Dam in Rosetta is part of the Mooi Mgeni Transfer Scheme

– Phase 2 (MMTS-2). Water from the dam will be transferred by pipeline to the

Mpofana River augmenting the current system by 60 million m3 to supply water

to about six million downstream users in the Durban and Pietermaritzburg areas.

specifications and per formance. On-site,

a full-scale trial section was constructed

using the various selected mixes to test

the per formance of different equipment

and construction procedures, and to deter-

mine the final requirements for the mix to

be used in the dam.

The crushing strength and direct tensile

strengths obtained from laboratory tests

and samples taken from the trial section

during testing of the test section amounted

to 20 MPa and 0.9 MPa respectively, after

90 days, meeting the criteria of more

than 15 MPa and 0.75 MPa after 365

days. In general, the RCC mix showed no

signs of segregation during placement

and confirmed that the mix was truly

optimised. The mix has also proven to be

completely water tight.

An admixture was added to ensure the

paste only set after approximately 24


RCC was hauled onto the construction surface using trucks. The new mix also accommodated a specifically designed shuttering system

An aerial view of the Spring Grove Dam in KwaZulu-Natal


ENDING EROSIONTechnicrete

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hours, which retarded the initial setting

time to allow for continuous pours, thus

minimising the number of cold joints in

the structure.

The multiple impacts of a single mixAccording to the project’s chief resident

engineer, Peet Viljoen of AECOM, “From a

logistics point of view, the high-paste RCC

is also a huge improvement as it could

be hauled with dumpers and conveyors,

compacted against formwork with 50 mm

poker needle vibrators and compacted with

a 10 tonne roller in the body of the dam. It

suited the special design shutter system.”

The RCC mix also helped streamline and

expedite the construction process and

100 000 m3 of concrete was placed in

just four months, par tly because the mix

catered for easy mixing, transportation to

the construction site and placement onto

the sur face.

After placement and compaction, the

RCC mix was impervious, bonded well

between layers and left an aesthetically

pleasing finish.

More importantly, the low cement con-

tent ensured that the structure can with-

stand temperature fluctuations and the

possibility of the formation of cracks is

extremely limited.

Danie Badenhorst, chief design engineer

on the project, states, “The optimisation

of the RCC mix helped lower project costs,

accommodate constructability and provid-

ed an impervious dam body. This mix can

be used in any size RCC dam as it short-

ens construction time and meets interna-

tional design and construction criteria.”

CEMENT & CONCRETE

The optimised RCC mix during laboratory tests showed improved workability

Tel: 011 670 7600 | www.rocla.co.za

Rocla is a subsidiary of ISG, a leading supplier of innovative infrastructure products to the construction and mining markets in Southern Africa.

SABS mark on applicable products

ROCLA’s Rubber Ring Joint Pressure Pipe is a watertight pipe for use in low pressure (2 to 8 Bar) applications.

The Spigot and Socket type joint is formed with a widening of the wall of the pipe on the one end, with the joint sealed with a rubber ring.

ROCLA is Southern Africa’s leading manufacturer of pre-cast concrete products for infrastructure, including pipes, culverts, manholes, roadside furniture, retaining walls, stock troughs, poles and other related products.

A strong foundation for infrastructure success

Concrete Pipes

Reducing energy intensity

THE MAIN SUCCESS factor

behind AfriSam’s achieve-

ment has been the intro-

duction of the company’s

advanced composite cements (ACCs),

which harness by-products from the

steel manufacturing and coal-fired

power station industries, together with chemical activators, to

improve the characteristics and performance of traditional Portland

cement. Besides lowering the clinker factor, ACCs only utilise half

the amount of thermal energy of conventional cements.

AfriSam’s Project Green Cement was launched in 2000, primarily

aimed at reducing carbon dioxide emissions and, since then, the

company has moved away from the pure Cem 1 Portland cements

to embrace ACCs.

Today, energy is AfriSam’s number one cost reduction initiative

and the company has adopted a holistic approach to energy sav-

ings to ensure steady improvements in the four primary focus

areas of thermal, electrical, transport and explosives. Coal and

electrical energy are by far the company’s biggest costs in cement

production, with the fuel costs associated with transport logistics

a not-too-distant third.

“To reduce our electricity usage, we’ve adopted a philosophy

that all our future mills will incorporate electrically efficient vertical

roller mill technology,” Gavin Venter, manager: Strategic Projects

A campaign to achieve exponential

energy savings has led to the

implementation of a series of

focused initiatives that have

resulted in companies reducing

their energy intensity by 12%.

CEMENT & CONCRETE

The vertical roller mill at AfriSam’s Roodepoort cement operation has contributed to a 20% reduction in energy consumption since its installation in 2008



at AfriSam, says. “A notable success in

this area was the installation of a vertical

roller mill at our Roodepoort operation in

2008. Although this mill was commissioned

at a 20% higher cost than conventional

technology, it has since achieved a 24%

reduction in electrical energy consumption.

Vertical roller mills are also being earmarked

for installation at our new Saldanha and

Coega facilities.

“Some time ago, we tasked a team of

engineers with obtaining maximum energy

efficiency out of each plant component and

one of the outcomes has been the replace-

ment of old drives with variable speed drives

wherever possible, across all our opera-

tions. This initiative has certainly contrib-

uted to improved energy efficiencies. Where

possible, high energy utilisation material

transport equipment, i.e. pneumatic con-

veying systems, were changed to mechani-

cal conveying systems. These initiatives

required significant capex expenditure, but

could be justified based on the improvement

on energy intensity.”

Production and maintenance as energy saving toolsAnother more recent initiative has seen the

implementation of a production and mainte-

nance tool at AfriSam’s Ulco facility in the

Northern Cape and the Dudfield facility in

the North West, to assist with electrical load

shifting, predominantly during peak demand

periods. This tool has contributed significantly

to energy saving and will be implemented at

the company’s other operations. At the Tanga

Cement plant in Tanzania, in which AfriSam

has a 62.5% shareholding, it is installing

a state-of-the-art five-stage precalciner kiln,

which will achieve the lowest thermal energy

in the group and play a role in reducing its

average thermal energy consumption.

In terms of fuel energy associated with

transport, AfriSam uses, as selection criteria

for subcontracted transporters, a require-

ment that the trucks should be made out

of lightweight aluminium to assist with fuel

consumption. It also ensures that that the

shortest haul routes are selected and that

these trucks are loaded to capacity to

reduce the number of truck loads. Wherever

possible, use of rail transport is maximised

to cut down on fuel costs.

To address the company’s blasting ener-

gy consumption at quarry faces, AfriSam

implemented ongoing effor ts at all its

aggregate and cement operations to opti-

mise these costs.

Included in the ongoing drive to achieve

real energy savings is an energy efficiency

initiative at all operations that is seeing the

installation of motion sensors, energy effi-

cient lighting, solar geysers and panels.

LEFT At the Tanga Cement plant in Tanzania, in which AfriSam has a 62.5% shareholding, the company is currently installing a new state-of-the-art five-stage precalciner kiln

CEMENT & CONCRETE

Quality control in readymix transit


TECHNOLOGY

A FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND moisture

measurement system that com-

bines Bluetooth, GSM, Windows,

smartphone and microwave tech-

nology has now been made available in the

local market, exclusively by a leading con-

crete equipment, machinery and technology

supplier in Africa.

The FL-MOBI-MIC Inspector, developed

by Germany-based moisture control expert

Ludwig Moisture Control, and distributed in

Africa by Pan Mixers South Africa (PMSA)

utilises a combination of advanced technol-

ogy that secures the technical status of

readymix concrete in transit – from the sup-

plier’s batch plant, to handover or delivery

on site.

PMSA sales and marketing manager

Quintin Booysen notes that the system con-

sists of a microwave moisture measuring

probe and a consistency measuring bar with

a transmission unit mounted on the truck’s

rotating drum, which communicates via

Bluetooth to a receiver module in the cab.

“This signal is then forwarded on the GSM

network via a Windows-based smartphone

or compatible device, thereby enabling the

data to be available in almost any location.

What’s more, an industrial standard for the

Bluetooth connection ensures reliable data

transfer at long range, even under challeng-

ing conditions, which is particularly impor-

tant in the harsh African environment,”

he states.

In addition to the transmission of product

moisture data, the FL-MOBI-MIC Inspector

system also sends other crucial process

parameters for real-time monitoring. These

include product temperature, consistency,

slump, residual water, filling level, rotating

direction and the speed of the mixing drum.

This ultimately puts the supplier in full con-

trol and able to monitor the concrete while

in transit, for the first time. FI GURE 1 FL-MOBI MIC. Wireless moisture monitoring

w w w.uti l i ty-systems.co.za

Market leading innovators in

the field of prepaid water

metering and electronic

flow limitation devices

COMPOSITES MATERIALS con-

sist of high strength fibres (e.g.

glass fibres) embedded in a plas-

tic or resin such as polyester.

Compared to Steel and concrete, compos-

ites offer a higher strength per kilogram,

which makes them ideally suitable for light-

weight structures. As the cost of electricity

and fuel rises, “light-weighting” is becoming

an increasingly impor-

tant theme in reducing

cost of transpor t and

installation. Lighter com-

ponents require less fuel

for transport (or require

fewer trucks to do the

job), whereas also the

cost of loading, unload-

ing and hoisting is

reduced.

In a growing society

that heavily relies on the

supply of fresh drinking

water and a proper func-

tioning sewage system,

leaking pipes can no

longer be tolerated. Not only can compos-

ites be used for pipes that no longer rust,

they can also be used for the repair of leak-

ing steel and concrete pipes via internal

re-lining and external wrapping.

Benefits of composites The rusty appearance of our coastal munici-

palities, caused by deteriorating steel com-

ponents inside concrete structures (rebar)

and along the side of roads, can be over-

come via the introduction of composite

A new material worldImagine no rust; no leaking water pipes; manhole

covers that no longer get stolen; installing bridges

using half the number of cranes and old buildings

that can be given a futuristic look by adding a thin

outer shell. These are but a few of what composite

materials have to offer to improve our municipal

infrastructure. By Dr Kjelt van Rijswijk

rebar (produced for instance by Industrial

Composites in Pretoria, see Figure 1), sign-

posts, hand rails and manhole covers.

The additional benefit is that compos-

ites do not have a resale value, which

means for instance that composite man-

hole covers solve the theft-related problem

of uncovered manholes on our roads and

sidewalks, see Figure 2. Companies that

manufacture and supply SABS approved

composite manhole covers can already be

found in Gauteng (Fiberite, Civil Works,

Makhanyise Industries), Western Cape

(Maverick Trading, Nas Polymer, National

Manhole Covers) and KwaZulu-Natal

(Manholes4Africa).

Composite success storiesEarlier this year Aerontec and MMS

Technology developed a composite deck for

the Cape Town container terminal, which

covers the cable trays of the large gantry

cranes that are considered to be a serious

trip-hazard, see Figure 3. The composite

solution proved to be lighter, more rust

resistant and cost-efficient than a tradition-

al Steel-reinforced concrete solution and

did not require a 28-day shut down period

of the terminal to allow the con-

crete to cure. The installation of

300 tonnes of composite decking

was completed within budget and

within the 12-month schedule and

is currently the biggest compos-

ite job ever completed in South

Africa [1, 2].

Traditionally, composites have

been used to clad the outside

surface of buildings to create a

unique appearance, such as The

Lost City and Montecasino. More

recently, composite facades have

been introduced on a larger scale

to create modern and futuristic

appearances and to improve the

look of dull cityscapes. Typical examples are

Gateway Shopping Mall and Century City.

Companies like Dudley and Sons, Decolite

and AMT Composites produce moulded com-

posites to create shapes and textures that

cannot be cost-efficiently produced with

traditional construction materials. In densely

populated areas, the lightweight nature of

composites assists with the construction

of very tall buildings simply by replacing

concrete and Steel with composites on the

upper floors. Dubai’s 829 m Burj Khalifa, the

TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATIONS


Dubai’s 829 m Burj Khalifa, the World’s tallest

building, could not have been constructed

without the use of composites

Uncovered manhole, a public hazard and an increasingly common site

COMPOSITES

World’s tallest building, could not have been

constructed without the use of composites.

Other civil engineering applicationsOther civil engineering applications that

increasingly make use of composites are

bridges that require less maintenance, that

are easier to transport/install or that need

to have a longer span than can be achieved

with Steel and concrete. Composites can

also be used for the structural repair of

concrete bridge pillars, simply by wrapping

them with fibres and resin.

Composites is currently receiving a lot

of attention in government, the research

community and industry for their unique

properties that can benefit a wide range of

sectors including aerospace, boat building,

rail/road vehicles, and construction.

The development of the composites indus-

try is spearheaded by the CSIR Composites

Centre of Competence (funded by the

Department of Science and Technology)

and Composites SA, the local composites

industry association, which operates in

close contact with the Department of Trade

and Industry via the recently established

composite sector and export desks. You

might say to yourself that composites in

boat building and aerospace is one thing,

but that composites in civil engineering

applications is a hype and that in time it will

be steel and concrete business as usual.

But can one actually think of composites

as hype if they offer a solution to problems

that are not likely to disappear anytime

soon? Will composite replace concrete

and Steel completely? Definitely not. Will

composite replace concrete and Steel in

those applications where rust and the cost

of transport and installation is a problem,

where taller buildings or longer bridges are

required? Absolutely!

Composites are an essential element

in the tool box with which we develop

our nation’s infrastructure and should be

applied in those areas where it makes

common sense. Common sense is why

the aerospace and boat building industries

have embraced composites, why should the

civil engineering industry miss out?

With composites we no longer have to keep

our eyes trimmed at the ground looking for

uncovered manholes, allowing us to look up

and marvel at tomorrow’s infrastructure.

References: [1] SA Plastics Magazine

(December 2013), Vol. 11, Iss. 6, p. 32-33.

[2] Reinforced Plastics (July/August 2014)


Composite rebar produced by Industrial Composites

Composite decking in Cape Town harbour produced by MMS Technology and Aerontec

A SMART GRID can be defined as an evolved grid system,

expanded through the addition of intelligence, that man-

ages electricity demand in a sustainable, reliable and eco-

nomic manner,” explains Jaco Cronje, operations director

for EES Africa. “The smart grid allows the integration of all types of

power generation, including renewables. Smart grids are an integral

part of smart cities.”

The grid was originally designed for the supply of low-cost abun-

dant energy sourced over great distances by consumers. Alternative

energy producers also started contributing to the grid, but this should

not be mistaken for a smart gird.

Smart metersSmart meters are just one component of a smart gird, albeit

an essential one, and, this year, Johannesburg’s City Power

announced a roll-out of 55 000 such meters. Whilst this is pro-

gress, it is only a first step.

“Today, a smart meter is used to provide information and

enable customer control and knowledge of energy usage. This

type of data allows the energy consumer to know the amount of

electricity being used, when it is used, and by which appliance. It

also opens up a world of options to electricity utilities, including

innovative billing structures that reduce peak demand, real time,

regional consumption data, and more accurate and efficient

meter reading and billing systems. The smart grid brings about

a whole new industry of technology, intelligence and efficiencies

previously unknown,” says Cronje.

Barriers to implementing a smart grid“In discussing the barriers to implementing a smart grid, it is

important to note that we are not building a smart grid or smart

city from the ground up in South Africa,” Cronje states. “We have

inherited cities and a grid that we need to morph into the most

sustainable solution.”

The major barriers are:Public perception needs to be managed. Contrary to what a large

percentage of the public appear to believe, smart meters and

smart grids do not lead to increased energy costs. It has been

unfortunate that the roll-out of this key component has coincided

with electricity increases.

Financing can present challenges. It should be remembered,

though, that this presents opportunities for venture capitalists

to embrace the developing smart grid and capitalise on opportu-

nities that did not exist before. Business cases for smart grids

Implementing the smart gridA smart grid facilitates the efficient, intelligent use of available energy,

reducing demand on South Africa’s already strained network, and potentially

easing the demand for expensive new power stations. How can the barriers

to entry be overcome in time to yield maximum benefit?

have been proving the investment opportunity across the world.

Policies, regulations and the roadmap of the smart grid need to be

clearly communicated. Some cities in South Africa have found this

to be a challenge and therefore embarked on a process of rolling out

with little communication. Other cities have embraced the opportunity

and are leading by example.

Data privacy and cybersecurity need to be taken into account.

Information obtained by the smart meter provides any marketer with

valuable insight into consumers, without the consumers explicitly

allowing such information to be made available. A further risk is

that such data would need to be secured, through various barriers,

from hackers and fraudulent activities. Regulations and frameworks

can stifle the market, and this can be prohibitive as it may stifle the





ingenuity needed for the smart grid to grow

in its early stages. Once the early stages

have been implemented, it is then appropri-

ate for the different vendors and mecha-

nisms to interoperate.

In designing and implementing smart grids,

energy industry players need to ensure both

products and installation techniques are

of adequate quality to ensure the solution

outlasts the deployment period.

Connectivity requirements must be met so

that data can be obtained and made avail-

able for use. Connectivity can be achieved

through various technical mechanisms.

Skills shortages can be a problem, as the

creation of the smart grid and smart cities is

a reasonably new initiative.

Key solutionsWhat are the solutions to competently pre-

pare for what the future holds? Complete

stakeholder buy-in is essential for the suc-

cessful roll-out of smart grids in Sough

Africa. Integral to this is connectiv-

ity and communication between all industry

players, including:

• government

• the National Energy Regulator

• utilities, including Eskom and independent

• power producers

• industries engaged in energy production

through cogeneration and tri-generation

• distributors, including Eskom and

municipalities

• end users, including consumers and indus-

trial users.

Regulations need to be put into place to

encourage adoption. Done smartly, ingenu-

ity in the early phases, followed by ongo-

ing implementation in accordance with

specific processes and protocol, will pay

enormous dividends.

Data management“Smart data management is non-negotia-

ble,” Cronje emphasises. “It is this intel-

ligence that facilitates the real benefit of

the smart grid. Smart data management

informs industry players what the viable

procedures and trends are that should be

followed, resulting in optimum efficiency in

energy management.”

Segmenting the market for a cohesive approachCronje also advises that roll-out plans

should consider a staggered approach.

“Residential, small business and indus-

trial implementation should be segmented,

starting in the residential market, and then

moving into business and finally industry.

This allows large amounts of data to be

processed without influencing the industrial

energy consumers.”

Financial solutions are of course criti-

cal. The National Empowerment Fund is

leading this space through its support for

venture capitalists. A push vs pull paradigm

should be adhered to. All stakeholders

should be ‘pulled’ to smart grids and smart

cities, as opposed to punitive legislation

being used. Offer the carrot not the stick.

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CONSTRUCTION VEHICLES

EQUIPMENT


W: www.basilread.co.za | E: [email protected] | T: +27 11 418 6300

Basil Read is so much more than just a group that has become synonymous with

excellence in the construction sectors of Southern Africa. Our reputation is built on quality,

expertise and the most innovative solutions to complex and challenging projects. Our

impressive and diverse portfolio includes our flagship airport project on the island of

St. Helena, the rehabilitation of roads and the building of hospitals. The development of

new housing structures and finding sustainable energy resources contributes to a better

future for all as Basil Read is involved in diverse communities across South Africa every

day. Our legacy lives on in our people, our passion and our promise to make this country

a better and more enriching place for all.

BUILDINGLEGACIES

1739

5 te

naka

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za

ATLAS COPCO’S OSC range of

condensate separators for com-

pressed air systems delivers high

performance and versatility. The

use of the most innovative lubricants is not

always enough to meet regulations.

Using a revolutionary and patented pro-

cess of oleophilic and active filtration, Atlas

Copco’s condensate separators provide

customers with advanced technology that

meets strict environmental regulations. Atlas

Copco South Africa’s business line manager:

CONDENSATE SEPARATORS

Less is more

Industrial Air Division, Charl Ackerman, says

that the OSC condensate separator range is

the broadest and most comprehensive ever

offered by the company. “The range consists

of eight models and can accommodate com-

pressed air systems from 35 ℓ/s (74 cfm)

through to 2 360 ℓ/s (4 984 cfm).”

According to Ackerman, simplicity is one

of the product’s key features.

“The installation requires only a roughly

flat sur face, the set-up is uncomplicated

and there are no restrictions on the drain

type upstream.”

The patented filtration process ena-

bles almost all condensate mixtures to

be separated, including most emulsions

and, unlike most other systems, over-

sizing is unnecessary when faced with

synthetic-oil-based condensates.

Its design simplicity adds value

through the delivery of optimum per for-

mance, low operational costs, and long

life for total convenience and customer

peace of mind.

ADVANTAGES OVER TRADITIONAL GRAVITYBASED SYSTEMS• Stable separation performance

throughout filter lifetime

• No standing, stagnant water

• Large capacity chambers reduce the risk of spillage

• No oil collection bottle


CONSTRUCTION VEHICLES & EQUIPMENT

DIVERSE PRODUC-

TION tasks rang-

ing from mining,

quarrying and road

construction to large-scale

earthmoving projects, these

hydraulic excavators come to market with

key enhancements in terms of safety, ultra-

fast truck-loading cycle times, fuel efficiency,

and longer-term downstream availability.

These new units Cat 374F L and Cat 390F

L hydraulic will replace the D-Series hydraulic

excavators launched globally in 2010.

The Cat 374F L is equipped with the Cat

C15 ACERT engine with a rated net power

of 353 kW at 1 600 rpm (ISO 9249) while

the Cat 390F L is equipped with the Cat C18

ACERT unit with a rated net power of 391 kW

at 1 700 rpm (ISO 9249).

Smooth and fuel efficient These engine models consume signifi-

cantly less fuel thanks to two new built-in

features: automatic engine speed control

and automatic engine idle shutdown.

Automatic engine speed control lowers rpm

according to production demands; whilst

automatic engine idle shutdown turns the

engine off when it has been idling for more

than a specified amount of time, which can

be preset via the in-cab monitor. Operators

can also switch between high power and

economy mode. High power is best suited to

hard digging conditions.

A major contributor to these machines’

efficiency results is Caterpillar’s introduc-

tion of the Adaptive Control System (ACS)

valve, a further advance on the previous

generation’s Proportional Priority Pressure

Compensation (PPPC) system.

“The new ACS valve takes the PPPC sys-

tem a step further and has been designed to

intelligently manage restrictions and flows.

It opens slowly when your range of joy-

stick lever movement is small and opens

rapidly when movement is high,” explains

Barloworld Equipment group product man-

ager Johann Venter. “More specifically, it

puts flow exactly where you need it, when

you need it, which means you will experience

much smoother operation, greater efficiency,

and ultra-fast swing speed gains in hard dig-

ging and truck loading.”

On the F-Series, major components like the

pumps, the main control valve and oil tank

are placed closer together so shorter tubes

and lines can be used, which results in less

friction loss, reduced pressure drops, and

more power to the ground. Auxiliary circuits

also enable the fitment of a range of work

tools, such as hammers, grapples and

rippers that are quickly interchange-

able with the fitment of a hydraulic

quick coupler.


Advances in mass excavation

A Cat 390F L hydraulic excavator in rip-and-load configuration. A hydraulic quick coupler enables rapid interchanges between the ripper and bucket

The new Cat 374F L hydraulic excavator has

a maximum operating weight of 75 170 kg


Born and bred right here - Bell is Africa’s very own global equipment

supplier. With support from our strategic partners we deliver a full

range of premium machines. All built tough for our harsh environment.

All supported by Africa’s most comprehensive network of people

dedicated to your success.

Best of all, while you are creating infrastructure and jobs, so are we.

Choose Bell as your equipment partner and enjoy the pride of

knowing you’re not just boosting your business but helping make

Africa a better place too.

Tel: +27 (0)11 928 9700E-mail: [email protected]

STRATEGICPARTNERS

Adv

ert149

6011

4

SINCE THEN there have been suc-

cessive model series changes

and a steadily expanding global

machine population. In addition

to the contracting, industrial and municipal

markets, Cat mini excavators are popular

choices for plant hire fleets, especially


given their road-legal towing weight and

overall versatility.

A popular mid-range choice within

Caterpillar’s mini line-up for the Southern

African market is the 5.5 tonne operating

weight Cat 305.5E model, which is supplied

locally in compact radius configuration.

Compact in size,big on delivery

“Compact radius models are ideally suited

to working in restricted spaces, such as

inside buildings and in urban areas for

applications that include demolition, road

rehabilitation works, and trenching and

pipe laying for telecommunications and

underground water reticulation services,”

explains Barloworld Equipment product mar-

keting manager Desigen Naicker.

Features The mid-range excavator is equipped with a

C2.4 engine with a rated net power of 32.9

kW at 2 400 rpm (ISO 9249) and has an

operating weight of approximately 5 415 kg

when fitted with a FOPS cab, which is stand-

ard for this market. On the go, automatic

two-speed travel simplifies operations.

All E-Series models feature high digging

forces, fast cycle times and excellent sta-

bility, with operation via pilot controls. An

advanced load-sensing system provides

responsive per formance, whilst boom

and cylinders incorporate end damping to

reduce shock loading and bucket spillage.

Depending on whether the machine is

fitted with a standard or long stick, the

machine can excavate down to a depth


Visit www.sanitech.co.za or call 011 823 6060 or 086 110 8642 for the branch nearest you

ABOVE A side view of the thumb work tool attachment

LEFT The thumb work tool attachment is ideal for pipe handling tasks

Designed to per form in demanding civil and

building applications, this new mini excavator

range has undergone major advances in terms

of overall functionality, since the company’s first

entry into this product segment back in 1998.



The Cat 305.5E CR can excavate down to depths of approximately 2 330 mm and 2 730 mm


GORMAN-RUPP engine-driven trash

pumps are the perfect solution

for sewage bypass operations,

construction site dewatering,

hydraulic fracturing and all your

other tough pumping applications.

Gorman-Rupp’s priming-assisted

pumps feature a positive priming

and sealing system that virtually

eliminates leaks, reducing

environmental concerns and allows

these pumps to run-dry indefinitely.

For positive, reliable priming

time after time, you can count on

Gorman-Rupp pumps.

AFRICA

GORMAN-RUPP AFRICA2 Kelly Road, Jet Park, Boksburg Gauteng, South Africa

PH: +27 11 397 3536 WEB: www.pumptron.co.za EMAIL: [email protected] ©Copyright, The Gorman-Rupp Company, 2014


of approximately 2 330 mm and 2 730

mm, respectively. Digging forces are

28.9 kN for standard and 24.8 kN for

long-stick applications.

Fitted with a wide range of work tools,

such as vibratory trench compactors,

thumbs for pipe handling, augers, metal-

cutting shears and hammers, the mini

excavators transform into high-production

multipurpose machines, with the option of

specifying either a mechanical or hydraulic

quick-coupler system.

E-Series machines include both a single-

direction auxiliary circuit for use with a

hammer, and a two-way auxiliary hydraulic

circuit for bi-directional work tools such as

augers or angling buckets.

A wide range of bucket choices is available,

extending from general purpose to landscap-

ing. A distinctive feature across the board is

their rotational capabilities, in excess of 200

degrees. This ensures good spoil retention

at height, such as during truck loading, plus

easier flat back trenching ability.

Anti-theft A key feature on the excavator is the

standard COMPASS (Complete Operation,

Maintenance, Per formance and Security

System) digital control panel, which provides

security, performance and economy features.

COMPASS’s anti-theft device uses a

five-digit alphanumeric password that is

required to start the machine.

IMESA

AF

FIL

IAT

E M

EM

BE

RS

IMESA

AECOM [email protected] Broom Road Products [email protected] SA [email protected] [email protected] Manufacturing Infraset [email protected] Africa Group Holdings [email protected] Consulting [email protected] Bosch Munitech [email protected] Stemele [email protected] Brubin Pumps [email protected] Consulting Engineers [email protected] Consulting Engineers [email protected] Corrosion Institute of Southern Africa [email protected] Built Environment [email protected] Bank of SA [email protected] Plastics [email protected] Engineers [email protected] Kent Metering [email protected] Engineers [email protected] South Africa (Pty) Ltd [email protected] [email protected] Consulting [email protected] Goba [email protected] [email protected] Technology [email protected] Enterprises [email protected]@Consulting [email protected] Consulting [email protected] [email protected] Environment [email protected] and Green [email protected] Water [email protected] Consulting Engineers [email protected] & Templer (K&T) Consulting Engineers [email protected] Base [email protected] Water [email protected] Narasimulu & Associates [email protected] Padayachee & Associates (Pty) Ltd [email protected] Consulting Engineers [email protected]

Marley Pipe Systems [email protected] [email protected] Macdonald PDNA [email protected] Asphalt [email protected] Consulting (Pty) Ltd [email protected] Consulting [email protected] Engineering Systems [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] HaskoningDHV [email protected] SABITA [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Water Systems [email protected] Consulting [email protected] Lines [email protected] SA [email protected] Water Company [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Sobek Engineering [email protected] African Society for Trenchless Technology [email protected] Consulting [email protected] Pumps Wastewater [email protected] Syntell [email protected] Engineers East London [email protected] Consulting [email protected] Consulting [email protected] [email protected] VIP Consulting Engineers [email protected] VOMM [email protected] VUKA Africa Consulting Engineers [email protected] Institute of Southern Africa [email protected] Water Solutions Southern Africa [email protected] South Africa [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Group Africa [email protected] Surfacing [email protected]

A HEAVY LIFT, abnormal transport

and plant relocation specialist

has completed a successful

turn-key project for the R3.5-

billion Dedisa Peaking Power Plant.

Vanguard carried out the transporting,

offloading and final positioning at the site

of the major power generation equipment

for the plant, located in the Coega indus-

trial development zone near Por t Elizabeth.

Two sets of 191-tonne gas turbines, 231-

tonne generators and 140-tonne transform-

ers were transported from the Coega port

to the project site, where they will help

stabilise the national electricity grid from

2015. The Dedisa peaking power plant,

which will operate in times of high electricity

demand or shortfalls of supply, will produce

335 MW from the two open-cycle gas tur-

bines, Eskom has contracted to purchase

the electricity under a 15-year agreement.

Starting out The six heavy units arrived at the Coega

por t during August in two shipments,

explains Vanguard project manager

Dale Huddy.

“After directly discharging the vessels,

we staged the heavy units in our por t

yard — in order to relocate the equipment

in the required sequence for delivery,”

says Huddy.

Challenging corner turnsPassing under the N2 highway, the planned

route for the convoy, included only a couple

of challenging corner turns. “We managed

to navigate the tight corners so that there

was only one road island to traverse, and

the trailer’s sophisticated multi-axle sus-

pension technology handled that with ease,

distributing the load evenly despite the

axles having to navigate different heights.”

Power project gets a lift


The gantry systemTo lift and place the heavy units into final

position on their respective foundations,

Vanguard has set up its ‘power tower’

hydraulic lift system – commonly known as

a gantry system.

“This is a top-of-the-range gantry with a

hydraulic drive system that allows easy

travel along rails,” says Huddy. “We

manoeuvred the trailer in line with the foun-

dations and between two sets of rails.”

Everything was lined up with the unit’s

foundations to facilitate quick and accu-

rate placement. The generator and trans-

former were then relocated, offloaded and

positioned on site in a similar fashion,

using a second set of Vanguard’s 600-

tonne gantries in the yard at the por t to lift

the units onto trailers.

ABOVE Offloading 190T turbine with Vanguard’s Power Tower hydraulic lift system

TOP 230 t generator on route to Dedisa Power Station

+27(0)860 482 [email protected]

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ADVERTISERS

For sustainable energy.


African Energy Indaba 88

AMMANN Construction Machinery SA OFC

AECOM 32

Aquatan 48

Aveng Manufacturing Infraset 56

Babcock 43

Bagshaw Footwear 60

Basil Read 82

Bauma Conexpo 9

Bell Equipment 83

Bosch Stemele 20

BVI 25

Capsa 24

Development Bank of Southern Africa 28

DWS 12

Elster Kent Metering 46

Esor Construction 53

GLS Consulting 34

Ingérop South Africa 62

Intelligent SHEQ Consulting Services 59

Joat Group IFC

Krohne South Africa 54

Model Maker Systems 79

National Asphalt 70

Neil Lyners and Associates 23

NMC Civils 22

NuWater 36

Rocla 73

Royal HaskoningDHV 45

PHB Engineers 58

Precision Meters 80

Pumptron 85

SA Readymix Association 69

Sanitech 84

Sasol Group Services 26

SBS Water Systems 87

Sephaku Cement 66

Sika 78

Sizabantu Piping Systems 2

SMEC South Africa 41

Standard Bank 17

Technicrete 72

TOSAS 74

The Concrete Institute 75

University of Cape Town 64

Utility Systems 76

UWP Engineering 5

Valve & Allied 55

Veolia Water Solutions & Technology 49

Water & Sanitation Services OBC

WorleyParsons 38

WRP IBC

Zest WEG Group 19

INDEX TO ADVERTISERS

Water and Sanitation Services South Africa (Pty) Ltd (WSSA) is a specialised provider of sustainable water services in Southern Africa

Water & Sanitation Services SA.indd 1 2014/03/26 11:52:53 AM

Documents

Imiesa November/December 2014