Mystery surrounds company that ‘vanished’ after George building collapse

Questions surround Ice Projects Pty Ltd, a company initially thought to be a part of the development team of the Neo Victoria multi-storey apartment building that collapsed in George in the Western Cape on Monday.

Caxton Local Media received a letter from Neo Victoria Developments on Wednesday evening, confirming all of the companies and entities involved in the development and construction of the building.

The letter states that media reports, which referred to Ice Projects Pty Ltd being involved in the development, ‘is factually incorrect’. “This party is not involved in any capacity in the development.”

However, before the collapse, Ice Projects Pty Ltd’s logo appeared on the website and apartment building’s property board.

Below are screenshots of the logo before it was removed:

Follow-up questions have been sent to Neo Victoria Developments, asking exactly what Ice Projects Pty Ltd’s involvement was in the project, and why their logos have since been removed from the website.

At the time of publishing, Caxton Local Media had not received a response from Neo Victoria Developments.

Adding to the confusion, NeoTrend Group’s Facebook page, which also appeared on the website and property board, has also been deleted.

Yesterday, the Department of Employment and Labour said it would consider legal action to ensure that the developer of the construction site communicates with the department.

According to David Esau, the department’s provincial chief inspector, attempts to contact NeoTrend have been unsuccessful.

“The day we arrived, we tried to contact the client. We went to the address on our system, and it was locked. We then proceeded to issue a subpoena. And, up until today, there has been no response from that particular person,” he said.