According to SAACE’s latest Management Information Survey, industry prospects for the consulting industry remain in positive territory against a generally buoyant outlook for SA construction.

A novel wastewater treatment system at Spier wine estate in the Cape combines science, art and healing to create a cyclical system of cleansing and replenishment.

The results of the 2007 SAPOA/IPD South Africa Property Index are in with the local commercial real-estate sector leading the global market in terms of investment returns.

Two recent amphitheatre projects in the Cape, one at Berg River Dam, and the other at Kronenburg Estate, are spearheading further developments using Terraforce’s highly flexible 4x4 Step Block reversible retaining wall units.

Specialist geotechnical contractors, Dura Soletanche Bachy, are implementing augered cast in-situ, and oscillator piling solutions for the founding of six bridges on a section of road some 30km outside Bloemfontein as SANRAL undertakes an upgrade on the N1.

Cosira Tubular, a joint venture between the Cosira Group and Tubular Holdings, has completed a fast-tracked project for Anglo Platinum’s PPRust mine in a period of just 15 months.

A R21m extension to the Kelvin Jones waterwater treatment works, situated on the outskirts of Uitenhage, completed and commissioned by consulting engineering and project management group, SSI, entailed a redesign of the treatment process to meet new DWAF effluent standards for the Swartkops River catchment area.

Teams from BASF Construction Chemicals, and WBHO, the principal contractors for the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane, have developed a dynamic concrete mix design to counter variable aggregate quality.

Bryan Perrie, technical manager at the Cement & Concrete Institute, expands on evolutionary trends in concrete technology, plus interrelated issues of sustainable construction and environmental best practice.

A creative formwork and scaffolding solution from PERI is being deployed for the construction of the 60m wide Saadiyat bridge, connecting Abu Dhabi with a neighbouring island. The 1 455m long structure will be one of the widest bridges in the world.

Precision control via state-of-the-art software passes on major savings in fuel and tyre wear, whilst ensuring that travel speeds are limited to specified safety levels on Bell’s Mach 5 articulated dump truck series.

Global networking vendor, 3Com, has made it possible for network owners to be more energy efficient, in the process reducing the business risk induced by South Africa’s erratic electricity supply.