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CONSTRUCTION WORLD
MARCH
2016
COVER STORY
Operating from its home base in South Africa, Stefanutti
Stocks is progressively expanding its African footprint.
The group’s focus continues to evolve, with new oppor-
tunities unfolding in East Africa and West Africa. Closer
to home, the company operates throughout Southern
Africa, with established operations in Botswana,
Namibia, Mozambique, Swaziland, Tanzania and Zambia.
Stefanutti Stocks has been active in Zambia for the past 16 years
and operates as a fully localised company. Stefanutti Stocks Construc-
tion Zambia Limited offers its Zambian clients a turnkey focus on roads
and earthworks, civil engineering and building and is currently busy
with a number of projects in this developing country, which ranks as
one of the world’s major copper producers.
Abba and Katonga dams
One project now at an advanced stage of completion entails the
construction of two clay core earth-fill embankment dams, named
Abba and Katonga, respectively. The project is being undertaken for
German agricultural enterprise, Amatheon-Agri Zambia Ltd (part of
the Amatheon Foundation), which is setting up an approximately 400
hectare grain farming operation (for wheat and maize) in Mumbwa,
situated in Zambia’s Central Province. This will be fed via pivot irriga-
tion, with the dams coming into play especially during the drier winter
periods. These dams are substantial structures, with client funding
sourced from Japanese and European entities.
“In terms of the two dams, Abba will have a crest length of
550 metres, a wall height of 22 metres, an approximate capacity
of 10,2 million cubic metres, and a surface area of 115 hectares when
full,” explains Jonathan Pells, contracts director: Africa at Stefanutti
Stocks Roads & Earthworks.
The second dam, Katonga, will have a crest length of 1,1 kilometres,
a wall height of 21 metres, a capacity of around 7,2 million cubic metres
and a surface area of some 97 hectares. Both dams have core cut-off
trenches to a depth of 10 metres, tapering to a final width of four metres
at the base. As is standard for clay-core structures, these trenches were
filled with impervious materials to protect the integrity of the dam walls
and to prevent seepage.
Between the two dams, the project scope has included the
removal of 300 000 cubic metres of material and the placement of
800 000 cubic metres of fill material. It has also seenthe installation of
18 000 cubic metres of gabions, which serve as erosion protection on
the dam spillway overflow sections.
Rocky challenges
At the onset, an unexpected challenge was the presence of major rock
obstructions in the core trenches, which needed to be cleared. “During
the site inspection, no rock was evident in any of the test pits. However,
once we started the excavations, boulders larger than a standard car
were unearthed within five metres of the test pits. This, as well as
finding sedimentary and metamorphic rock types in the same material
matrix, is extremely unusual for this area,” Pells explains.
The task of moving these large volumes of rock is being led by a
range of Cat earthmoving machines that are undertaking the grading,
dozing, mass excavation, materials handling and compaction on the
two sites.
Robust machines for the task
In October 2015, Stefanutti Stocks’ 22,4 tonne operating weight Cat
320D2 L hydraulic excavators were joined by a latest generation Cat
329D2 L fleet to meet the intensifying earthworks demands. Cat D5
dozers, given their compact design, were deployed in the trench bases,
with Cat CS533E single drum soil compactors in smooth drum and
padfoot configuration used for overall layer works preparation.
The Cat 329D2 L is supplied and supported by Southern African Cat
dealer, Barloworld Equipment, and is powered by a Tier II, Stage II Cat
C7.1 engine generating a net power of 151 kW (compared to 112,5 kW on
the Cat 320D2 L). It has a maximum operating weight of 30 115 kg. This
makes the machine well suited to demanding applications that include
quarrying, industrial materials handling and construction. Compared to
its Cat 329D L predecessor, the new machine offers up to an 11 percent
reduction in fuel consumption when set in economy mode without a
noticeable loss in power delivery.
“This is a robust machine that has stood up well to the demands
on this project, especially given the rock volumes we have had to
move,” says Pells.
The intensity of the project is demonstrated by the fact that
Stefanutti Stocks has had more than 40 tipper trucks on site. It has also
employed articulated trucks for overburden haulage, as well as to trans-
port and deposit the rock used to form the dam toes.
Other Stefanutti Stocks contracts
Elsewhere in Zambia, Stefanutti Stocks is working in parallel on key
contracts that include the Bottom Road, which commenced in October
2015. This 107 km section traverses the north bank of Lake Kariba. The
road, originally established in 1957 as part of the Kariba Dam construc-
tion works, runs from Sinazongwe to Chababona and forms part of the
Link Zambia 8000 national infrastructure upgrade initiative.
Currently, the road comprises some 50 km of passable gravel,
with the balance largely restricted to all-wheel drive traffic. The entire
road is now being upgraded to an asphalt section. Other recent road
contracts include the Lusaka International Airport to Arcades dual
carriageway rehabilitation.
Alongside road and earthworks activities, Stefanutti Stocks’
Building Division is forging ahead on a number of Zambian develop-
ments. These include a new Central African Aftermarket facility in Kitwe
for an engineering group, completed in late 2015. The Actis Logistic
Park in Lusaka, which included infrastructure, roads and services in its
contract scope was completed in the first quarter of 2016. A new hotel
project is pending in Kitwe.
A further cross-border operation sees Stefanutti Stocks Roads &
Earthworks deployed at the Liqhobong Diamond Mine in Lesotho where
it is the main contractor for all the earthworks phases. The mine’s
majority shareholder, Firestone Diamonds, expects initial production at
Liqhobong to commence during the fourth quarter of 2016.
Back in South Africa, Stefanutti Stocks Roads & Earthworks under-
takes projects in all provinces, including a number of recently awarded
medium-sized road contracts currently underway in the Eastern Cape
and KwaZulu-Natal.
for new Zambian grain operation
MEGA DAMS
JSE listed multidisciplinary
construction group, Stefanutti
Stocks, is at an advanced stage of
completion on two clay core earth-
fill embankment dams in Mumbwa,
Zambia. The fast track projects see Cat
machines forming a core
component
of the construction mix.