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June 2015
Industry Buzz, Events & Products
M
urray & Roberts Western
Cape has secured a num-
ber of high profile projects.
Among its current order book is the
expansion of the flagship Century
City mixed-used development, the
refurbishment of the existing tower
blocks at Merriman Square, the new
Melomed Hospital in Tokai and the
new eTV headquarters building in the
heart of Cape Town.
“In these tough times, the con-
struction industry has had to adapt
its service offerings and as a result
we are at the vanguard of being more
responsive and innovative,” says Dave
Heron, Managing Director of Murray &
Roberts Western Cape.
“These contracts have a common
service base that is responsible for
high level administration such as con-
structiondrawings. Thebenefit for the
client is a single point of contact and a
much quicker response time to design
iterations,whichultimately impactson
their bottom line.”
The success of this integrated ap-
proach to project management is also
reflected in Murray & Roberts Western
Cape’s closeworking relationshipwith
one of itsmain clients, theRabieProp-
erty Group. “We secured the Bridge
Park contract on competitive tender.
Our success on that project in terms
of delivery and quality placed us in an
excellent position to carry on at Urban
Square. As a result, we have been able
to pass on major cost savings to the
client. The fact that the two projects
are in such closeproximitymeans that
wedonot have toduplicate infrastruc-
ture,whichspeedsup theconstruction
process as well,” says Heron.
It is this customised and stream-
lined approach to individual projects
that has seen Murray & Roberts West-
ern Cape continue to secure high-
profile projects. “Wherever possible,
we strive toassist the client inmeeting
these needs in the most practical and
cost effective manner possible. This
means always paying close attention
to the way in which we approach and
carry out projects, as the tried and
tested way of doing things does not
always deliver thebest results in terms
of cost efficiency,” he says.
One of the trends identified by
Murray & Roberts Western Cape as
the needs of its clients have evolved,
is the conversion of existing buildings
into modern apartment complexes
and the refurbishment and rejuvena-
tion of older buildings. A case in point
is the refurbishment of the two tower
Merriman Square, also known as The
Towers, in theCentral BusinessDistrict
of Cape Town.
“Whatweare finding is that as some
of the older buildings around Cape
Towncomeup for refurbishment, akey
requirement is increasing the parking
space available,” Heron comments.
Refurbishment projects do however
pose their own challenges. At Merri-
man Square these included the exist-
ing link between the two towers and
incorporating a temporary entrance
during the construction period.
Murray & Roberts Western Cape
is recladding the façade with glass in
order to render it more aesthetically
appealingandmodern. The respective
24 storey and 18 storey towers have
existing basement parking, but a 13
storey parking garage is being added
between the two towers. Theproject is
on track, with the cladding completed
on one tower and 70% finished on the
other. In contrast, the flagship new
eTV headquarters in Roeland Park for
Sabido Properties comprisesof six lev-
els of studios and four levels of base-
ment parking. A particular challenge
here was the coordination of a large
team of specialist sub-contractors re-
sponsible for equipping and fittingout
the building. Another specialist new
build project is the Melomed Private
Hospital in Tokai, a 148 bed specialist
facility with a cardiac, neonatal and
paediatric unit for client the Melomed
Private Hospital Group.
■
Current economic conditions dictate that companies who continue
to succeed are those with a depth of construction expertise. These
companies are able to undertake a range of projects, from new
buildings to refurbishment work.
Murray & Roberts' order book