Civil Engineering December 2021 | Vol 29 No 11

Civil Engineering December 2021 13 solutions and leverage on the true capa- bility that we possess as civil engineering professionals in South Africa to make that much needed contribution towards socio economic woes.” This year, the South African National Roads Agency SOC Ltd (SANRAL) partnered with SAICE as the naming rights sponsor. Louw Kannemeyer, representing SANRAL, highlighted the challenges experienced by SANRAL, and the steps that the entity has taken to engage with National Treasury as a result of the difficulties that have presented in projects getting off the ground due to the implementation and interpretation of regulation, all of which has been further impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Kannemeyer spoke to SANRAL’s journey ahead, with some good news: “In the next few weeks, I believe there are nine major contracts for construction that we will be awarding, and this means we will be committing over R30 billion to those major projects that have been going through the tender process, the adjudica- tion process, and legal processes.” Meanwhile, the keynote address for the evening was delivered by Professor Adrian Saville, Investment Specialist at Genera Capital and Professor at the Gordon Institute of Business Science. Prof. Saville discussed the state of South Africa’s economy. “We have to turn policy promise into economic confidence by getting out of the business of talking, and into the business of evidencing.” He added, “We have a lot of hard work around us that has to be done. We are in a tough environment but this is not a failed state. This isn’t a broken economy. It is an environment that is stumbling and stut- tering and it needs help.” RECOGNISING HISTORICAL PROJECTS Part of the special evening included a presentation on the SAICE History and Heritage Panel. The panel was formed in 2006 to recognise people and projects that have played an important role in preserving engineering history. Chris Roth, Professor at the University of Pretoria and Chairperson of the SAICE History and Heritage Panel, explained that recognising historical projects, which he described as “soaring feats of engineering”, aimed to assist in its pres- ervation, and also highlighted the experts behind such projects to the public. Through a stringent process, the panel annually recognises a deserving project as a National Historical Civil Engineering Landmark. The winner this year was the Victoria Bridge at Fort Beaufort in the Amatola Branch. In conjunction with the American Society of Civil Engineers, the panel also recognised two International Historical Civil Engineering Landmarks, the Woodhead Dam on Table Mountain and Cape Agulhas Lighthouse. AWARD CATEGORIES Projects were entered into the following categories: Q Q Technical Excellence Q Q International Q Q Individual Q Q Institutional No awards were given in the Community- Based Project category this year. We would like to thank our team of adjudicators sincerely for giving so much of their time and expertise. PROJECT AWARDS The judging criteria for both the Technical Excellence and International categories are: Q Q The project shows notable advance- ment in the application of new or ex- isting methods of design, construction or project management Q Q The project portrays the art and sci- ence of civil engineering Q Q The project is functionally efficient Q Q The project was well managed and completed on time Q Q The project’s environmental and com- munity impacts were well managed. The winner in the Technical Excellence category, sponsored by Maccaferri SA, was the eZimbokodweni Pipe and Pedestrian Bridge ( page 14 ) . Two projects were highly com- mended, namely the Expansion of the King Cetshwayo Highway-Westwood Interchange ( page 17 ) and the New Pampoen Nek Highway and ( page 20 ) , while a commendation was awarded for the Xhora Off Channel Dam ( page 22 ) . The winner in the International category was the Port of Maputo Traffic Study ( page 38 ) . INDIVIDUAL AND INSTITUTIONAL AWARDS These awards are made by SAICE to rec- ognise the exceptional contributions made by the Institution’s members, regional branches and technical divisions ( page 44 ) . SPONSORS SAICE would like to sincerely thank its sponsors and other stakeholders for their support in making the annual awards a reality. These included SANRAL, Egis Operation South Africa, Umgeni Water, Mariswe, SKI Civil and Structural Engineers, Maccaferri SA, FNB, Reinforced Earth, PPS for Professionals, and Zutari. Nthabeleng Lentsoane, SAICE’s Head of PR and Marketing, thanked all of the 2021 entrants: “Congratulations to all of our winners, and every person who entered the awards. The calibre of entries received reminds us of the passion and drive of our industry. I encourage us all to keep the momentum and lead our industry forward.”  We have gone to great lengths to ensure that the information of the key players in each project is reflected accurately as per each project entry form. We do, however, apologise should any key players have been inadvertently overlooked. A small ceremony was held at the Hilton Hotel in Johannesburg, with many guests joining online