One province spent R703 million building a laboratory that is still not finished 7 years after its completion date

The Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development (GDID) has spent over R703 million to build a new forensic pathology laboratory in Johannesburg.

But while the new lab was initially set to open its doors in 2019, numerous delays and missed deadlines mean it remains closed seven years later.

Construction of the Johannesburg Forensic Pathology building began on 3 November 2016, with the construction site located adjacent to the Helen Joseph Hospital.

The new building was designed to accommodate up to 800 bodies, compared with the Hillbrow Forensic Pathology Services, which can hold just over 200.

The construction of the new specialised facility was intended to alleviate pressure on Gauteng’s forensic mortuaries, of which there are only 11 across the province.

Many of these are ageing and have outdated or broken equipment, with facilities like those in Diepkloof or Roodepoort lacking the space to install high-tech X-ray and Lodox machines.

While the new building is owned and paid for by the Gauteng Department of Health (GDH), the GDID has been tasked with its construction.

Maziya General Services was contracted in November 2016 for a 36-month construction project due to be completed in November 2019.

The project only began four months later, after the construction company found that the design measurements had been taken incorrectly and had to be retaken.

Further delays pushed the start of construction to January 2018. However, the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent national lockdown would see the project stalled.

Project completion was pushed back to January 2023. When this date arrived, the building had not yet been completed, and a new deadline was set for December that year.

Since then, the building has reportedly remained at 98% completion as the contractor has stalled further construction work over alleged non-payment.

Four deadlines for the lab’s completion have been missed since then, bringing the project’s total to eight.

During that time, the project’s cost has exceeded its initial budget of R588 million, with the cost as of February 2026 at R703 million.

No set date for project completion

Despite a decade of delays and more than R703 million spent, the GDID has not provided a new completion date for the new forensic pathology lab.

On 8 September, Gauteng MEC for Infrastructure Development and COGTA, Jacob Mamabolo, said he could not “thumb-suck a date” for its finalisation.

According to Mamabolo, the GDID needed to first revise the construction plan with the contractor, but said that Phase 1 of the project was about to be completed.

Speaking to 702, GDID spokesperson Theo Nkonki said the delays in the lab’s completion came down to a multitude of factors, both in and out of the department’s control.

“Some are macroeconomic factors that affect the industry broadly,” Nkonki said. “Many of our contractors have been experiencing cash flow problems, especially after Covid-19.”

“There are also problems of poor workmanship that we’ve had to rectify. The project was supposed to be handed over in 2019. In 2026, we are in the final stages.”

According to Nkonki, the GDID separated the remaining work on the project into two phases after Mamabolo was elected as MEC in 2024.

Nkonki said that the first phase, which encompassed the actual construction work on the facility, which had yet to be finished at that time, had now been completed.

He said the GDID was now focused entirely on the second phase, which involves testing and commissioning lab equipment, as well as installing the lab’s HVAC system.

Nkonki said the project was now within its last six-month period, and said the GDID had worked to address internal shortcomings which had existed since the start of the project.

“There are serious deficiencies in our supply chain processes and how we appoint people,” Nkonki said. “We’ve put in place certain safeguards to make sure people are monitored and comply with the law.”

“Secondly, on the question of poor workmanship, we have put in place a multi-disciplinary team that serves as a second layer, ready to monitor what is happening on site continuously.”