Joint ventures to tackle roadworks project
Published online by Engineering News (www.engineeringnews.co.za)
Diverse industrial services provider Basil Read announced in May that it has been awarded a contract, in conjunction with its joint venture (JV) partners, totalling more than R1,6-billion, for phase one of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP).
The JV, consisting of civil engi- neering companies Roadcrete Africa and Dip Civils working with Basil Read as lead partner, is responsible for one of seven work package contracts handed out in May for the first phase of the GFIP.
The 29-month JV contract is for the widening and upgrading of two sections of the N1 highway. The two work packages that the Basil Read Roadcrete Dip Civils (BRCD) JV is responsible for, include the 10-km D1 section, from the Brakfontein interchange to the Flying Saucer (R21) interchange, and the 4,5-km D2 section from Atterbury road up to and including the N4 Witbank interchange.
The work to be done as part of work package D involves the widening of the inner (median) side and outer (shoulder) sides of each carriageway, the widening of four underpass bridges, the John Vorster interchange bridge as well as the Hennops River bridge.
New bridges to be constructed include a new off-ramp bridge to Technopark at John Vorster and a new incrementally launched bridge with two new loop bridges at the Flying Saucer interchange. Atterbury road and Lynnwood road will also receive new on- and off-ramps to the north side and an underpass off-ramp bridge. In addition, the entire existing surface is to be rehabilitated with new seals and overlays.
“We believe that the contract positions the company advantageously to [participate] in similar future projects,” says Basil Read GFIP project director Jimmy Strydom.
The contract will necessitate the supply of gravels and aggregates for roadworks, stabilising cement, concrete for structures and pavements, reinforcing steel as well as precast pipes and culverts.
Other JVs formed, as a result of the GFIP, are to take on the other six work packages between them. The Siyavaya JV, consisting of construction and civil engineering companies Power Construction, Liviero, Umso Construction, Bophelong Con- struction and led by Group Five, is responsible for two GFIP work packages that entail renovations and construction along sections of the N1, the N12 and the N3.
“These contracts are in line with our stated strategy of focusing on larger, higher-margin South African infrastructure contracts with longer lead times. Importantly, they are in close proximity to our construction materials quarries, which will allow for the efficient delivery of materials,” says Group Five CEO Mike Upton.
Construction and civil engineering contractors Aveng Africa, Moseme Road Construction and Boitshoko Road Surfacing have also joined forces under the banner of the GLMB JV to tackle two of the packages.
