Draco Group has been appointed to assist with the restoration and rehabilitation of the Old Assembly Building at the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa in Cape Town, one of the most significant heritage recovery projects in the country’s history.
The appointment forms part of the broader programme to restore the historic parliamentary precinct – the seat of South Africa’s national legislature – following a fire that broke out on 2 January 2022.
The blaze burned for nearly three days and required a substantial emergency response, with more than 300 firefighters, 60 firefighting appliances, and two specialised aerial units deployed to bring it under control. The National Assembly Building was completely destroyed, while the adjacent Old Assembly wing, encompassing hundreds of offices and committee rooms, sustained severe damage.
Draco Group’s scope of work encompasses assistance with structural repair and stabilisation, fire damage remediation, heritage restoration, controlled demolition, regulatory compliance upgrades, and bulk infrastructure works. This includes the removal of damaged concrete, brickwork, ceilings, screeds, and roofing elements, alongside the restoration of timber doors, frames, shutters, steel and timber windows, stained glass, architectural joinery, and historic chamber seating. The works further encompass crack stitching, brickwork reinforcement, concrete spalling repairs, mortar repointing, underground service replacement, site investigations, and the installation of protective temporary structures, including dust containment barriers up to 8 metres in height.
The discovery of asbestos on site has made a highly complex project even more demanding. To manage that risk, Draco Group is carrying out all removal work in line with the Occupational Health and Safety Act and the Asbestos Abatement Regulations. The process is overseen by an Approved Inspection Authority and supported by sealed containment areas, negative pressure systems, HEPA filtration and continuous air monitoring. From removal to disposal, every step is carefully controlled to protect people on site and ensure hazardous materials are handled safely.
The parliamentary precinct encompasses approximately 10 buildings, four of which – Tuynhuys, the National Assembly Building, the Old Assembly Building, and the National Council of Provinces Building – were declared a National Heritage Site in April 2014 in recognition of their historical, aesthetic, scientific, and social value, and their rare and representative character.
The building’s history stretches back to 1885, when the original Parliament was completed in the Company’s Garden – at the time, one of the first buildings in Cape Town to run on electric lighting. When the Union of South Africa was constituted in 1910, a new chamber was created to house the Union Parliament. The chamber served in this capacity until 1961, while the building continued to function as the House of Assembly until 1994. Since South Africa transitioned to democracy, it has hosted committee meetings, caucuses, and public functions that are essential to Parliament’s work.
The building also occupies a distinguished place in global political history. The second chamber of the former Cape Parliament was subsequently converted into a formal dining hall – the same venue in which British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan delivered his celebrated Wind of Change address on 3 February 1960, signalling a profound political transformation across the African continent.
For Draco Group, this appointment represents a clear affirmation of the company’s capacity to deliver on projects where technical rigour, heritage sensitivity, regulatory compliance, and national significance converge. On a site shaped by more than a century of South African political history, that trust is not taken lightly.
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