The Department of Public Works notes with dismay the rehashing of an old story about the erection of the Bryntirion Estate security fence. This inaccurate story first appeared on the 21 February 2007 and the Department refuted it.
Construction work currently being done at the Bryntirion Estate in Pretoria is part of a multi-phase master plan comprising the security fence, the outer boundary fence, entrance gates and the command centre. The plan was developed in the late 1990s and updated in 2004/2005. Construction work started in 2007.
Currently the perimeter fence being erected is the continuation of the project that was signed off in 2005. Work being currently done, is the outer boundary fence, which includes the boundary of the estate. Seventy per cent (70%) of this boundary consists of an ordinary fence while the rest is a combination of a brick and stone wall with a concrete foundation. This project was informed by a needs assessment.
The Bryntirion Estate houses the official residences of the President, Deputy President, Ministers and Deputy Ministers as well as the Presidential Guesthouse. The first phase of the boundary fence was erected in 2007, two years before President Jacob Zuma became the President of the Republic of South Africa.
The Master-Plan could not be implemented at once because there are people living on the estate hence the construction work was done in five different project phases. The current phase of the project is expected to be completed in October this year.
Mr Mziwonke Dlabantu
DG: National Department of Public Works
Contact: 012 406 1565
