Group Five: Mandela hospital deal worth R400m

Listed construction and engineering company Group Five has been awarded the contract worth about R400 million to build the Nelson Mandela’s Children Hospital in Parktown, Johannesburg. Bulk earthworks and piling on site are well advanced and have paved the way for the start of construction this week. The target completion date is the first quarter of 2016. The hospital will be built on a site adjacent to Wits University’s medical school, allowing access to paediatric academic teaching. It will employ about 150 doctors, 451 paediatric nursing professionals plus allied services. The contract award follows submissions by various contractors and a decision taken to engage with them after the adjudication process. Nana Magomola, the deputy chair of Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital Trust, said yesterday that this was a key milestone in making Mandela’s last wish of building a children’s hospital a reality. Shares rose 0.36 percent to close at R41.75 yesterday. – Roy Cokayne