Khato Civils Hailed For Quality Works On Jozi Bridge
Staff Writer | Monday October 26, 2020 16:29
The report further gave Khato Civils a glowing review instead, saying the execution was top notch only to be spoiled by poor maintenance of the facility by the road agency.
Recent rains in Johannesburg led to the recurrence of flooding on the M1 double decker bridge to the frustration of road users.
On the other hand, Parliament also took the government department to task about the recurrence, resulting in the immediate suspension of its boss.
The investigation covered areas such as structural repair works, repair of bridge joints, resurfacing, drainage improvements and waterproofing of the structural elements.
The report of the probe noted that while the pipes’ diametre space as well as increased inlets were enough to deal with the flooding it was found that debris and litter had blocked the drainage system, evidence that the bridge was not well maintained.
“During the construction period, when the contractor (Khato Civils) was maintaining the bridge, there were no issues with flooding on the bridge,” the report noted.
The report also pointed out that Khato Civils had done all it could to cover the greater part of the lower section of the bridge from direct downpours.
However, floods were emptying into the M1 double decker bridge from several nearby poor drainage roads and bridges.
Khato Civils has had over 15 public infrastructure projects running into billions of rands completed and handed over without post handover issues.
Khato Civils chief executive officer, Mongezi Mnyani welcomed the findings of the investigations.
“The M1 double decker bridge project is an expertly executed engineering project.
Khato Civils’ team of highly skilled engineers built it according to the designs and got certificates of completion on behalf of the Johannesburg Road Agency, but issues of non-maintenance do not only affect road users, they affect us as the contractor because ordinary people would point fingers at the contractor,” he said.
“It is a project we are very proud of since it gave us the opportunity to showcase our worldclass expertise in sophisticated roads and bridge construction projects, particularly this one, which had previously been failed by two reputable contractors,” Mnyani added.
“Excellence remains the benchmark to which we measure our performance, it is our core value, along with integrity in all aspects of our operations demonstrating honesty, transparency and accountability, all of which have been confirmed by the independent investigators.”
Khato Civils boasts world-class expertise in delivering a diversity of infrastructure projects in South Africa and beyond.
These projects include bulk sewer lines and water reticulation systems, large scale residential and commercial developments, bridges, waste water treatment plants and dams, major pipelines, high rise and multi-storey buildings, concrete specialty and many others.
“We have developed our capacity and competencies in the fields of mechanical and electrical installations.
This development has now been recognised by the Construction Industry Development Board (CIBD).
In addition to PE 9GB and 9CE, the CIDB has now awarded us PE 9ME, 9EP and 1EB grades.
These gradings reflect Khato Civils’ competencies and assure our clientele of our commitment to quality and growth,” Mnyani explained.
Mnyani said projects like the M1 double decker bridge and the power plant construction project in Western Cape therefore signify the upward progression of Khato Civils as a diversified contractor and service provider of note.
The bulk power supply project by Khato Civils Thenga Holdings JV aimed to increase the capacity of the existing power supply, to meet current and future demands at the Port of Saldanha, Western Cape, by building substations, high voltage infrastructure, amongst others.