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Pretoria - Although Basil Read did not make heaps of money from the construction of the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit, it did achieve its goal.
So says Marius Heyns, chief executive of the construction group that has completed the World Cup soccer tournament stadium in a joint venture with French construction giant Bouygues.
The stadium was handed over to the Mbombela municipality last week.
Heyns reckons that the completion of the stadium is a milestone in the history of Basil Read, since it can now add "stadium construction" to its CV.
With this expertise to its credit, the construction company hopes to win future major projects both at home and elsewhere in the world.
In fact, the group sent a representative along on President Jacob Zuma's recent state visit to Brazil, where soccer controlling body Fifa's next World Cup soccer tournament is being planned following South Africa's 2010 spectacle.
There are also possibilities for stadiums in the Middle East. The Mbombela project's biggest challenge, according to Heyns, involved the technical aspects associated with the 18 concrete-and-steel columns around the stadium, from which the roof is suspended by cables.
The columns are in the form of 18 giraffes, up to 48m high, standing around the stadium and gazing outward, as though protecting the crowd within.
Labour unrest also bedevilled the contractors. "On about 12 occasions we were unable to get onto the site," reflects Heyns.
The contractors had to turn to court to get an interdict against the illegal labour action.
There were about 900 workers - and at the height of the project 15 000 - on the construction site.
The client, the Mbombela municipality, had never before undertaken such a large project and municipal managers rotated. What did help, says Heyns, was that the municipality's project manager, Laurence Mabasa, was on site throughout. "And then they always paid us on time."
Everything considered, the project was not very profitable. "We broke more or less even," Heyns comments. "But it was an investment in our reputation."
The stadium was completed on time and within budget, with only finishing touches still being required.
- Sake24.com
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