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CONSTRUCTION WORLD
FEBRUARY
2017
The R112-million expansion to the select-
services, three-star Metcourt will see a
further 100 rooms added to the popular
hotel. This will boost the hotel from a 248 to
a 348-key facility, extending the capacity of
Emperors Palace to 757 rooms in total.
SMEC South Africa began working on
the project in July 2016, in conjunction
with Boogertman + Partners as principal
architect. “The main challenge is that client
Peermont has already taken bookings for
December 2016, its busiest trading period
of the year. Therefore the project has an
unmovable deadline,” comments lead
structural engineer Brian Seston.
The consulting engineer focused on
completing all of the necessary construction
drawings for main contractor Boutel to begin
the build as fast as possible. Cranage was
erected as of July 2016, with the initial focus
on pile caps, ground beams, and columns.
Seston adds that the piling posed an
initial challenge, as existing services had to
be accommodated. “The slabs are nominally
reinforced concrete slabs, and not post-
tensioned. It is a basic concrete frame
construction,” he elaborates.
The main challenge associated with
the design process has been to match up
seamlessly with the existing structure. “The
aim is for there to be no visible distinction
between the new and old sections, so it
resembles a continuous structure.
“The design was fairly straightforward.
We were locked in by the fact of the existing
structure, which meant we have had to match
all of the slab levels. We had to redesign
some of the ground-floor items in to speed up
the construction process,” he says.
The Metcourt is a contemporary,
functional hotel aimed mainly at business
travellers and convention centre guests.
However, Peermont identified a need to be
able to offer more family-friendly rooms,
and also to cater for large groups travelling
on a budget. The new king and twin-bed
configurations of the rooms offer stay
solutions for a variety of new markets. The
expanded hotel will also feature a single
suite, with its own private balcony.
The 5 166 m
2
extension includes an
addition to the existing F.L.A.G. Café, an
additional lift, enhanced access to the rest
of the complex, a new façade opposite the
Metcourt Suites, and a 24-hour gymnasium.
“While our main appointment is the hotel
extension itself, we are also involved with
some of the smaller works associated
with these extra elements and features,”
Seston concludes.
The wind farms commenced with the
transportation of the various wind turbine
components on 18 April 2016 and have
made great progress with approximately 500
loads successfully delivered to site, before
breaking for the school holiday period.
The projects expects a further 750 loads
to be delivered between 12 January and
September 2017.
The 53 m long wind turbine blades, tower
sections, nacelles and hubs travel on the
N10 via Uitenhage, Graaff-Reinet, Beaufort
West, Three Sisters, and Carnarvon on to
Loeriesfontein. “The blades, towers, hubs
and nacelles are transported a distance of
around 1 158 km and take approximately
three days, travelling at maximum speed
of 50 to 70 km per hour,” explained Kevin
Foster, Project manager for Khobab
Wind Farm.
Transportation is prohibited at night,
during the school holiday period, on public
holidays, during festivals or other special
events. In the towns of Graaff-Reinet and
Beaufort West transportation will be avoided
during peak traffic hours, as far as possible.
The wind farms’ websites include travel
schedules to assist commuters. Foster
continued, “While every effort is made to
minimise traffic disruptions, we urge road
users to exercise extra caution when close
to the abnormal loads and obey all traffic
management instructions; extra care should
be taken if passing the vehicles as the total
length is up to 57,5 m.”
Khobab and Loeriesfontein Wind Farms,
which together span 6 653 hectares, will
produce an impressive combined output
of 280 MW generated by their 122 wind
turbines. This is equivalent of 240 000
average households being powered each
year, providing a massive boost to energy
provision in the country. The site was
chosen because of its excellent wind
resource, its proximity to national roads
for wind turbine transportation and the
favourable construction conditions.
Loeriesfontein progress
Residents of Loeriesfontein and the
surrounding towns of Niewoudtville
and Calvinia will once again be
seeing wind turbine component
sections en route from the Port
of Ngqura, in Port Elizabeth, to
Loeriesfontein Wind Farm and
Khobab Wind Farm.
Nacelle number four is transported to site.
Fastest-track construction project in Gauteng
The Urban Development division of SMEC South Africa was tasked with the
full design of the civil and structural components of the project, followed
by site supervision and project management, function manager – buildings
Marius Mostert explains.
Lead structural engineer, Brian Seston.
Function manager – Buildings,
Marius Mostert.