BEE company awarded MTN construction contract

black economic empowerment company stocks building gauteng has been awarded phase two of the development of the mtn innovation centre, in fairlands, comprising 30 000 m2 of office space, a 2 200 m2 data centre, semi-basement, extensions to the hvac yard and external parking.

the project kicked-off in november last year and is due for completion in march 2005. fikile construction is the empowerment partner on this r285-million project.

the five-storey hi-tech service-oriented building consists of office floors, kitchen and restaurant facilities, multivolume atriums, an auditorium, pause areas featuring scenic lifts and state-of-the-art entrance spaces all above the underground parking and loading zones.

a partly suspended link bridge connects phases one and two and will test the site’s ingenuity and skills level. the data centre is a double-storey heavy coffered slab structure with an early handover date.

the main building is divided into eight zones via expansion joints and is founded on piles. slabs are all position supported by retaining and sheer-walls, as well as some tricky split columns.

the architecture displays intricate finishes on the façade, the main aesthetic feature of the building. a variety of cladding materials, such as stone imported from india, sandstone, flush-glazing, sheer-line aluminium systems, structural steel, stainless steel and hulabond cladding, have been used on the exterior.

“we have put together one of our most experienced teams under the leadership of contracts director graham spence and site agent mannie ferreira who will manage this high-quality and service-intensive fast-track project,” said luc jacobs, deputy managing director of sba gauteng.