Civil Engineering July 2022 | Vol 30 No 6

20 July 2022 Civil Engineering T he Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) is making use of its internal construction unit for the construction of the Bavaria Measuring Weir. The Chief Directorate: Water Information Management (CD: WIM) oversees the man- agement of the project, while the construction unit responsible for the work is managed within the line function of the Chief Directorate: Construction Management (CD: CM). Funds for the implementation of this rehabilitation project are available on the budget of CD: WIM. The parties also recognise the circumstances of the contractor as an organ of the state in respect of the “no profit, no loss” outcome of the contract. Hence a budget which consists of a cost estimate with a 0% mark-up is adopted. Furthermore, many of the usual tender and contractual requirements are not relevant, such as those that define the qualifications of the contractor and assure his financial capacity to complete the work in question. The SAICE General conditions of contract for construction works 3rd Edition 2015 , as amended by the particular conditions of contract, forms the basis of the relationships between the parties, with the CD: WIM filling the role of the employer and the CD: CM the role of the contractor. In addition to the stated objective, each party understands that the others will initially be unfamiliar with the precise requirements of their respective roles and the overriding attitude should be one of promoting teamwork with the objective of realising successful project outcomes. BACKGROUND The Bavaria Measuring Weir Construction project entails the construction of a river gauging weir in the Wilge River on the remainder of the farm River View 1062 and Schurwe Poort 284 between the towns of Warden and Reitz in the Free State. The structure will be constructed on rock outcrops as far as possible Construction of the Bavaria Measuring Weir in the Wilge River From Covid-19 lockdown to unusually high rainfall and excessive red tape, the construction team for the Bavaria Measuring Weir Construction project has had to overcome numerous challenges in their quest to deliver a project that will assist with flood warnings and runoff calculations for the greater Integrated Vaal River System. Riaan Stassen Contract Administrator Department of Water and Sanitation stassenr@dws.gov.za Downstream right bank view of flooding