Civil Engineering November 2022 | Vol 30 No 10

Civil Engineering November 2022 31 encourage growth from a micro-enterprise to an established contractor. A total of five targeted enterprise subcontractors were employed on the Msunduze River Bridge project to under- take the following construction activities: Q Q Two CIDB grade 1CE PE – drainage, guardrails and landscaping Q Q One CIDB grade 2CE PE – gabions Q Q One CIDB grade 3CE PE – bulk earthworks Q Q One CIDB grade 4CE PE – concrete and reinforcing. Each package was structured to identify all possible activities to be included as labour-intensive construction methods to ensure that local labour benefited from employment. The provision for CETA-accredited training was provided to all targeted enterprise subcontractors and strategically structured to ensure relevance to the construction industry for the long-term benefit of all targeted enterprise contractors. In addition, the principal contractor, Icon Construction, provided practical on-site training and daily mentorship to all targeted enterprise contractors. All five of the targeted enterprise subcontractors completed their scope of work with a high degree of quality and within the scheduled timeframes. As a result of the successful completion of their works, as well as the development and training op- portunities received, two of the targeted enterprise subcontractors are now in a position to upgrade their CIDB grading status. Each of the targeted enterprise subcontractors was afforded the oppor- tunity to select and attend two training modules from the following options: Q Q Site management procedures Q Q Site administration procedures Q Q Management of construction resources Q Q Legal requirements for construction contracts Q Q Tendering for construction contracts Q Q Development of construction work plans. Following the completion of the training modules, the targeted enterprise sub- contractors were required to put their theoretical training into practice while implementing their construction scope of work, ensuring a complete understanding of the knowledge gained in relation to actual construction implementation. The targeted enterprise subcontractors’ scope of construction work had varying degrees of complexity. Some of the complex construction aspects included bridge construction-related concrete works such as pile caps, piers, abutments and parapets. This type of concrete construction works is usually included in the principal contractor’s scope of work due to its complexity, however with the continuous mentorship and prac- tical training provided by Icon Construction, as well as the construction supervision staff, the emerging contractors were successful in overcoming the construction challenges associated with complex construction methods, while strictly adhering to quality control, and programme-related constraints. The Covid-19 pandemic had also pre- sented a challenge to the project programme and had the potential to have a significant financial impact on the contractor and sub- contractors. Despite restrictions, the con- tractors were able to complete the project on time, within budget and with minimal impact on the original project goals. The Msunduze River Bridge project has surpassed the 35% contract participa- tion goals (CPG) expenditure target, which is a contract participation target for targeted enterprises, and has achieved a 52% CPG expenditure. This has shown that the development of targeted enter- prise subcontractors can be implemented and successfully achieved regardless of the complexity and nature of the project. TRAINING, JOB OPPORTUNITIES & SOCIAL INITIATIVES Through the inclusion and detailed plan- ning of the rollout and implementation of labour-intensive construction activi- ties, a total of 45 new job opportunities were created on the project through the employment of personnel from the local community by the principal contractor as well as the targeted enterprise subcon- tractors. The project had an employment target of 40 new job opportunities which was exceeded by almost 13%. The project also ensured that personnel employed from the local community Labour-intensive construction methods were used wherever possible