The Director-General (DG) for the Department of Public Works (DPW), Mr Mziwonke Dlabantu says the Agrivaal building represents the type of projects that his department wants to continue producing in future.
He has been speaking during a site visit of the Agrivaal building situated at the corner of Edmond Street and Hamilton Avenue in Pretoria, where he was accompanied by members of the DPW Executive Committee (EXCO) on Wednesday, the 2 of October 2013. Prior to the walkabout at the Agrivaal site, a team of professional services responsible for the building’s design, delivered a brief presentation on the structure.
These experts say Agrivaal is the first pilot project created by DPW to approach the design and construction of new government structures in a manner never previously undertaken. For example, the structure is being put together in a manner that promotes the use of environmentally-friendly, non-toxic materials; the use of renewable energy sources and recycled materials among other green building measures.
Towards the end of 2012, the Agrivaal building in fact achieved a 4-star rating for its environmentally-friendly nature.The Department of Public Works began renewing the 75-year old building soon after the main contractor was appointed on 24 February 2012 following an open tender process.
The project got underway with the demolition of the existing buildings around the original Agrivaal structure which was followed by the basement excavations, before the restoration of the heritage building was carried-out. On average, 300 workers are on site at a time.
DPW Director-General Mr Mziwonke Dlabantu says it’s essential to capture lessons from the restoration of the Agrivaal building, stressing the importance of efficiency. He adds that some of the challenges encountered in the Agrivaal project can and should be eliminated in the upcoming projects.
His comment comes after it was revealed during his site visit, that 3 months of the project’s time was lost due to unforeseen, mainly geotechnical conditions. The fact that tenant requirements were confirmed late, also contributed. The good news is that the project, with a R400 million construction value, is well within budget.
Currently the erection of the concrete structure level 2 is continuing and basement levels were completed by September 2013. Once completed, the building will have 21 650 square metres of rentable space and 14 246 square metres useable area. Among other features, the building will comprise of 10 storeys of office accommodation, two (2) internal coffee shops and six (6) underground parking levels, with a capacity of approximately 545 parking bays.
The project has contributed in the alleviation of poverty and skills shortage, one of the government’s priorities, by transferring construction skills to 120 Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) beneficiaries, being taken-in in batches of 3. The first intake of 40 beneficiaries was made in September 2012, the second in April 2013 and the third will be taken in November 2013.
These candidates are being trained mainly in areas such as Earthworks, Piling, Scaffolding, Health & Safety, Plumbing and Electrical. They also get to be rotated so as to get training in all of these areas. Of these beneficiaries over fifteen (15) have received permanent employment under the project.
The visit to the Agrivaal construction site by the DG attests to the DPW’s serious stance to rebuilding the department by ensuring that projects are completed on time and within budget. Mr Dlabantu has committed to returning to the Agrivaal site before the structure is completed, to see how the building is coming together.
“It’s not the last time I come here; in the space of 6 months I want to come back here to see how the project is progressing,” concluded Mr Dlabantu. The project is expected to be completed by the end of next year (2014).
