Die Kapenaar
July 30th, 2008, 09:38 PM
Name: The Square
Use: Mixed Use
Floors: 10
Status: Under Construction
Location: CBD of Gaborone, Botswana
http://168.144.146.174/_imagedata/issues/582186669111/The%20Square-%20Front%20view.jpg
Construction Review - July 2008
The Square Sets Pace For Gaborone Cbd Development
GH Group is one of the developers at the site and has already commenced construction of a P100 million (US $16 million) project known as The Square. It is an integrated retail and office development. GH Group says it has moved swiftly to set up mechanisms which will enable the activation of tens of companies who have acquired plots at the site to go into business.
Gulaam Abdulla, the Executive Chairman of the GH Group, says the magnificent and unique ten-storey office building currently under construction at the CBD will give Gaborone and Botswana a generally new identity. It is meant to be the bench-mark for similar projects which are to come in the future. Abdulla explains that the office block is modeled on a similar development in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
The office tower will be made of glass and tiles. An excited GH Group chairman says the unique feature will set a standard for future developments. The building will have two wings, the East Wing and the West Wing, each with seven floors of 400 square meters. The two highest floors will be 1,400 square meters each.
Such standards are essential in further growing the economy because Botswana is experiencing a boom in the mining industry. Display of such a master-piece is also necessary in attracting capital into the country from the world cup in 2010 which is to take place in neighboring South Africa.
The GH Group has become the first private company to start construction at the Gaborone CBD. The office block was initially earmarked for completion by March 2008, but the timeline has been extended due to unavoidable delays.
The GH Group chairman says his company embarked on the project even before getting commitments from prospective tenants. This was an indication of the company’s confidence in the future of the country’s economy. He says his company was worried that ever since other players in the private sector were allocated plots at the CBD, more than five years ago, not a single project has taken shape on the site.
Although he acknowledges that there is an element of risk in the GH Group’s latest step, he hopes that companies will follow in the GH Group’s footsteps and begin construction. He sited the convenience, centrality and prime location of the premises as a few of many reasons why other companies need to expedite development at the site.
Project Team
Project manager: Abdulla Associates
Architect: PLD (Pty) Ltd
Quantity surveyor: McIntosh Latilla Botswana
Structural and civil engineers: Abdulla Associates
Mechanical and electrical engineers: A. R Edwards and Associates
Electrical sub-contractor: Global electrical
Main contractor: Tamlac-Bohua joint venture
Use: Mixed Use
Floors: 10
Status: Under Construction
Location: CBD of Gaborone, Botswana
http://168.144.146.174/_imagedata/issues/582186669111/The%20Square-%20Front%20view.jpg
Construction Review - July 2008
The Square Sets Pace For Gaborone Cbd Development
GH Group is one of the developers at the site and has already commenced construction of a P100 million (US $16 million) project known as The Square. It is an integrated retail and office development. GH Group says it has moved swiftly to set up mechanisms which will enable the activation of tens of companies who have acquired plots at the site to go into business.
Gulaam Abdulla, the Executive Chairman of the GH Group, says the magnificent and unique ten-storey office building currently under construction at the CBD will give Gaborone and Botswana a generally new identity. It is meant to be the bench-mark for similar projects which are to come in the future. Abdulla explains that the office block is modeled on a similar development in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
The office tower will be made of glass and tiles. An excited GH Group chairman says the unique feature will set a standard for future developments. The building will have two wings, the East Wing and the West Wing, each with seven floors of 400 square meters. The two highest floors will be 1,400 square meters each.
Such standards are essential in further growing the economy because Botswana is experiencing a boom in the mining industry. Display of such a master-piece is also necessary in attracting capital into the country from the world cup in 2010 which is to take place in neighboring South Africa.
The GH Group has become the first private company to start construction at the Gaborone CBD. The office block was initially earmarked for completion by March 2008, but the timeline has been extended due to unavoidable delays.
The GH Group chairman says his company embarked on the project even before getting commitments from prospective tenants. This was an indication of the company’s confidence in the future of the country’s economy. He says his company was worried that ever since other players in the private sector were allocated plots at the CBD, more than five years ago, not a single project has taken shape on the site.
Although he acknowledges that there is an element of risk in the GH Group’s latest step, he hopes that companies will follow in the GH Group’s footsteps and begin construction. He sited the convenience, centrality and prime location of the premises as a few of many reasons why other companies need to expedite development at the site.
Project Team
Project manager: Abdulla Associates
Architect: PLD (Pty) Ltd
Quantity surveyor: McIntosh Latilla Botswana
Structural and civil engineers: Abdulla Associates
Mechanical and electrical engineers: A. R Edwards and Associates
Electrical sub-contractor: Global electrical
Main contractor: Tamlac-Bohua joint venture