Cosira Group’s Award-Winning Work at Maponya Mall Still Paying Off for the Community
6 May 2011
The Cosira Group’s award-winning work on Soweto’s first mega-shopping complex, the Maponya Mall, is an example of a steel construction project which has benefited the broader community significantly.
Gift Phenethi, Cosira Group’s Corporate Strategy Director, says that the company was proud to be part of a project which has boosted Soweto’s local economy and has given the area a social boost. “The Maponya Mall is the flagship mall in Soweto, and has secured strong commitment from local business .We are told that the mall aims to capture the flow of an estimated R4,3-billion each year. This has really uplifted the area,” Phenethi points out.
Maponya Mall is 60 000m2and officially opened in September 2007, with many South African retail 'firsts'. Since its inception, the mall's design and concept guaranteed retail and office space not only to well-known retailers, but also to local Soweto businesses.
“The Cosira Group was part of a team that comprised a pool of contractors, the main contractor being Grinaker LTA. We supplied 982 tons of structural steel to the project and were acknowledged for our efforts,” remarks Phenethi.
At the Southern African Institute of Steel Construction awards in 2008, the Cosira Group was part of a group of contractors which won the Overall Steel Award for their steel construction work on the Maponya Mall.
In what was described by judges as the very first shopping mall project they had seen with the ‘wow’ factor, and as a project with which they could find no fault, Maponya Mall was praised for quality of design, superb workmanship and the highest standards all-round.
This was the first time a Soweto project had been entered into the Steel Awards. The project was so large it required a total of four steelwork contractors to make the scheduled completion date.
“We were very pleased to have our corporate ethos of quality in everything we do, recognised in this way. We were privileged to be part of such a project and part of such a project team,” said John da Silva, CEO of the Cosira Group.
Phenethi added that it is important for the Group’s work to have an enduring quality, and is which is beneficial to the community for years to come. “The Maponya Mall is a sustainable project which has transformed the Soweto landscape – not only in its beauty and sleekness of design, but also in its ability to lift the local community.”
Da Silva notes that all of the company’s contracts – ranging from work in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Angola and throughout South Africa – have helped shape the local economy, developing skills and communities, through the provision of projects of an enduring nature and quality.