The R1.22 billion Mbabane Bypass Project was initiated in 2003 by the Swaziland Ministry of Public Works and Transport , and partly funded by the African Development Bank .
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Swazi housing sites get a new look with Terraforce walls
The R1.22 billion Mbabane Bypass Project was initiated in 2003 by the Swaziland Ministry of Public Works and Transport , and partly funded by the African Development Bank .
The earthworks , undertaken by the main contractor , WBHO , resulted in resettlement of 287 homesteads of the Mangwaneni and Manzana informal settlements and a Full Resettlement Plan ( FRP ) was put in place .
Because some of the new housing sites were situated on very steep slopes , retaining walls were needed to prevent erosion and eventual collapse of numerous cut and fill slopes . The contract for the walls was awarded to EFS Construction , Terraforce licensee , Swaziland , which provided a turnkey service of manufacture and installation of the earth retaining walls .
The wall effortlessly follows contours present on site .
The Terraforce retaining wall system was chosen – in the particular the Terraforce M12.5 block that is exclusively produced in Swaziland – as it offers the distinct advantage of being cost-effective , plantable and easier on the eye than most alternate solutions available .
Says Michael Toepfer , owner , EFS Construction : “ Terraforce walls are also easily used in very limited space with seamless angle variations . Designed by Johan Joubert , senior principal civil engineer , the walls beautifully follow the earthwork contours , resembling a stone or boulder slope , while remaining permeable and eventually allowing plants – that were introduced by the owners at a later stage – to cover the blocks .”
Installing the blocks simultaneously with subsoil drainage , backfill and earth reinforcing .
The contract was valued at R2.4-million and successfully completed over six months in 2005 by a staff complement of 75 locally recruited labourers . In total 27 500 M12.5 blocks were installed at more than 10 sites .
Terraforce blocks are exclusively manufactured in Swaziland by EFS Construction .
Seen from above , prior to installation of storm-water channel above the wall .
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SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2016
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