Eastern Cape housing backlog addressed
Nelson Mandela Bay’s housing backlog of 87 000 units is set to be relieved by the R20-billion Coega Ridge mixed-use residential development. Situated adjacent to the Coega IDZ outside Port Elizabeth, the development is on track to break ground in 2018. Aurecon, the civil engineers for the project, recently announced that the infrastructure services for the first phase of the project were largely in place and that construction of the first 5000 housing units could commence as soon as the town planning and rezoning of this section was finalised. Civil Engineer Michael Vorster says one of the main challenges of the project was co-ordinating all the stakeholders involved to source and gather the information needed for the environmental impact assessment (EIA) report. Approximately 3200 ha of land has been earmarked for the development, which will consist of a number of facilities including a large shopping centre, office parks, a railway station, a technical college, university, hospital, schools and other community facilities. Coega Ridge aims to become South Africa’s largest mixed-use residential development
www.aurecongroup.com
New mall for the Western Cape
Cape Town’s Sun Valley Mall is expected to open before Christmas as final design details are made available to local ratepayers. The development, which is already underway, is expected to be completed by November and will accommodate anchor tenant Checkers Hyper and a free-standing Virgin Active health club. Negotiations for other tenants are underway and include a drive-thru fast food restaurant and a national health and beauty retailer. The mall will boast a number of green technologies including efficient lighting and the use of heat pumps instead of geysers. Various engineering concepts have been employed to minimise sound pollution and the roof insulation has been improved to reduce heat radiation. The external walls will have various finishes such as glass, specialised coatings, colour and texture variations, trellis and planted sections. External awnings will be installed above shop fronts and lighting in the parking area will be decorative pole-mounted light fittings with energy-efficient lamps. The roof has skylights at specific points to provide natural lighting inside. The roof design will aim to conceal air conditioning and the refrigeration plant from sight when viewed from various vantage points.
www.sunnydale.co.za
Construction begins on Pulida solar power plant
Enel Green Power, or EGP, has begun the construction of Pulida solar power plant, located in the Free State Province. The new solar facility will have a total installed capacity of 82,5 MW and, once fully operational, will be able to generate more than 150GWh per year, equivalent to the annual consumption needs of around 48 000 South African households, therefore avoiding the emission of more than 138 000 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere each year. The energy generated by Pulida will be sold to Eskom through the 20-year power supply agreement which EGP was awarded in October 2013 as part of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP). In addition to Pulida, EGP was awarded the right to build the Gibson Bay (111 MW) and Nojoli (88 MW) wind farms, as well as the Aurora (82,5 MW), Paleisheweul (82,5 MW) and Tom Burke (66 MW) solar power projects, in the same tender. The company, which already owns and manages the 10 MW Upington solar facility, was also recently awarded a further 425 MW of South African wind power projects in the fourth phase of the REIPPPP.
www.enelgreenpower.com
Wind farm confirmed for Roggeveld
Italian firm Building Energy will be erecting a 140 MW wind farm in the Roggeveld, situated between the Northern and Western Cape Provinces. The project is expected to generate 590 GWh per year. The company has also been awarded preferred bidder status for a mini-hydro project at Kruisvallei in the Free State. It is expected to produce 36 GWh per year with a nameplate capacity of 4,7 MW. In addition to the wind and hydro projects, the company already has an 81 MW solar project in Kathu, Northern Cape, and a 16,5 MW biomass project in Mkuze, KwaZulu-Natal. The company was awarded those projects in the first and third rounds of the REIPPP programme respectively. No date has yet been announced for the construction of the wind and hydro facility.
www.sunwindenergy.com
Office property development in Western Cape
National property development and asset management group Atterbury has secured the development of a new six-storey office building in Cape Town. When complete, the building is expected to be valued at around R225-million.The 6500m² building will be the head office of financial services group Citadel and is located in a prime location in Claremont, adjacent to Cavendish Shopping Centre. It will be owned jointly in equal shares by Atterbury, Citadel and Catalyst. Construction of the stone-façade building, which began in August last year, is on track and set to be complete in June 2016. Gerrit van den Berg, Atterbury’s development manager for its Western Cape developments, said the company has several other major new developments on the drawing board or being finalised. The previous development and asset management projects that Atterbury led in the Western Cape include the refurbishment done at the Eikestad Mall in Stellenbosch, which was completed in 2013, as well as Bela Rosa mixed-use development in Durbanville, completed in 2010.
www.atterbury.co.za
Millions for South African sanitation
The Sedibeng Regional Sewer Scheme (SRSS), a project expected to cost about R4,2-billion, was identified by the Presidential Infrastructure Co-ordinating Commission (PICC) and approved as a Strategic Infrastructure Project (SIP). There are 18 SIPs across the country, devised to solve issues such as raw sewage spillage, as well as unlock job opportunities and improve service delivery. Upgrading Sedibeng’s sewerage system will not only improve the state of sanitation and human settlements in the district municipality, but will also serve as a source of employment and poverty alleviation. The project is expected to be completed in the next three years. Water and sanitation minister Nomvula Mokonyane says the department intends to conclude the eradication of the bucket system programme in formal areas by December 2015. About 6000 jobs are also expected to be created during construction. The job opportunities include the appointment of suitable local sub-contractors, local people and helping unemployed youth qualify in the relevant engineering fields by giving them relevant work experience.
www.sedibeng.gov.za
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