The Civil Engineering Contractor January 2018 | Page 7

ON PROJECT OWNERS’ DESKS any minimum interventions proposed were reasonable for the region and would be possible to implement; and that a balance was achieved between interventions that lead to savings and ones that make sense for the first iteration of the building code. Project: Infrastructure Client: Egyptian government Location: Egypt The construction of infrastructure and services for a new city near Cairo in Egypt, Eagle Hill. Egypt is planning to invest USD80-billion in the construction of this city that will become the country's new capital. The new city is meant for the low and middle-income earners and includes an airport, shopping mall, hotels and amenities such as schools and hospitals as well as providing homes to low- and middle- income buyers. Some Egyptian firms have already started building roads, developing telecommunication networks and cleaning up the site selected to host the new capital. Officially, a major reason for the undertaking of the project is to relieve congestion in Cairo, which is already one of the world's most crowded cities, with the population of greater Cairo expected to double in the next few decades. The new city is still to be named and will be built near the Suez Canal. Overall estimated project value: USD45-billion. Minimum energy efficiency requirements Under the BEEC, two compliance methods are possible – Prescriptive and Performance. For the Prescriptive option, projects must adhere to all the requirements as a checklist, and no energy calculations are required. The Performance option looks at a whole building analysis using energy simulation software, and project teams may deviate from the prescriptive requirements provided that the theoretical energy use of the building is less than or equal to that of the same building with all the prescriptive requirements included. Lombe concludes, “Implementing the BEEC on the Ministry project provides almost the same cost saving as providing renewable energy in the form of photovoltaics. However, the BEEC also provides a capital cost saving for the project while the photovoltaics require a significant capital investment.” The BEEC’s minimum energy efficiency requirements are voluntary for up to a maximum of two years to give individual states an adoption and inception phase, after which the requirements will be mandatory – a significant move towards more sustainable development in Nigeria. New Egyptian city According to SARMA, an aggregates from natural sources work group has been established. According to Southern Africa Readymix Association (SARMA), a SANS 1083: Aggregates from natural sources, work group has now been established. This work group will review the standard and endeavour to consolidate all aggregates for construction into one comprehensive document. Any input for this working group can be communicated directly to the SARMA office ([email protected]) but also be on the lookout for drafts that may come from the work group for your input. The SANS 10100 Part A: Concrete and the SANS 10100 Part B: Execution of structures is also currently in the process of revision, as well as all aggregate test methods. Aggregate work group formed Cairo is the capital and largest city in Egypt. CEC January 2018 - 5