Vharanani Properties

RESTORING DIGNITY THROUGH INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT

VHARANANI PROPERTIES

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CONSTRUCTION

BUILDING HAPPY COMMUNITIES

Operating with a mission to restore people’s dignity through infrastructure development since 2001, Vharanani Properties continues to deliver high-end projects with collaboration and teamwork at heart Writer: Tom Wadlow | Project Manager: Eddie Clinton

D

espite imperfections and shortcomings, South Africa’s policy of black economic empowerment has helped to shift the dynamics of the country’s post-apartheid socioeconomic backdrop.

Stretching far beyond a moral redress, the policy is also a pragmatic growth strategy to help realise South Africa’s full economic potential by helping to bring the black majority into the economic mainstream.

The process is by no means complete. However, many enterprising black-owned businesses have risen to the forefront of their industries, contributing to the economic development of regions nationwide and helping to uplift the communities they serve.

In the construction arena, Vharanani Properties stands proud as a 100 percent black-owned success story.

Set up in 2001 by David Mabilu, who still serves as CEO to this day, the company has built itself into one of South Africa’s premier infrastructure development specialists, covering roads and bridges, reservoirs, bulk earthworks, water infrastructure, schools, clinics, community centres, office buildings and more.

Vharanani Properties is one of four entities within the Vharanani Group, an organisation providing oversight and resources to its family of subsidiaries in housing, infrastructure, property development and ICT solutions

And despite the well-documented troubles facing the nation’s building industry, Vharanani Properties has continued to stand tall. For instance, in 2018 it was recognised as the best performing black owned and managed construction company in South Africa.

For current Operations Director Chris Mthombeni, the decision to come on board in 2017 represented a perfect marriage of passions.

“I joined Vharanani Properties because I wanted to be part of a growing black owned company,” he says. “I have always been intrigued by beautiful concrete structures around town, and that led to my interest in wanting to know how these structures are constructed, so this was always the profession for me.”

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VHARANANI PROPERTIES DELIVERING PROJECTS, ENABLING EMPOWERMENT The Operations Director is one of many employees who are vital to the successful delivery of Vharanani Properties’ projects, its cohort of skilled staff identified as its greatest asset.

“Training is important to Vharanani in order to have the right skills for project delivery,” Mthombeni adds. “We employ experts in their field and our people’s development is at the heart of what we do, hence the continuous building up of our staff in all the areas of their specialisation. This is key in delivering all our projects.”

Indeed, Mthombeni has himself

AN INTRODUCTION TO VHARANANI PROPERTIES Established in 2001, Vharanani Properties’ portfolio of projects spans across the entire spectrum of sustainable infrastructure development, from residential, commercial and public buildings to roads, waterworks and property development.

It is a Level 2 BBBEE company which is ISO 9001: 2015 certified, formed around a culture of teamwork and collaboration which drives its approach to each and every project.

VISION: To be an infrastructure provider of distinction.

MISSION: To restore people’s dignity through infrastructure development.

VALUES: Professionalism, Accountability, Transparency, Honesty (PATH).

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witnessed the successful delivery of a number of landmark builds during his tenure.

In Pretoria, for example, Vharanani Properties has constructed a new bus depot in the heart of the City of Tshwane – named Belle Ombre, it is designed to cater for buses on the new Bus Rapid Transit system, commonly known as BRT, and a vital new means of transportation for local citizens.

“The bus depot was a complete project awarded to Vharanani Properties because of its prestige to the city and value it would create in housing the buses and the administration building for the employees of the Riyavaya BRT system,” Mthombeni explains.

“The project consisted of hard stand parking areas for the buses, a state-ofthe-art mechanical workshop for servicing and repairing the buses, and an administration building with facilities, canteens, boardrooms and offices.”

Another flagship project, one which Mthombeni cites as particularly demanding and therefore special to the company, was delivered in Polokwane’s central business district (CBD).

It involved the replacement of the AC pipes network – Vharanani Properties was enlisted with the challenging task to install new, fit-for-purpose HDPE pipes without disruption to the water supply of businesses and residents in the area.

CONSTRUCTION

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VHARANANI PROPERTIES

BUILT ON PARTNERSHIPS As well as delivering for clients and communities with its own workforce and dedication, Vharanani Properties also relies on a network of esteemed partners and suppliers to function on a day to day basis.

Asked how important these collaborations are, Mthombeni comments: “Building relationships with suppliers is key to Vharanani so that we work with partners and suppliers that understand our culture and way of doing things.

“We know who we do business with and we can count on them delivering what is expected of them – on time and within the required specifications – so that Vharanani Properties can meet its project deliverables in terms of quality, safety and budget.”

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To counter the challenge, the company made use of an innovative technique. Mthombeni explains: “This involved some 78 kilometres of pipes ranging from 110 millimetres to 650 millimetres in diameter.

“We adopted a trenchless method called pipe cracking and horizontal directional drilling, where a temporary water bypass had to be created before pipe cracking could take place.

The project was special to Vharanani Properties as all the AC pipes were replaced without having to use conventional methods of open trenches.”

As a result of the successful project delivery, the Polokwane CBD now benefits from a long-term, more reliable and safe water supply.

CONNECTING COMMUNITIES In Limpopo, the company is helping to link local people to vital amenities through the construction of a critical link road.

The community in question is Marulaneng, a village in the Sekhukhune District Municipality of the province which has been disadvantaged by poor connections to larger settlements and facilities. In response,

Vharanani Properties is building a 22-kilometre stretch of road with six bridges and several in-situ and precast concrete culverts.

Mthombeni expects the project to be complete ahead of schedule (by September 2021), the initial work beginning in April 2018 and within budget.

“This is important to our company as this road will bring much needed relief to the community which did not have proper roads to access clinics, schools and shops – hence we are helping to improve people’s lives.

Vharanani Properties is all about restoring people’s dignity through infrastructure developments.”

Project delivery is not the only way the company is impacting communities for the better, however.

It channels all of its corporate social responsibility efforts through David Mabilu Foundation, the CEO’s philanthropic organisation which aims to uplift the socioeconomic conditions of the most vulnerable people in South African society.

The foundation does this through a variety of activities, including provision of educational services for

CONSTRUCTION

EXTENSIVE EXPERTISE Vharanani Properties’ range of services and knowledge is formidable, as shown by its core capabilities and project scope.

Core capabilities • Project management • Civil engineering construction • Construction management • Greenfield property development • Turnkey solutions • Land development

Belle Ombre project

• Design and building • Sustainable human settlement

Project scope PUBLIC SECTOR: roads and water infrastructure, wastewater infrastructure, hospitals, schooling and housing infrastructure, student accommodation.

PRIVATE SECTOR: luxury residential houses, apartment and townhouses, retail and commercial offices, industrial buildings, roads and civils, structures.

disadvantaged children, shelter for those in need and support for women aspiring to develop their own careers.

More widely, it contributes towards the establishment or enhancement of community training programmes designed to encourage entrepreneurship and job creation.

For example, in February last year the 100 Ekurhuleni Shining Stars programme was showcased at an event sponsored by Vharanani Properties.

Here, accolades were bestowed on the brightest youth under 35 years old in Ekurhuleni in the areas of education, justice and law, health, arts, culture, media and entertainment, science and technology, business and entrepreneurship, environment, civil society and youth activism, philanthropy, politics and governance.

CEO Mabilu commented at the time that “our investment in the youth is an

investment in the future”, and it is this forward-thinking, community-driven ethos that will continue to drive the agenda of Vharanani Properties for years to come.

For Mthombeni, his business priorities are simple – to diversify further and focus on positioning the company for what he expects to be an upturn in the South Africa construction industry.

Achieve this, and Vharanani Properties will continue to restore dignity to people’s lives.

VHARANANI PROPERTIES Tel: +27 11 656 1418 info@vharanani.com www.vharanani.com

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VHARANANI PROPERTIES 18 Hume Road Dunkeld West, Johannesburg 2196 Tel: +27 11 656 1418 info@vharanani.com www.vharanani.com

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