Flagship Projects
New Durban High Court
Client: Department of Public Works (National) – Department of Justice
Project Name: New Durban High Court
Project Description:
This ‘Mega Project’ is made up of 4 major components, viz. construction of an off-site decanting facility to accommodate High Court operations during the 4½ year construction period, construction of the new four-story High Court Building, construction of the new nine-story Carpark + Administration Building and restoration of the Existing High Court Building. The latter three construction activities take place on a single, tight site.
Estimated Construction Value: R 850 Million
Professional Services Rendered:
Structural Engineering, Civil/Infrastructure Engineering, Wet Services Engineering, Resident Engineer
Engineering Feats and Challenges:
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The excavation was required below the water table (@ 2.50m above MSL) in order to construct the foundations. This took careful planning and monitoring in terms of the de-watering exercise so as not to disturb the foundations of the existing high-rise buildings surrounding the site.
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Major internal upgrades were required at the Existing High Court Building (a Heritage structure constructed in 1910) which involved careful planning in terms of creating openings for services in load-bearing elements and demolition of support walls.
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The site is located in the Durban CBD which posed a challenge in terms of the tight site constraints and logistics in terms of material supply and handling. Erection of the 2 tower cranes took careful planning including shutting down of roads leading to the site to accommodate the mobile cranes which lifted the tower cranes into position.
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Timeous issues of Design Construction Information took a dedicated Team of 12 MAP AFRICA Resources (including Professional Engineers, Technologists, Technicians, Draughtsmen, and Site Staff) working full time over the construction period to ensure no delays to the Contractor.
Jika Joe CRU Housing Project
Client: Groundwork – Msunduzi Municipality
Project Name: Jika Joe CRU Housing Project
Project Description:
The project entails the construction of approximately twenty-seven (27) new multiple-story Community Residential Units (CRU) within the Jika Joe Residential Area, which is situated along Fitzsimmons Road on the outskirts of the Pietermaritzburg CBD and along the N3 route.
This development will provide 1104 units and house approximately 5520 people.
Estimated Construction Value: R 500 Million
Professional Services Rendered: Structural Engineering & Civil/Infrastructure Engineering
Engineering Feats and Challenges:
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The project targets low-income households currently occupying informal dwellings within the development area. However, due to the nature of the project being Community Residential Units, the municipality will have a rental policy in place that will assist towards providing the higher level of service for the beneficiaries of the development.
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The site borders a minor tributary of the Msunduzi River along the southwest boundary. The Flood Line Analysis undertaken indicated that a portion of the development fell within the 1:100-year flood line extent. Based on this analysis, the bulk earthworks were designed to elevate the extent of the development to a suitable level above the 1:100 flood line level and hence reduce the risk of flooding during a 1:100 storm event.
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The fill material and obstructions encountered between 1.0m – 3.5m below the ngl during the geotechnical investigation and proved that poor founding conditions were present within the site. MAP AFRICA together with the Geotechnical Engineer and Kaytech designed and proved the most viable founding solution by replacing unsuitable materials and constructing an engineered soil raft to support a reinforced concrete raft foundation. This eliminated the need to construct pile foundations and reduced the construction period significantly.
MSSL Global RSA Module Engineering Ltd – India
Client: Mothersons Group
Project Name: MSSL Global RSA Module Engineering Ltd – India
Project Description: Civil and Structured Engineering Design and Detailing of New Factory and Warehouse
Estimated Construction Value: R 140 Million
Professional Services Rendered: Project Management, Structural Engineering, Civil Engineering Services and Construction monitoring.
Engineering Feats and Challenges:
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Geotechnical : The site was underlain by ‘Harbour Bed’ deposits and also ‘Black Mud’ clays in excess of 7 metres below existing ground level. This resulted in all load bearing structural members being supported on a deep piled foundation system. Piles were on average 18 metres deep. All surface bed slabs had to supported on engineered soil rafts of approx. 3 metres deep. In some areas of the factory, the surface bed slabs and soil rafts had to be designed to carry loading of 10 tons per square metre.
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Structural clear spans: the client insisted on having large open spaces with very little intermediate support columns. This resulted in a large complex configuration of very deep lattice trusses, which proved extremely challenging to fabricate and erect on site.
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Extremely high Crane Loads: The client required a lifting crane capable of lifting 30 tons along the entire length of one side of the factory. This proved extremely challenging in the design of the steel Crane rails and its supporting steelwork as well as maintaining the 10mm wide maximum out of plan and vertical tolerances required for the heavy lifting crane.
University of Zululand Multiple Infrastructure Projects
Client: University of Zululand – Department of Higher Education
Project Name: University of Zululand Multiple Infrastructure Projects
Project Description: Multiple Infrastructure Projects. Planning and Implementation.
Estimated Construction Value: R 900 Million
Professional Services Rendered: Master Civil Infrastructure planning, Civil, Structural, Project Management, Traffic & Transportation, Energy & Specialist Services.
Engineering Feats and Challenges:
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Innovative designs and implementation due to constrained sites and aging infrastructure.
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Size and quantity of developments assigned to different teams and coordination thereof.
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Strict and tight timeframes to be met in order to meet University enrollment demands.
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New state of the art infrastructure facilities.
SANRAL
Project Name: SANRAL N.003-010-2017/9
Project Description: Capacity Improvements on National Route 3, Section 1, From Westville Viaduct (Km 11.80) To Paradise Valley Interchange (Km 17.54)
Estimated Construction Value: R 1.7 Billion
Professional Services Rendered: Civil, Structural and Traffic & Transportation Engineering and other Specialist Services. - Design review and Construction Monitoring.
Engineering Feats and Challenges:
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Local Geotechnical, Social and Environmental conditions.
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Realignment to new and existing route packages.
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Various bridge, over/under/Agricultural passes with 2 statement bridges.
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Changes in specifications & contract requirements due to the revitalization of an old project.
