Case Study

The Mall of Africa The Mall of Africa, valued at R2,3 billion, is the largest mall built in a single phase in South Africa. It has a gross leasable area of 132 000 m? and parking for 65 000 cars. The mall forms the hub of the mixed-use of the Waterfall City in the heart of Midrand, with over 300 shops, banks, cell phone and technology stores, an array of health and beauty outlets as well as a unique town square overlooking a park with a mix of restaurants and fast-food outlets. A highly unified team was organised to fast track the construction of such a large project. The team overcame all unique challenges related to construction and logistics. At peak times, there were eight fulltime safety officers managed by a fulltime safety coordinator on site The dedicated team comprising the main contractor and a professional team managed to incorporate as many green features as possible. They also installed a rainwater harvesting system for irrigation and a grey water system for the restrooms. In addition, photovoltaic panels were installed to supplement the power supply and to allow for the flow of natural light throughout the mall. The project team managed to efficiently preempt a National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) strike. The team also faced geotechnical challenges for which they had tailor-made plans in place. Time constraints and sequencing construction activities required the team to work through vast volumes of design and quality construction documentation. The highly unified team laid out the scope of each and every team member to ensure precision and attention to detail. Meticulous planning, innovative design solutions, constant interaction and communication with stakeholders enabled the highly professional team to resolve challenges along the way as well as meet the various deadlines and complete the construction of the Mall of Africa on time

Question 1

Identify five lessons learnt from the Mall of Africa project and explain how each of these will possibly assist you during the planning and execution of the Tanzanian project. Also, highlight the benefits that each of the lessons learnt will contribute Four marks for each lesson identified and applied to the Tanzanian project.

Question 2

Just because the contractor has been selected as the winner does not mean they can start doing the work. Before the project can proceed, a contract must be signed between the customer and the contractor. Explain to the team, with examples from the project, the importance of signing the contract before work starts. Five marks for each discussed reason using the project as an example.