Development at the R4-billion mixeduse Oceans Mall has reached a critical phase , allowing it to open to the public . Two of the proposed three phases are complete with the five-star Radisson Blu and Oceans Mall , within which is housed Shoprite Checkers , open to the public . The third phase is made up of two residential towers with +/ - 500 residential apartments . The mall comprises of a world-class shopping mall with over 100 stores . WHBO was the principal construction contractor . Energy Partners Refrigeration ( EPR ) was appointed as the refrigeration contractor for the complete installation , commissioning and maintenance of the refrigeration system due to its expertise and experience in similar projects .
The project initially commenced in 2015 with the first phase of construction beginning in 2018 with the hotel . The project was then put into a sleep period for various reasons , starting up again towards the latter part of 2020 . When the hotel was midway through , work began on phase two – the Oceans Mall . The hotel was completed in October 2021 and the Mall in November 2022 .
Apart from Shoprite Checkers , the upmarket mall also offers a variety of speciality stores and including international superbrands , such as Burberry , Versace ,
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Armani and Paul & Shark . Apart from retail , the mall will provide a range of leisure and entertainment activities such as Fit 24 ( 24- hour gym ), and 20 world class restaurants .
WSP AND SHOPRITE CHECKERS ‘ WELL ACQUAINTED ’
WSP has previously worked with Shoprite Checkers on a number of similar projects , and “ we understand them very well ”, says Monyane Hlapolosa , mechanical engineering technologist at consulting engineers WSP .
“ The biggest challenges in the design related to the acoustics and noise levels , given there is an adjacent residential area . Smart EC ( electrically commutated ) fans were installed which run a lot more quietly , with fan speed controllers built into them . In the evening when there isn ’ t much demand for cooling and when ambient noise is low , it has slow rotating fans which gradually ramp up as needed in response to increasing temperature .
“ A highlight was the use of glass doors on medium temperature cabinets . This was one of their first stores in KwaZulu Natal to do so , and it resulted in a much reduced plant size and electricity running consumption ,” says Hlapolosa .
He explains that there are quite a number of different temperature regimes .
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For example , the meat cabinet console is between zero and three degrees ; the fruit and vegetable cabinet console is between six and 10 ° C . The typical medium temperature convenience products – such as cheese , yogurt , berries and the like – are between zero and 5 ° C as an average temperature . Because there are two medium temperature multiplexes , they are evaporated at -13 ° C to provide a decent temperature differential between the cooler on and air off , thereby maintaining the core productive feature as specified .
The medium temperature multiplexes condensing up to a temperature of about 45 ° C on a 38 ° C ambient – albeit one wouldn ’ t expect KZN to be 38 ° C very often , though it covers the eventuality . For low temperature cabinets on the trading floor , for example ice cream which evaporates at -32 ° C , there are glass doors which operate between -18 and -24 ° C .
“ All the traditional medium temperature cabinets have got doors , except where not possible – such as cabinets for the dairy and butchery sections which have thick glass panes over the counters . Supermarkets are evolving towards this direction due to the high electricity price and regular outages , as it reduces electricity consumption and means they can have a smaller cooler . However , it is going to take many years
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before this becomes commonplace throughout the country ,” adds Hlapolosa . A primary prerequisite was for the Checkers store to be trading from the day the Umhlanga Oceans Mall opened in November . This meant that any challenges could not be permitted to result in delay , but must be resolved through people management to balance the workflow among all contractors ’ various projects and to pull in additional resources as needed .
“ In respect of the schedule , we were fortunate in this instance that the architect and Checkers started on the project early . While there were delays , they were relatively minimal and related to issues such as the occupational certificate being handed over late , resulting in the store and mall opening about two months later than scheduled . With regards to the installation , it is quite typical
The biggest challenges in the design related to the acoustics and noise levels , given there is an adjacent residential area .
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