RECRUITMENT HAS begun for over 1 000 workers to help build the port for the multi-billion rand Coega Industrial Development Zone outside Port Elizabeth. This will bring to just over 2 000 the number of jobs created by Coega in the first nine months of 2002. Ngqura Harbour Contractors, which is the joint venture consortium recently awarded the R1.6-billion contract for the construction of the maritime civil works for the new port of Ngqura, has announced that it is recruiting 1 120 workers. Ngqura Harbour Contractors comprises three groups, German-based international construction company Hochtief Construction AG, JSE-listed South African construction group, Concor Holdings, and Ngqura Empowerment Contractors (NEC). The latter is an empowerment group consisting of Africa Construction, Siyaya Civils and Building Contractors, Sakhisizwe Construction and MMP Civil Engineering Services. Major elements of the construction work include: The de-watering of a 300 000 square metre area to 20 metres below sea level to enable dry earthworks construction; Excavation of 13-million metres of earthworks to form the harbour inner basin and to allow for the quay wall construction; Depositing and backfill of the above excavated materials in land and sea reclamation areas; construction of 1,96km of mass gravity quay walls comprising 270 000 cubic metres of concrete, 286 000 square metres of formwork and 6 000 tons of reinforcing; Exploitation of the Coega Kop quarry to produce 3,5-million cubic metres of rockfill and rock armour for the harbour breakwaters; Construction of two protection breakwaters from shore into the sea – the primary or eastern breakwater being 2,7km long to a maximum water depth of 18m, and the secondary or western breakwater being 1,1km long to a maximum water depth of 15m. The breakwaters comprise core rockfill with both rock and dolosse armour protection and will be topped with a concrete capping and wave walls. The contract also requires: A breakwater concrete capping and wave walls involving some 153 000 cubic metres of concrete, 84 000 square metres of formwork and 1 700 tons of reinforcing; Manufacture of 26 500 dolosse units of 30 tons each for the primary breakwater armour protection, using 330 000 cubic metres of concrete; Construction of five concrete caisson units comprising 11 000 cubic metres of concrete, 8 000 square metres of formwork and 1 300 tons of reinforcing. The caisson units are to be positioned offshore at the ends of the breakwaters; Ilani Prenzler, corporate communications executive at Concor said a core group of employees of the consortium had already moved into Port Elizabeth to make the necessary preparations. The pre-planning includes site surveys and recruitment of labour. She said actual work in terms of the contract was expected to start in earnest early in 2003, and would take 36 months to complete.