BENEFICIATION
The Development
Bank of Southern
Africa has committed
over R50-million
to this residential
development project in
a loan agreement with
Polokwane 28 Joint
Venture (JV).
H
ollow-core slabs have become
the preferred precast concrete
technology for constructing
floor structures in Polokwane.
This technology assists home builders by
accelerating construction time and mitigating
risks associated with typical residential
projects. Building contractors are sourcing
the lion’s share of this construction material
from CoreSlab, which has a precast-concrete
factory strategically located just outside the
capital city of Limpopo.
CoreSlab has manufactured and installed
about 80% of the quality pre-stressed
hollow-core slabs used to build the many
new stunning multistorey houses that have
mushroomed in Serala View. Located just
off Python Street, this is one of the ‘Place of
Safety’s’ newest suburbs, comprising more
than 700 residential stands that are being
developed by the growing number of mainly
civil servants who have settled in the
town over the years.
The Development Bank of
Southern Africa has committed
over R50-million to this residential
development project in a loan
agreement with Polokwane 28 Joint
Venture (JV). Polokwane 28 JV is
a property development partnership entity
between Matome Maponye Investments
(MMI), a black-economic empowerment
property investment company, as well as a
family investment trust.
MMI bought the property from the
municipality in an open tender process, and
the project is part of the local authority’s
Spatial Development Framework and
Integrated Development Plan, which
prioritises the accelerated development of
middle-income housing in the city.
This dire shortage of housing in-and-
around the city has played a large part
in fuelling the growth of a vibrant local
homebuilding industry in the province. It also
comprises many small building contractors,
as well as architectural and structural-
engineering practices.
CoreSlab moved into the area in 2008
to mainly service their rib-and-block
requirements. Like hollow-core slabs, these
precast concrete technologies provide a faster
and more cost-effective means of constructing
floor structures than traditional in situ
building methods.
However, Jaco de Bruin, managing
director of CoreSlab, says that, over time, the
company increasingly fielded more enquiries
concerning its hollow-core slab offering.
“More than 10 years later, hollow-core
slabs have become our main product,
complementing CoreSlab’s range of other
precast concrete systems for an array of
applications. The technology has become
as closely associated with efficient building
projects as ready-mix concrete has over the
years,” says De Bruin.
The managing director attributes the
popularity of hollow-core slabs to the ease at
which they can be accurately installed on just
about any residential project site. Importantly,
CoreSlab oversees the entire process,
becoming involved in the project right in the
early phases, when it assists architects and
structural engineers optimise the layout of the
hollow-core slabs.
As part of its comprehensive turnkey
solution, the company also manages the
timely transportation of the high-quality
elements to the construction site, as well as
the efficient lifting and placement of each
‘plank’ using its own cranes, plus operators
and riggers.
With their tubular voids extending the
full length of the element, hollow-core slabs
are lighter than a large solid concrete floor
slab of equal thickness or strength. This
lowers the cost of manufacture by reducing
QUARRY SA | JULY/AUGUST 2018 _ 21