Cape Town assures builders don't have to down tools for World Cup

Early last week Lorraine Gerrans of City of Cape Town addressed outraged members of the built environment at a gathering called by the Master Builders Association Western Cape (MBAWC) to set the record straight, after a report that builders were "told to down tools for the World Cup" sent shockwaves through Cape Town's building industry.

All World Cup host cities have signed agreements with Fifa wherein they accepted responsibility for fulfilling a number of obligations.

To further this goal, City of Cape Town is upholding the 2010 bylaw which states that the City of Cape Town can "appeal (to developers/ contractors) that major construction sites be beautified".

It is also possible to "request the suspension of building works in controlled access sites". Gerrans said: "With the bylaw, we are not telling builders to down tools - we can merely appeal or request that they limit construction in certain areas. The city has communicated with developers and contractors involved in areas demarcated by Fifa as main access routes, to find an amicable solution for both our beautification aims and the construction requirements. It will also only be in these areas that construction work will be affected."

Gerrans also explained that, with eight matches being played in Cape Town, there will be a number of road closures which could affect construction and deliveries. "Several roads will be closed for four hours before each match. However, as most of the matches will be played at night, this will simply require greater scheduling of activities by construction companies and their contractors. The MBAWC supports the efforts of City of Cape Town and we will comply with their requests wherever possible, as we support the benefits to our city during the World Cup," said Rob Johnson, executive director of MBAWC.

Weekend Property supplement (Saturday Argus)

Posted at 09:08AM May 31, 2010 by Editor in Industry  |