Two Murray & Roberts Construction companies received accolades at the recent 2013 Construction World’s Best Projects awards ceremony that recognises projects across the entire construction industry.

Murray & Roberts Western Cape was named the overall winner of the Building Contractors for its work on Portside, Cape Town’s tallest building.

Tasked with a fast track construction period of only 26 months, the Murray & Roberts Western Cape Portside project team gained a competitive edge by paying intense attention to detail in the planning stages. Under the leadership of project manager Chris Prodehl, the team formulated an intelligent methodology to generate optimal time efficiencies, which also benefited site safety. This attention to detail and lateral thinking created sufficient leeway to complete the project within the required time frame.

Concor Roads & Earthworks, also a Murray & Roberts Construction company, received a Highly Commended in the Civil Engineering Contractors category for a major South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL) project to rehabilitate the N2-11 from the eastern boundary of the Coega Industrial Development Zone to the Colchester intersection, as well as the construction of a new carriageway to the south of the existing road.

This massive undertaking was characterised by several innovations, including the raising of an existing bridge using jacking techniques, access platforms in a river estuary to facilitate construction of a new bridge and the application of Concor Roads & Earthworks’ proprietary Novachip ultra-thin friction course for sections of road passing through residential areas.

This year’s Construction World’s Best Projects awards attracted an unprecedented number of entries and Crown Publications publisher Jenny Warwick said at the presentation ceremony that the standard of this year’s entries was the highest yet.

BEST PROJECTS PIC 01 : Murray & Roberts Western Cape was named the overall winner of the Building Contractors for its work on Portside, Cape Town’s tallest building.

BEST PROJECTS PIC 02 : An aerial view of the access platform at the Sundays River Bridge with precast concrete beam transport and launching crane in position.