South Africa’s Department of Public Works and Infrastructure is preparing to renovate the Telkom Towers complex in Pretoria under a public-private partnership model. The estimated cost of the work will range from 1.8 billion to 2.2 billion rand, TimesLIVE reports.
Financing model
The authorities plan to use a “rehabilitate — operate — transfer” model. Private partners are expected to finance the renovation and manage the upgraded facilities for an agreed period, after which they will transfer them to the state.
Public Works Minister Dean Macpherson said that the private sector would finance the renovation of the buildings itself. According to him, the facilities will be transferred to the state after the specified operating period ends.
The department has already spent about 1.4 billion rand on the acquisition, repair and maintenance of the complex. The department attributes a further 776 million rand in financial losses to historical mismanagement of the property.
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Area and jobs
The project provides for the restoration of all nine buildings in the complex. After the work is completed, the state will have 106,000 square metres of gross lettable area, which it will be able to use to accommodate government institutions or make available to clients.
Macpherson expects the renovation of Telkom Towers to directly create more than 5,300 construction jobs. Separately, the department is considering the restoration of the Public Works House building for 2.2 billion rand: it plans to upgrade 63,768 square metres of space there and create about 5,700 construction jobs. For the CGO building, the declared cost is 560 million rand, with the renovation of 41,739 square metres and the creation of approximately 1,600 jobs.
Next steps
The department has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Infrastructure Finance and Implementation Support Agency and is preparing to announce a request for information. After that, the department plans to prequalify companies capable of carrying out the work technically and financially, and then invite selected participants to submit proposals.
According to the department, the Telkom Towers complex has faced criticism for years over vandalism, theft and illegal occupation of premises, while most of its space remained unused.
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