Building Materials The building materials industry in the Eastern Cape is a major user of road transport and this can be expected to continue into the foreseeable future.
The estimated value of building and construction industry is R160 billion. The total building industry is estimated at R105 billion, of which residential made up R66,7 billion and non residential R38,3 billion. The construction industry is estimated at R55 billion. Cement comprised roughly 8,5% of the total value of R160 billion, which amounts to R14,7 billion.
Building materials manufactured in the Eastern Cape include brick, pavings, kerbs, decor, tubes, pipes and fittings, etc. The estimate of the tonnage of different products, is made somewhat difficult by the wide range of building types that can be incorporated in this sector.
These products range from consumables, gypsum, paint, glass, wood, electrical, doors, windows, structural steel, reinforcing steel, plastics, textiles, readymix, sand, stone and building lime. Domestic availability of paving, roof tiles, masonry, floor slabs, retaining blocks and concrete infrastructure products are all expected to increase from by an average of 9% from 2006 to 2008 thereafter remaining constant up-to 2010. One particular product that which plays a significant role in the economy of the Eastern Cape is the board production. Board Production
The production of a range of hard and soft boards for use in panelling for buildings, ceiling boards and hardboard for manufacture of furniture associated cover strips and mouldings is a significant manufacturing activity at the new board factory at Ugie in the Eastern Cape. This large facility has been designed to produce 1 000 cubic metres of product per day. Raw board will be further beneficiated in the 35 000 m2 /day Melamine Faced Board Press Plant.
The raw material for board production softwood roundwood
logs
are transported from the plantation areas between Elliot and
Maclear. Up to 1 600 tons of softwood are processed daily to
produce the finished product. The logs are brought to the mill
by road, using trucks ranging in size from 8-ton to 30 ton
capacity on hauls of between 5 and 75 km.
The finished board products are transported all overSouth Africa using large flat deck interlink combinations covered with tarpaulins to protect the products and to provide direct deliveries to hardware wholesalers, timber merchants and retail outlets. At this time, between 20 and 25 interlink loads are dispatched daily, 60% destined for Gauteng, 20% for the Western Cape and 20% towards Kwa-Zulu Natal
Transport of Building Products
The vehicle configuration used for transportation of various building supplies ranges from rigids (8 ton) to articulated, articulated + draw-bar trailers and interlinks. The vehicle type depends a lot on the commodity that is transported. The vehicle type ranges from Ready-mix tankers, flatdecks, flatdecks covered with taupaulins, trailers fitted with dropsides, tippers, etc. The use of the rail network to move cement around the country from the distribution centres to the client constitutes only a small percentage of the total transport distribution. Most in the those in the building industry (especially from distribution center to client), don’t see rail as viable option due to problems encountered in the past and well as presently.
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