Fresh delay at Mdantsane Highway mall

Yet another contractor in the Buffalo City Metro region has abruptly abandoned a multimillion-rand project over non-payment.

This time it is the firm handling the first phase of refurbishments at the R64m Mdantsane Highway Mall project that has downed tools.

The Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC), which owns the mall, has already seen several construction delays and safety hazards for both tenants and shoppers.

In January 2024, employment & labour ministry inspectors found its roof, electrical wiring and plumbing were way below minimum safety standards and  ruled the building a hazard to the public.

The ECDC hastily drew up plans for an 18-month revamp to avoid permanent closure, with renovations scheduled for completion last month.

In June, construction resumed in what was now a phased refurbishment and deferred maintenance programme at the 32-year-old building.

The scope now includes demolition and replacement of hawker stalls, underground services (water, sewer, stormwater), structural roof modifications, new sheeting and cladding, window installation, public ablutions, and a new lift.

However, last Monday, the appointed contractor, East London-based Transtruct Building and Civil, downed tools over non-payment, leaving the site unfinished.

The firm was meant to do roofing, side cladding, and additional finishing as a priority for Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) compliance.

The company, which promised to return calls, had not commented by print deadline on Wednesday.

However, an official on site said management had grown frustrated by the delayed payments.

"There are many subcontractors in the project and ECDC has not been paying.

"A lot of people doing roofing, ceilings and all other things.

"The subcontractors have a huge labour force that needs to be paid."

In June, the ECDC said the project was structured into four sequential construction phases, each estimated at six months, subject to funding availability, primarily from rental revenue.

ECDC spokesperson Malithathwe Nombewu confirmed the "temporary suspension" of work on site, adding administrative and contractual matters were being finalised.

Nombewu said there were compliance processes "which are necessary to ensure that all project disbursements are consistent with public governance and financial management requirements".

"ECDC remains fully committed to the successful completion of the refurbishment project and is actively engaging all relevant stakeholders to finalise the outstanding matters," she said, adding the aim was for the swiftest resumption of the work.

Most of Phase 1 is complete, with about 20% outstanding, she said.

"Once the outstanding processes are concluded, the ECDC anticipates that construction activities will resume without significant further delay.

"The ECDC values the partnership and patience of all stakeholders and assures the public that the project remains a priority, with every effort directed towards its timely completion," she said.

ECDC has been at loggerheads with the tenants after a crop of shop owners — who account for R5.5m of the mall's R29m debt — demanded a write-off.

The mall comprises 9,206m² of commercial space housing 83 tenants.

Mall tenant committee spokesperson Siseko Siwisa said they were worried about the hazards involved in the contractor leaving the site.

"They had made it public that they had received the R64m funding to do the work, so we don't understand how they now don't have the money.

"The contractor said they have have struggled from the first. This is unacceptable.

"Now the site is a hazard because the roof is unfinished. What will happen when it rains?

"There will be additional damage and ECDC will not want to pay for that."

In a previous Dispatch article, ECDC facilities manager Yandisa Sobuza said the ECDC depended solely on rental revenue to fund repairs, maintenance and refurbishment at its properties.

She said it was the tenants' arrears that undermined the SOE's ability to invest in the mall.

“While some tenants remain compliant, long-standing defaults, some exceeding 10 years, have eroded our revenue base, delaying essential upgrades and affecting other ECDC development programmes.”

Earlier this week, the Dispatch reported about the plans to complete a R169m state-of-the-art special school in Amalinda by the first quarter of 2026 that were in jeopardy due to brewing tensions between the provincial government and construction company.

Last week construction giant GVK-Siyazama, tasked to complete the new Khayalethu Special School in Amalinda, downed tools in protest over non-payment, spiking fears of escalating costs and missed March 2026 deadlines.

With more than 80% of the work complete after a long break, serious work had resumed.

The project, in the works for nearly a decade, has been mired by the same pattern  — construction delays caused by payment delays.

Daily Dispatch