LAYING GREEN FOUNDATIONS FOR THE FUTURE

Murray & Roberts Construction is laying the wind turbine foundations at Loeriesfontein Wind Farm in the Northern Cape. The foundations have been designed using an 89% replacement of Portland cement, resulting in one of the world’s lowest carbon
footprint for any wind farm foundation.

The foundations use a by-product from the iron industry to replace the traditional Portland cement.

“The strength of concrete is measured in megapascals (“MPa”), which means that in theory, a cubic metre of concrete that is rated 30 MPa, is able to withstand the weight of six bull elephants spread over one square centimetre. A square centimetre of the concrete used in the Loeriesfontein Wind Farm foundations is able to withstand the weight of 20 bull elephants, which is a phenomenal feat” says Cyril Attwell, Concrete Research Manager at Murray & Roberts Construction.

Strength tests conducted on the “green” cement formulation indicated a strength of 55 MPa after 28 days and 100 MPa after 56 days.

30 MPa concrete normally uses approximately 350kg of ordinary cement per cubic metre. Cyril and his team have developedtechnology that meets and exceeds the 30 MPa standard, by using just 25kg of ordinary cement.

A carbon footprint is defi ned as the total amount of greenhouse gasses produced to support human activities, either directly orindirectly and is expressed in equivalent tonnes of carbon dioxide (“CO2”). By using the cement technology developed by Murray & Roberts Construction in its foundations, Loeriesfontein Wind Farm has a carbon footprint of approximately 91kg of CO2 per cubic meter, compared to approximately 350kg of CO2 per cubic meter when using traditional 30 MPa concrete supplied by
the ready-mix industry.

Loeriesfontein Wind Farm is located in the Hantam Municipality and has 61 wind turbines, each 99m tall with an output of 140 MW, enough to power 120 000 average households. This translates into a reduction of 550 000 tonnes of carbon emissions every year when compared to using traditional fossil fuel power plants. The civil and electrical works are being completed by Murray & Roberts Construction and Consolidated Power Projects and the wind farm is expected to be operational by December
2017.

CENTURY CITY SQUARE PROJECT A WINNER AT CONSTRUCTION WORLD’S BEST PROJECTS 2015

Murray & Roberts Western Cape was announced the overall winner in the Building Contractors category of Construction World’s Best Projects 2015 for its work on the Century City Square project.

Western Cape Master Builders Association also awarded a Five Star Health and Safety rating to the project and in addition the project placed fi rst in category at the regional Master Builders Health and Safety Competition. The site also achieved 1 million man hours worked without a LTI.

Century City Square is a fl agship development for the Rabie Property Group and is pioneering a new four star mixed use Green Building Council rating, ensuring that sustainable green design principles are implemented on site.

Murray & Roberts Western Cape also hosted a number of matriculants, as part of its “Go for Gold” programme, on the Century City Square project. This programme aims to advance skills development and training by recruiting new matriculants to spend a year in the industry in order for them to decide if construction would be a viable career option.

Says Jerome Govender, CEO of the Infrastructure & Building business platform, “Not only is this recognition important from an industry perspective, it also underpins our focus on delivering excellence in terms of sustainable and cost effective construction methodologies and solutions as well as achieving great safety ratings.”

MURRAY & ROBERTS INFRASTRUCTURE AWARDED N2 UPGRADE CONTRACT

SANRAL awarded Murray & Roberts Infrastructure the contract for the upgrade of 33.7km of National Route N2, between Mtunzini Toll Plaza and Empangeni T-Junction in KwaZulu Natal.

The contract entails the construction of a new dual carriageway including bridges, major culverts, drainage and ancillaries. The contract is valued at R830 million rand and will run over 37 months.

MURRAY & ROBERTS BOTSWANA AWARDED ANOTHER CONTRACT BY DEBSWANA DIAMOND COMPANY

Murray & Roberts Botswana has been awarded a contract to build 47 “D” band houses for the Debswana Diamond Company at its Jwaneng Mine in Botswana. Debswana Diamond Company is a partnership between the Government of the Republic of Botswana and the De Beers Group of Companies.

The Jwaneng pipe was discovered in the Naledi River Valley, Southern Botswana in 1972 and the mine is the richest diamond mine in the world by value. The Jwaneng Mine is the flagship of Debswana due to substantially higher dollar per carat obtained for its gems. Jwaneng Mine contributes about 60 – 70% of Debswana’s total revenue.

Says Karl Redinger, Managing Director Murray & Roberts Botswana, “We are proud of our association with the Debswana Diamond Company and have previously concluded many successful contracts for the company.” The project is scheduled to start in January 2016.