project - Trademax Publications

PROJECT
Large Staff Housing
Project on Track
A 320-home project for the staff of a leading utilities provider near Lephalale, Limpopo
Province is close to completion and awaits council approval. “This has been a very
fast-track contract, which de facto only commenced in February 2009,”
says Mark Green Director and Project Manager for contracting company
Esorfranki Civils (formerly Patula Construction).
This is a fairly significant building project, adds
Green, and the numbers speak for themselves: 12000m³
of concrete for foundations, floor slabs and raft
foundations; 9 million stock clay bricks; more than
100 tons of cement and over 20 000 rolls of brick force will
be used.
“We tried wherever possible to utilise local suppliers but this is
a remote area and it was not always possible.
“Sourcing the concrete material was particularly
challenging and, while we managed to obtain the river
sand locally, the concrete stone came from Thabazimbi
and Naboomspruit, and the cement from AfriSam in
Polokwane.”
The remoteness created other challenges including the lack of
water, which has to be imported in tankers for the entire
project.
“Add all this to temperatures that are often between 35
and 40º C, lots of rain in the summer and one can appreciate
that working in these conditions has been testing,” says
Green.
16
An example of one of the houses in the project
SA Affordable Housing November/December 2009