Projects Magazine

Atlas Copco has engineered cutting-edge design and technology into its compact and highly cost-effective HiLight LED light tower range to bring a perfect combination of high performance, optimum efficiency and low operational costs for lowest total costs of ownership. Atlas Copco’s HiLight range of LED light towers comprises the B5+, V3+ , H4, and the H5+ (flagship) units as well as the more recent Z3+ battery operated unit. These flexible and economic lighting solutions meet a diverse range of applications in the construction, roadworks, mining, quarrying and public events sectors. When industries have to extend their working hours to meet deadlines, they require reliable lighting systems to ensure operational uptime. When working after dark on for example construction, quarry or industrial sites or at outdoor events in both rural and urban areas, it is essential to have the best possible lighting to ensure task accuracy, improved working conditions and enhanced worker safety. ...

Almost every mine today makes use of some kind of operations control centre, commonly taking the shape of control rooms, making it possible to remotely monitor; measure and control operations. In keeping with the increasing level of mechanization and automation of mines – presenting a myriad of safety and logistical challenges through the interaction of man and heavy machinery - the importance of control rooms in providing situational awareness and as the hub of operations management has proportionally increased. Indeed, one can be bold enough to conclude that without appropriately designed control rooms, safe high-speed mechanized mining would neither be practical nor commercially viable. This article provides a glance into some best practice in control room construction, equipping and processes. Control rooms collect, analyse and relay information necessary to monitor, measure and report performance, and control processes in mining operations. In the most modest form, a control “ro...

As the number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise in South Africa and across the globe, so does the social stigma attached to it. The perceived notion, for example, is that the virus only affects people of ethnic backgrounds, leading to unjustifiable discrimination by their peers. Yet, one company has risen to the challenge of de-stigmatising the labels placed on these minorities. Exxaro, a true champion of African growth and inclusivity, has announced the launch of their De-stigmatisation Campaign which aims to create awareness, debunk myths, and alleviate fears around COVID-19. Indeed, a lot of misinformation is being spread on the internet – something Exxaro hopes their De-stigmatisation Campaign will address. “It’s easy to point fingers, but that’s not how this virus chooses its victims,” remarked Mzila Mthenjane when asked for further details on the campaign. “[This campaign] seeks to educate not only our people but the greater country on the nature of COVID-19.” Mthenjane co...

The government of Kenya has launched one of the housing projects under the Affordable Housing Programme initiative dubbed the ‘Habitat Heights’. The housing project is one of the first projects developed under the Memorandum of Understanding between the State Department for Housing and Urban Development and United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) in September 2018 to develop 100,000 housing units. Location The development will be located at Lukenya in Machakos County and will involve the construction of 8,888 units. The project is being undertaken by AFRA Holdings Limited through its local subsidiary Singapura Developers Ltd (Kenya) in conjunction with Housing Finance. According to the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development, James Macharia, as Kenya launches the Habitat Heights Project, it is expected to be catalytic and being the first major project promoted under the Affordable Housing Programme, it has attracted other investors to...

Superior service, style and value in the heart of Nairobi’s upmarket entertainment hub With an unrivalled location in the heart of Nairobi’s vibrant Westlands district, the brand new, purpose-built, Best Western Plus Westlands combines enhanced style and creative dining experiences with all the convenience, safety and comfort required for a restful stay. Located directly behind the renowned Sarit Centre shopping mall and Expo Centre, the hotel sits just off the city’s main highway, close to the Central Business District and KICC and only 20km from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and Nairobi National Park. Whether travelling for business or leisure, Best Western Plus Westlands provides thoughtful touches to enhance every stay. From relaxed business meetings over freshly brewed coffee at Craft, our all-day-dining restaurant, lobby bar and coffee shop, to more formal gatherings in one of the five meeting rooms on our dedicated meetings floor, we have free high-speed Wi-Fi throughout...

The wind farm sets the country closer to its goal of 100 percent renewable energy generation by 2030. #MakeEnergyWork is the official theme of the 2019 Africa Oil & Power Conference and Exhibition Kenya has launched Africa’s largest wind farm project in a bid to boost the country’s power generation capacity and reach its goal of 100 percent renewable energy generation by 2030. Set to contribute 310MW to the national grid, the $680 million privately-funded Lake Turkana Wind Power project will increase the country’s power supply by approximately 13 percent, reducing the country’s reliance on thermal generated electricity. During the inauguration ceremony on Friday, President Uhuru Kenyatta said the launch of the project was a ‘monumental feat’ showcasing the country’s commitment to pursue clean sources of energy and lower greenhouse gas emissions. “Kenya is without a doubt on course to being a global leader in renewable energy,” he said, adding that the country has “again rai...

Companies working remotely during the nationwide lockdown will need to place a huge amount of faith in their employees’ abilities to deliver on their mandates. While Service-Level Agreements and Key Performance Indicators may contractually bind employees to their targets, it’s a particular type of leadership that will supplicate the best out of the organization and its staff, says Arnoux Maré, MD of Innovative Staffing Solutions. “During times of crisis, such as the one we are currently facing, leaders have to be bold and decisive if they want to weather the storm. However, if they wish to keep their employees motivated and on course, they need to embody a kind of leadership that exudes humility. Often leaders who have a high success rate, are those that lead with humility,” explains Maré. He says that humility should not be confused with low self-esteem or meekness. Humility also known as servant leadership, is a mindset that allows you, by choosing to think less about yourse...

How will the soon-to-be-implemented Employment Equity Amendment Bill affect your business? Bill now before Parliament; includes requirements for employee training and compliance certificates for government tenders By Triple E Training JOHANNESBURG – March 05, 2020 – South Africa is facing a double dilemma right now in terms of unemployment and skills. Firstly, we have one of the highest unemployment rates in the world, but secondly, we also rank poorly in terms of skills. The net effect is that despite this high unemployment level, companies still battle to find skilled workers. In mid-February, Cabinet gave the Employment Equity Amendment Bill of 2020 the green light for submission to Parliament. This is a crucial bill that seeks to strengthen the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998 (the Act) and support efforts to eradicate the legacies of apartheid discrimination, as well as inequality in the workplace. When it becomes law, most likely in mid-2020, it will bring far-reaching consequ...

Since the Makole Group’s Black Royalty Minerals was announced as the preferred bidder for the acquisition of Koornfontein coal mine in late October 2019, it has been inundated with numerous interdicts and court applications to disrupt or halt the sale process. Lurco Group, Charles King SA and Westdawn Investments approached the South Gauteng High Court on an urgent basis in order to interdict Koornfontein Mines’ Business Rescue Practitioners from transferring the mine to Black Royalty Minerals. These interdicts were argued in front of Judge Matojane on 27 January 2020. Judgment was passed on 28 January 2020 with Judge Matojane dismissing all three interdict applications with costs. Makole Group’s Chairman Ndavhe Mareda said that Black Royalty Minerals is relieved that the court cases have been finalised and legal certainty prevailed. He said the Business Rescue Practitioners can now be left to continue with their work of transferring the mine in terms of the approved business rescue ...

Authored by: Tarissa Wareley, Immigration specialist at Xpatweb The discovery of natural gas along the shores of one of the poorest countries in Africa has paved the way for Mozambique to become the next major supplier of liquified natural gas. The expected influx of expatriates and investments into the exploration of LNG has forced government departments to implement various measures to monitor as well as facilitate entry into Mozambique. The Rovuma Basin Decree 2/2014, although approved about six years ago, its various measures and concessions for immigration-related matters were not implemented until recently. This has been timeous in the booming projects in the oil and gas sector in Pemba, Coral Sul, and others. From an immigration perspective, this decree relaxes requirements, improves processing times, and removes layered processes. Sub-contractors and companies in the Mozambique LNG Project are expected to benefit greatly from its measures. These companies and their approved su...

A range of hand-held, easy-to-use stroboscopes that enables the visual inspection of rotating equipment to be carried out in an economic and timely fashion has been unveiled by SKF. All rotating equipment needs to be inspected periodically to ensure that it is working correctly. Sylvain Humbert, Product Development Manager at SKF says: “If visual inspection is not carried out, machine damage can be overlooked and unexpected breakdowns can occur. With visual inspection, problems can be detected and preventive measures can be planned and taken." However, machinery often must be shut down to allow visual inspection to take place, interrupting vital operations and causing costly downtime. SKF's TKRS stroboscopes enable visual inspections to be carried out on equipment while it is rotating. The hand-held devices emit flashes of light timed to coincide with the speed of the running machine, creating an optical effect whereby the moving parts appear to be permanently frozen in p...

Leading property developer and investor Atterbury has handed over the innovative fast-track R 150 million development of a new purpose-built showroom to car resale specialists WeBuyCars in the Western Cape. The greenfields dealership development includes 13,500sqm of car floor space and 800sqm of offices. The showroom of this car supermarket can accommodate up to 700 cars. Atterbury’s development manager, Arno du Plessis, says, “WeBuyCars’ brief was to create a showroom that offers a superior customer experience with space for at least 700 cars at a time. We are confident that the end result of this development is everything they wanted and more.” Atterbury successfully delivered within an extremely tight turnaround time – a mere 10 months from concept to occupation. Construction started at the beginning of June 2019, and WeBuyCars opened the doors to welcome customers to its new showroom on 1 December. Du Plessis explains that in order to meet WeBuyCars’ schedule, Atterbury invo...

Superior service, style and value in the heart of Nairobi’s upmarket entertainment hub With an unrivalled location in the heart of Nairobi’s vibrant Westlands district, the brand new, purpose-built, Best Western Plus Westlands combines enhanced style and creative dining experiences with all the convenience, safety and comfort required for a restful stay. Located directly behind the renowned Sarit Centre shopping mall and Expo Centre, the hotel sits just off the city’s main highway, close to the Central Business District and KICC and only 20km from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and Nairobi National Park. Whether travelling for business or leisure, Best Western Plus Westlands provides thoughtful touches to enhance every stay. From relaxed business meetings over freshly brewed coffee at Craft, our all-day-dining restaurant, lobby bar and coffee shop, to more formal gatherings in one of the five meeting rooms on our dedicated meetings floor, we have free high-speed Wi-Fi throughou...

The transformation of the city of Johannesburg will continue with a resurgence of life and community in its inner-city in 2020 driven by two major Divercity Urban Property Fund developments. Residents have already started moving into the vibrant new live-work-play neighbourhood that has been created in inner Joburg as a result of two development projects, Jewel City precinct and Towers Main. Together these initiatives, which represent a substantial investment, are changing the face of Johannesburg’s CBD. “The market response from retailers and residents alike has been positive beyond our expectations, which reaffirms that Towers Main and Jewel City are ideally suited for what people want from inner-city living. There is no doubt that they are going to be the best place to work and live in Joburg central,” says, Derrick Pautz, Atterbury Development Manager. Divercity is a new property investment fund driven to renew and re-energise South Africa’s urban centres by sculpting ...

Century City is expanding its culinary outlets, creating new hot spots and exciting places to meet, relax and even get your groove on. Opening onto the popular Century City Urban Square, La Parada Century City has created quite the vibe since it’s spectacular opening on 7 September 2019. In addition to its sister brand, Tiger’s Milk, La Parada has held several successful music events since its launch. “We’re thrilled to have La Parada on the Square” says Colin Anderson, COO at Rabie. “The combination of Century City Conference Centre, Century City Hotel, Square Café and Wine Bar, Seattle Coffee Shop and the two Harbour House brands – Tiger’s Milk and La Parada – we believe that we’ve hit the spot in creating a great vibe and good variety for patrons.” On the ground floor of the Axis luxury residential building, the authentically Chinese Akiya Sushi has opened a sit-down restaurant earlier in 2019, with enviable views of Table Mountain. Offering delicious Chinese delicacies and sushi...