The country’s leading built environment professionals recently gathered for the 2019 CESA Aon Engineering Excellence Awards to celebrate South Africa’s excellence in engineering.

This year’s awards, hosted by Consulting Engineers South Africa (CESA) and sponsored by Aon South Africa, celebrated 25 years of democracy in the quest for engineering excellence.

“Given the pivotal role that infrastructure development plays in the South African economy in achieving the goals of the National Development Plan and Vision 2030, as stated in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s recent State of the Nation Address, these awards highlight the role that consulting engineers and their clients play in providing excellence in engineering for economic development and job creation,” said Chris Campbell, CEO, CESA.

The project entries and winners are as follows:

Projects with a value greater than R250 million

Winner: Growthpoint New Lakeside Offices | AECOM

The new Lakeside office development is a nine-storey commercial office development in the Centurion CBD with a Green Star Design rating.

Built on Inherent Hazard Class 8 dolomite, the site posed significant geotechnical challenges. A key component for the success of the project was cross-disciplinary collaboration to devise a holistic approach in which engineering systems effectively worked together rather than being approached in isolation.

The successfully completed offices are evidence that, with sufficient site information and knowledgeable experts, a cost-effective solution can be found to overcome severe challenges while addressing client needs.

Commendation: Discovery Headquarters | Aurecon

Other entries:

Improvements to the Mount Edgecombe Interchange on National Route 2 Section 26 | SMEC

Design and Construction of the 1 400 MVA Sebenza Substation | PSW Nyeleti JV

Mokolo Crocodile Water Augmentation Project | Mokolo Crocodile Consultants, a JV between Aurecon, Hatch Africa, iX engineers, Mott MacDonald and SMEC

Projects with a value between R50 million and R250 million

Winner: The Docklands – 70 Prestwich Street Apartments | Aurecon

The Docklands is a nine-level, mixed-use building that consists of 200 m² of retail, 134 apartments and 160 parking bays, located within walking distance of Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront.

The site housed an existing office building with one level of semi-basement parking, ground-level parking and three levels of offices above that. The proposed new development required three levels of parking and six levels of apartments over the full footprint of the property.

A tight budget and time constraints meant the programme had to be fast-tracked, which negated the option of building from scratch. In response, the project team came up with an innovative conceptual design that incorporated the existing building.

Commendation: Rosslyn Brewery Co-generation Plant | Hatch Africa

Commendation: New Mechanised Stercus Facility, Cape Town | JG Afrika

Other entries:

Resurfacing of the National Route R503 Section 2 | Knight Piésold

Loriesfontein Bulk Water Supply Project | BVi Consulting Engineers

Reconstruction of Two Flood Damaged Bridges at Ga-Ntata | Nyeleti Consulting

Mpact – Fully Automated Paper Roll Storage Facility | LNW Consulting Engineers & Project Managers

Upgrading of Selby Msimango Road km 5.5 to km 6.2 | VUMESA

Cornubia Boulevard Overpass Bridge | Royal HaskoningDHV

Projects with a value less than R50 million

Winner: Leliefontein Pump-As-Turbine Station | Aurecon

Originally intended to be a booster station, Leliefontein’s location within Drakenstein Municipality’s bulk water network proved ideal for the establishment of a mini hydroelectric power station. The project team designed a novel solution that uniquely utilised the same set of pumps to pump water and generate electricity by reversing flow through the pumps.

The power generated at the pump-as-turbine (PAT) station is fed back into the municipal grid, offsetting the electricity consumed during pumping, producing an estimated 320 MWh annually, which equates to 44 days of free pumping.  

By using the same set of pumps to pump water and generate electricity, the PAT station is considered a first of its kind in South Africa.

Commendation: Sani Pass Phase 2A Structures | Royal HaskoningDHV/SFC Engineers/Ndizani Civil Works JV

Other entries:

Houghton Heritage Wall Pedestrian Bridge | Royal HaskoningDHV

Malukazi Pump Station Project | Bosch Projects

Sky City Mega Housing Development | Infraconsult Engineering

Best International Project

Winner: Azambi Hydropower Project | Knight Piésold

Located in the remote north-east province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the 11 MW Azambi Hydropower Project was developed to support the increasing power demands of Kibali Gold Mine, one of the largest gold mining operations in Africa.

Knight Piésold worked closely with the client to develop the purpose-built, low-impact and cost-effective run-of-river hydroelectric project. Local communities were consulted to ensure a positive legacy, and construction and development strategies placed an emphasis on uplifting the local region through skills transfer and local employment.

Producing approximately 64 GWh of renewable, reliable electricity each year, the project has decreased the mine’s reliance of diesel fuel and reduced the overall energy cost by around 75% – a saving equivalent to US$19.2 million (R295 million) per year.

Commendation: Construction of Main Road 118 between Oranjemund and Rosh Pinah | SMEC

Other entries:

Antarctica: SANAE IV Research Base: Refurbishment of the Base for the Department of Public Works | Royal HaskoningDHV

Young Engineer of the Year

Winner: Jeshika Ramchund, Bosch Projects

Commendation: Dr Tony Igboamalu, Aurecon

Other entries:

Malope Sabata | Nyeleti Consulting

Valize Scholtz | Nyeleti Consulting

Darren Pillay | Knight Piésold

Trevor Mathabatha | Knight Piésold

Mentor of the Year

Winner: Kim Timm | Aurecon

Other entry: Rajan Padavattan | Nyeleti Consulting

Mentoring Company of the Year

Winner: Knight Piésold

Other entry: Zitholele Consulting

Business Excellence

Winner: BVi Consulting Engineers

Small Company of the Year:

Winner: ADA Consulting

CESA Lifetime Industry Achievement Award:

Winner: Graham Burrows

Visionary Client of the Year:

Winner: Black Mountain Mining, a subsidiary of Vedanta Zinc International

CESA Branch of the Year:

Winner: Western Cape

Job Shadow and Poster Initiative Award:

Winner: Mariswe