Gold-miner AngloGold Ashanti yesterday announced that it is to relocate its corporate headquarters, from 11 Diagonal Street, in the Johannesburg city centre, to the old Turbine Hall site in Newtown.

The gold-miner has secured a long-term lease from the property's owner, Tiber, which has already begun preparation work for the R200-million project, AngloGold Ashanti spokesperson Steve Lenahan said yesterday.

He said that the company had been looking for new premises for some time, since it left Anglo American's headquarters in 1998, as management viewed the current tall, 'vertically-oriented' office tower unsuitable for the 'horizontally-oriented' mining firm.

"To get from the basement to the top floor, you have to take three different lift trips," he said.

(The new building will only have four floors, with staircases the primary links between storeys.) The Turbine Hall site comprises the North and South Boiler Houses and the Turbine Hall building.

The South Boiler House and Turbine Hall are both existing historical buildings and will be renovated and restored, as part of the development project.

The North Boiler House will be demolished, to make way for the new 13 000-m2 AngloGold Ashanti building, which will occupy some 40% of the 14 000-m2 premises. Parking, which has become a problem in the current offices, will be provided in the building's basement.

The project is scheduled for completion in March 2007.

Lenahan said that, although the costs per square metre will be higher than in the current premises, he does not expect a significant difference in rental costs and is confident that the new layout will have a positive effect on productivity for the 450-person-strong corporate-headquarters staff.

About a third of the Turbine Hall building is still occupied by open-gas turbines, which feed into the power grid.

The rest of the building is vacant, and requires structural renovations.

The South Boiler House also requires some renovations, although the super-structure remains sound.

The demolition of the North Boiler House has been approved by the South African Heritage Resources Agency and is scheduled for June 17, Lenahan said.

He added that restoration of the North Boiler House had been considered, but that, due to structural damage caused mainly by coaldust in the city's air, such a project would prove too costly and complex to be feasible.

The design of the new building will 'borrow themes' from the existing architecture of the Turbine Hall buildings and other Newtown structures, a representative of the Tiber group said.

Lenahan said that AngloGold Ashanti had worked closely with the Mayor's office, Blue IQ and the Johanesburg Development Agency in planning the development, which was consistent with the ongoing plans for the inner city, he said.

"The regeneration of Newtown comprises three components: cultural, residential and commercial, and we believe the plans for Turbine Hall will be an important part of the commercial regeneration of the precinct," he said.

This is, in fact, the first new construction project in Newtown involving a global firm since the city's regeneration programme began five years ago.