The City of Johannesburg will invest R80-million on upgrading waste management service provider Pikitup’s central camp depot, in Soweto.

Mayor Herman Mashaba says the upgrades and renovations will “restore employee dignity and increase productivity levels”.

He says the existing structural condition at the depot affects both the morale and dignity of employees who are tasked with ensuring the area they service remains clean.

“This depot was established many years ago and has not been refurbished over time to align it with the increase of people and households in the area.”

The upgrades to the depot will take two years to complete and will include the demolition and removal of the existing asbestos office building, the construction of new office buildings and ablution facilities, and the installation of new waste and sewer reticulation.

A 450 seater hall, medical centre, as well as new heavy-duty parking areas will also be built, alongside the refurbishment of existing storerooms and washing bays and the re-alignment of the entrance and the construction of a new guard house.

The electrical capacity of the facility will also be upgraded