CA Sales Rises From the Ashes
CA Sales and Distributors warehouse, Botswana’s largest distributor of goods, has had quite a bumpy ride on its emergence to power as the giant organisation is currently in the process of building a new warehouse and office block.
CA Sales has since continued its march to the top and recently commenced the construction of a new warehouse and office block in a larger plot in a prime location. Works on this P110 million(US$16 million) project started in February 2009 and is expected to be completed by September 2010. The office building is an open plan office with a central courtyard as the focal point.
The facilities include a warehouse for storage of commodities, an office block where all blue collar associated functions will be carried out, guard house for security, pump house and generator room for back-up power in case of power surges, among others. In addition to surveillance cameras, stringent measures have been put in place to prevent the occurrence of fires.
In 2004, CA Sales premises’ were devastated by a fire which burnt down its entire warehouse leaving the company with losses running into the millions. Investigators could not determine the cause of the fire. The company has since picked up the pieces and re-build the warehouse a year later. It was operational before the end of 2006.
The building will be fitted with water sprinkler systems and numerous fire escape doors around the building.Materials The conventional reinforced concrete and masonry infilling construction was adopted with steel roofing truss. The external finish is made of Marmoran and face brick.
Remarkable Features
The three storey office block entry has a welcoming frontal colonnade which gives a magnificent view of the nearby landmark, Kgale Hill.
Challenges
The connection of services such as electricity posed a difficulty because the site on which construction is taking place was previously a farm and none of the necessary infrastructure was in place.
The land on which the project is located has a steep gradient of 3m over a distance of 470metres. The sloping ground also posed a challenge as it required huge earthworks engineering in order for the buildings to be placed on stable ground.
Project Team
Project Manager- Osmi Building
Architects- Nawa Architects
Quantity Surveyors- TDM Project
Electrical & Mechanical Engineers- KVN Associates
Civil/Structural Engineers- JJ Design & Engineering Services
