Civil Engineering December 2021 | Vol 29 No 11

SANRAL SA I CE 2021 Nat i onal Awards Category: Techn i cal Excellence F ounded in 1998 in the humble be- ginnings of a 360 m 2 bottling plant, aQuellé has now developed its third, brand new facility of over 23 000 m 2 . Plans were drawn up in January 2020, with the aim of running the first bottles in the new facility by December the same year. Earthworks commenced 24/7 in March 2020 but, after a week of levelling, the country went into lockdown. Despite the ongoing challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, construction recommenced on 1 May 2020 and the new facility was handed over and production in progress by mid-December – marking an astounding 9 months and 2 days from the arrival of the first earthmoving equipment to the production of the first bottle in the new facility. MODERN AND EFFICIENT DESIGN Featuring a modern design, with attention to the finest detail, the building overlooks the spectacular scenery of the rolling hills of remote KwaZulu Natal, approxi- mately 120 km from both Durban and Pietermaritzburg. The earthworks for the platform and access road included an extremely large cut and fill operation, with the cuts in ex- cess of 17 m high. 553 000 m 3 of soil was moved to achieve the access road and 6 ha platform on which the facility is built. The warehouse lean-to structure has a high point of 20 m for increased warehousing and racking opportunities. The structure was designed with speed in mind and the tilt-up column technique was used along with castellated structural steel beams for fast erection. Due to the national lockdown, the concrete columns were manufactured off site and delivered once lockdown restrictions had eased. Over 80 km of roof sheeting was manu- factured and rolled in place at roof height using a mobile mill. The Novotexi design allows for concealed-fix roofing with con- tinuous sheets of 60 m in length, leaving no overlapping joints on the roof. A temporary farm road meandering along the hillside was improved to allow the construction materials and over 100 containers of machinery to be driven to site. During this time, a new 1.4 km double lane tar road was constructed and fitted with LED streetlights. The facility is equipped with three state-of-the-art bottling lines for increased production capacity while also creating exciting avenues for range diversification. The added feature in the bottling area of an elevated pedestrian walkway and viewing deck with glass panes throughout accommodates groups of visitors, including school groups. The plant was planned and machinery purchased with the aim of being as energy efficient and environmentally friendly as possible. The facility is able to run entirely on generators and is backed up by a 2 000 kW UPS and battery. 900 kW solar panels are also being installed. COMMUNITY IMPACT Most thrilling is the positive impact the new facility will have on the surrounding communities. Through the increase of job opportunities families are sustained, livelihoods are improved, and children are given better prospects. Beyond its own rural home, aQuellé looks forward to refreshing South Africa with its pristine quality, af- fordable and delicious refreshment in every bottle produced in the new bot- tling plant.  FINALIST Technical Excellence category (Sponsored by Maccaferri SA) KEY PLAYERS Client: Ekhamanzi Springs t/a aQuellé Developer: Rokwil Property Development Contractor: Norvo aQuellé bottling facility The new facility was completed in just 9 month The facility is equipped with three state-of-the-art bottling lines Civil Engineering December 2021 27