Newsletter - Excellence In Construction Edition

Whilst nobody was surprised that the award for the Iconic Project went to the consortium of constructors who built the globally famous Moses Mabhida stadium, it was still thrilling to hear the announcement and proudly walk to the stage to receive the award.

Construction of the R3,1bn stadium was a joint venture comprising Group Five, WBHO and Pandev.

When asked what challenges they faced during the not-negotiable 2.7 years building deadline, Myan Moodliar, Contract Manager at WBHO said timing was the biggest factor, followed by the complex arch and installing the cable car. "If you want to know what problems we faced believe me when I say we had to put out 50 fires a day to solve the issues that read like a long shopping list.

But if one compares Durban's stadium to Wembley in London it was nothing short of a miracle to have completed the Moses Mabhida on time. Wembley was so fraught with problems and delays that they missed two cup finals!

"Looking back it was like a dream ending up with the most beautiful stadium in the world - not according to us but the media who were here in their droves. It was a great edifice to build and South Africa showed the world what we can accomplish that is world class is quality and completed in record time.

"It was a fantastic team effort that made this possible from the contractors right through to the client and the consultants. Jointly we solved the problems and kept the job on track."

The stadium has been hailed as a 'state-of-the-art landmark sports facility with excellent amenities, architectural and engineering ingenuity and a sustainable recreational and multi-disciplinary sporting venue.'

It was built as a 56 000-seater stadium which can be further expanded to accommodate around 80 000. Catching the eye - and changing Durban's skyline forever - the stadium's arch of triumph is 350m long and rises to a height of 106m. The arch symbolises the uniting of a once-divided nation.

Maybe there were no surprises for the Iconic Award, but the most surprised guest at the Excellence in Construction Awards was Roy Thomson of Group 5 who strode proudly to the podium to receive the award for the Supreme Winner over R40 million for the construction of the Warwick Triangle Viaduct.

"We are elated, absolutely over the moon. It's time somebody else got this recognition and I'm so pleased that we did," said Thomson.

Construction of the Warwick Triangle Viaduct was not a plain sailing project. As with the stadium the viaduct had to be ready ahead of the World Cup and it was a matter of design and construct without any of the normal luxuries associated with a task of that nature... time.

As one can imagine with the most populous area of Durban being in an around the Warwick Triangle the challenges were many and far reaching. Pedestrians, taxis, trucks, buses and cars all vying for pole position seven days a week can make even the most hardened constructor cringe at the thought.

"It's in an old part of town with a lot of unknown services such as cabling, sewerage and water. We came across a number of two metre concrete beams which were a part of an old foundation. We left them there to stay for eternity and piled on either side of them."

Group 5 and Pandev had exactly 15 months to complete the project and open the viaduct up to traffic. "We did it with one month to spare, but I must point out that the only reason we succeeded was the tremendous team work between us and Goba, the consulting engineering firm who designed the bridge."

Thomson also praised eThekwini Municipality for the cooperation from the roads, electricity and water departments.

"It really was a pleasure working there. We felt safe at all times and there were no issues with harassment or violence making the 14 months on the job a pleasant experience."

Kevin Dicks, MD of Dicks Construction in Empangeni was overjoyed at the prestige of taking home the trophy for the Supreme Winner under R40 million for this company's construction of Uppink Lodge.

"It's the most stunning private building that I have had the privilege of working on. I could not have had a better client who now has an amazing private game lodge in one of the most amazing settings on Mother Earth. The lodge is situated at Mziki in the Pinda Private Game Reserve"

It wasn't without its challenges said Dicks who said the lodge's location was governed by the flood plain and designed around the level of the dam. Built of concrete, timber, glass and structural steel meant that the varying expansion co-efficients had to be taken into account.

"But we had a tremendous engineer in Phillip Jennings who accurately calculated the behaviour of the different properties under all weather conditions.

At one stage we were running a little over time, but changes and additions were made so at the end of the day we finished on schedule. But with a complex construction such as this timing was fortunately not restrictive and again I cannot stress the wonderful nature of the client."

Dicks is no stranger to winning awards. In 2004 he was awarded the first prize for Excellence for a Residential Building as well as the Supreme Excellence in Building Award. Last year Dicks Construction was awarded first prize for Excellence in a Single Residential Building above R2 million.