All posts by Craig Dean

Client Focus

CONCOR BUILDS TO TOP-LEVEL GREEN RATING AT IKUSASA

Its commitment to Zero Harm and sustainability ideally positioned Concor to complete the Ikusasa office block in Rosebank’s Oxford Parks precinct to 6-Star SA Office V1.1 green standards. 

According to Concor contract manager Martin Muller, the company has constructed a number of buildings in this development and elsewhere to 5-Star Green Star SA level in terms of the Green Buildings Council South Africa (GBCSA) certification. Ikusasa will be the first one of its projects to achieve a 6-Star Green Star SA Office V1.1 design certification. Green Star certification is an internationally recognised mark of quality for the design, construction and operation of buildings, interior fitouts and precincts.

“Concor’s strict performance strategies to manage water use, energy consumption, process waste and pollution all contribute to upholding critical environmental standards,” says Muller. “In addition to carefully applying our client’s sustainable designs, our quality systems all contribute to the points requirement in the GBCSA rating.”

These included Concor’s application of a comprehensive Environmental Management Plan on site, in line with its ISO14001 accreditation. It also applied a rigorous Waste Management Plan, which saw 70% of demolition and construction waste being re-used or recycled rather than going to landfill.

“We also conducted a hazardous materials survey on the project site before demolishing existing buildings, in accordance with the Occupational Health and Safety Act and other legislation,” he says. “Wherever we found asbestos, lead or polychlorinated biphenyls, these substances were responsibly removed as the law required.”

Annelide Sherratt, head of department for green building certifications at Solid Green Consulting, notes that four key members of Concor’s site team completed the Green Star online course – which helps the team understand and apply sustainable ratings on the project. Sherratt highlights that the Green Star certification focuses on nine categories of sustainability achievement, from management and materials to the reduction of energy use, water and emissions. 

“In terms of the materials category, for instance, the Green Star rating rewards developers and contractors for reducing the amount of natural resources used, and for reusing materials wherever possible,” she says. “At the Ikusasa project, Concor reduced the portion of ordinary Portland cement used in their concrete mixes by 30% as an average across all concrete mixes used in the project, and achieved a level of 60% recycled content in the steel requirement.”

Local sourcing of materials also played a role in this category, where Concor sourced 20% of the contract value from suppliers within a 400 km radius of the site, and 10% within 50 km. 

In terms of energy efficiency, Ikusasa aims to achieve a Green Star SA Net Zero Carbon Level 1 – by generating as much energy on site as the base building would require. This includes the use of a photovoltaic solar generation system on the roof of the building, producing renewable power. The building’s design and operation enhances energy efficiency by applying sub-metering to track and control the main areas of consumption.

“Any energy uses of 100 kVA or more are metered separately so users can benchmark usage targets and implement opportunities to reduce consumption,” she says. “This impacts on the production of greenhouse gasses and other emissions associated with electricity generated by fossil fuels.”

The data generated by the metering system is captured and analysed by a digital monitoring system for building management, but is also shared with the building’s tenants and visitors on a public display screen – aimed at raising awareness and driving energy-efficient behaviour. 

Conserving water is another important element of the building’s environmental performance. This is optimised using options like low-flow tap fittings and dual flush toilets, as well as water sub-metering for uses such as irrigation and bathrooms. Plant irrigation was reduced by 50% using water-wise irrigation methods and smart sensors. Also, the heating, ventilation and cooling system is cooled by air rather than by water. 

Client Focus

NATIONAL BUDGET “HIGHLY SATISFACTORY” SAYS TOP ECONOMIST

Speaking at AfriSam’s recent National Budget Breakdown function, an annual event now in its fifth year, Dr Azar Jammine, director and chief economist of Econometrix, gave a thumbs up to the 2022 budget, saying it was “highly satisfactory with no harm”.

He cautioned, however, that servicing the national debt was becoming increasingly onerous and now accounted for 14 % of government expenditure. He also expressed the view that there was nothing in the budget “to make one believe sustainable growth will improve forthwith”.

Jammine congratulated Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana for making a commitment to increased spending on capital assets while, at the same time, attempting to curb the growth in the public sector wage bill. “We’re now seeing an attempt to slow down the compensation of employees as a percentage of the overall tax bill and to increase the amount of investment in capital assets,” he said.

Jammine was the main speaker at the event and reviewed both the global and local economy. Sharing the stage with him was Trevor Manuel, who served as South Africa’s Minister of Finance from 1996 to 2009, making him the longest serving finance minister in South Africa’s history. Manuel provided valuable and insightful commentary, based on his intimate knowledge and experience. He also fielded many questions from the floor and enlightened the audience with his unique insights into the South African economy. 

Manuel referred to the “ravages of state capture”, saying it was not just about corruption but also the destruction of institutional capacity. As an example, he noted that the SA Police Service (SAPS) would be underspending its budget in the 2021/22 fiscal year by around R20 billion, giving the lie to the often-heard claims that the SAPS was underfunded. 

He added that the situation was even more chaotic at provincial and municipal level. On the challenge of water supply, he asked how it was possible that one of the major metros in the country – Gqeberha – had failed to maintain its water infrastructure.

He also referred to “this horrible phenomenon called the construction mafia”, saying that it basically meant that the pricing of contracts could not be realistic and that projects could sometimes not commence, never mind being completed.

Reviewing the global economy, Jammine said it had grown by 5,9 % in 2021 with the IMF predicting that this figure would fall to 4,0 % in 2022 and 3,8 % in 2023. By contrast, South Africa had shown 4,6 % growth in 2021, well below the global average, with the IMF forecasting that this would drop to 1,9 % in 2022 and a paltry 1,4 % – the lowest of any major economy – in 2023. 

“Since 2009 South Africa’s growth trajectory has lagged that of the world economy,” he said. He added that while activity in the world economy was back to the levels seen before the onset of the COVID pandemic, this was not the case with South Africa, mainly due to structural factors that inhibited growth. 

These structural impediments included skills shortages, state capture and corruption, cadre deployment, the deterioration of SOEs, lack of infrastructural investment, over-regulation and non-payment for work, and labour market restrictions.

On the subject of debt, Jammine told his audience that government debt to GDP ratios worldwide were “quite terrifying” with US debt, for example, now amounting to between 120 – 130 % of GDP. He also noted that since 2020, the US Fed had injected as massive stimulus recovery package of around five trillion dollars into the economy – to counter the economic effects of COVID – and that other countries had followed suit. The result was sharp upward pressure on prices. 

“The genie is now out of the bottle in the form of a massive surge in inflation the likes of which we have not seen in 40 years in the world economy,” he observed. He added that South Africa’s inflation rate was below that of the US for the first time in 30 years. 

Referring specifically to South Africa’s budget, Jammine said SARS had collected R182 billion more in taxes than anticipated, with this economic windfall giving Minister Godongwana considerable leeway in formulating the budget. He pointed out that the windfall was largely due to increased payments by the mining industry as a result of mining companies having benefitted from the current surge in commodity prices. 

Turning to some of the specifics of the South African economy, Jammine said construction – AfriSam’s primary market – had been the weakest sector of the economy over the past decade and now accounted for just 2,5 % of GDP. This was due to gross capital formation in South Africa having declined, as a percentage of GDP, from 19 % around 2014 to the current 13 %.

Concluding his presentation on a positive note, Jammine said the construction industry could receive a big boost from an increase in infrastructural spending. He noted that 51 well-defined projects worth R340 billion had been identified in the 2020 Economic Recovery and Construction Plan and that the project pipeline has since been expanded to include an additional 55 projects worth R595 billion. 

This amounted to a grand total of R935 billion representing 126 % of total annual fixed investment. He said that if all – or even just some – of these projects were implemented it would be a game changer for the industry and a major boost to the economy, with growth increasing by as much as 2 % a year.

Client Focus

CONCOR STARTS WORK ON FAST-TRACK STUDENT BLOCK 

Leading black-owned contractor Concor is hard at work on the latest student accommodation project in Braamfontein, Johannesburg – a much-needed contribution to the national shortage of these facilities.

The Groove, a substantial 13-storey development, will provide space for 899 students, and is conveniently located just opposite the South Gate of Wits University. Concor is working with developer Growthpoint Properties, who in turn is operating on behalf of Durban-based fund manager Vulindlela. 

In addition to the new build, the project is also repurposing some of the existing buildings on the site where the old Doves & Kloppers funeral parlour became a familiar landmark on the busy Enoch Sontonga Avenue. These existing buildings will provide additional services and utilities for student residents.

The fast track venture is scheduled for completion in just 12 months, according to Concor site agent MacDonald Ngobese, and began in November 2021. 

“Concor has a well-established reputation for delivering complex projects speedily and on budget, while still being highly competitive in terms of costing,” says Ngobese, “This places us in a strong position to win projects like this.”

He notes that the successful completion of fast track projects relies on having a highly skilled and experienced core team on site, to closely manage subcontractors and to keep strictly to the construction programme. This also requires constant and in-depth communication with all stakeholders, from the client to operational partners and local authorities.

“The scope of the work includes full fit-out, right through to joinery,” he says. “Among the challenges is the very constricted work environment, as the site borders busy urban roads and the M1 highway.”

Two of Concor’s tower cranes have been erected on site to help deal with space constraints and to expedite the movement of materials in the interests of a fast pace of construction. While one crane is working 13 hours a day on production work, the second is speeding up the off-loading and placement of material deliveries.