What HHO Consulting Engineers does

HHO Consulting Engineers is a South African civil engineering consulting firm founded in 1927, headquartered in Cape Town with regional offices in Johannesburg and East London. The firm delivers integrated infrastructure engineering services across eight disciplines: traffic engineering and transport planning (including Bus Rapid Transit systems), road engineering, bridges and buildings, pavement engineering, water engineering, urban engineering, geotechnical engineering, and construction and contract administration. Its technical platform is built on Autodesk's Civil 3D, Infraworks, Revit, and BIM systems, supplemented by SOFiSTiK for structural finite element analysis, with a documented migration from traditional CAD to digital workflows.

HHO serves both public and private sector clients, with primary concentration in South African government infrastructure at national (SANRAL), provincial, and municipal levels (City of Cape Town, Johannesburg Development Agency, eThekwini Transport Authority), and a secondary base in private property developers and renewable energy clients (Rabie Property Group, Red Rocket South Africa). Revenue is generated through professional services fees paid under project-based engagements, typically awarded via competitive tendering for government contracts and direct negotiation for private sector work. The firm holds B-BBEE Level 1 contributor status, achieved through a March 2017 restructuring that delivered 51% black ownership and 10% black female ownership via the HHO Empowerment Trust.

HHO is led by an Executive Committee comprising CEO Randall Dirks, COO Fred de Villiers, CFO Pierre van Zyl, CBDO Brentt Mossick, CAO Naseema Ebrahim, and director Makotsene Makgalemele. The firm is recognized as the second oldest consulting engineering practice in South Africa and is currently marking its centenary, with an awards profile spanning SAICE, CESA, Fulton, SAPOA, Construction World, and Vinci international recognitions dating from 1980 through 2025.

Name

HHO Consulting Engineers

Legal name

HHO Consulting Engineers

Website

https://hho.co.za

Company type

Private

Founded year

1927

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

HHO Consulting Engineers is a South African civil infrastructure consulting firm founded in 1927, serving government agencies and private developers with traffic, road, bridge, pavement, water, geotechnical, and construction management services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Civil Engineering Consulting Services

NAICS

Engineering Services (541330), Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services (5413), Environmental Consulting Services (54162)

SIC

Services-Engineering Services (8711)

akta.pro primary industry

Civil & Structural Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Geotechnical & Subsurface Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAB)

Keywords

• Civil engineering consulting
• Infrastructure design services
• Transportation engineering
• Bridge structural design
• Geotechnical engineering services

Headquarters

HQ city

Cape Town

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Engineering Consulting Services: Professional engineering consulting fees generated from infrastructure design, planning, and construction administration services for roads, bridges, buildings, water systems, and other civil engineering projects. Revenue is project-based, typically through competitive tendering for government and private sector clients.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

HHO Consulting Engineers is a South African infrastructure engineering consulting firm delivering design, planning, and construction administration services for roads, bridges, buildings, water systems, public transport (BRT), pavement, and geotechnical projects. The firm serves both public sector clients (national, provincial, and municipal government agencies) and private sector clients (property developers, renewable energy developers) primarily in South Africa.

Product overview

HHO Consulting Engineers is a South African infrastructure engineering consulting firm offering a comprehensive portfolio of engineering services delivered as an integrated practice rather than a modular software product. The firm's service offerings span eight interconnected disciplines: Traffic Engineering & Transport Planning (including BRT systems, traffic modelling, and road safety audits), Road Engineering (geometric design and 3D modelling), Bridges & Buildings (structural design and rehabilitation), Pavement Engineering (flexible and rigid pavement design), Water Engineering (stormwater management), Urban Engineering (infrastructure for developments), Geotechnical Engineering (subsurface investigations and slope stability), and Construction & Contract Administration. With offices in Johannesburg, Cape Town, and East London, the company serves both public and private sector clients across South Africa and has been in operation for over 100 years. The firm is Level 1 B-BBEE certified and has received numerous industry awards including recognitions from SAICE, CESA, Fulton Awards, and SAPOA.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Traffic Engineering & Transport Planning Comprehensive traffic engineering and transportation planning services including traffic impact studies, road and intersection planning and design, capacity analysis, traffic modelling, road safety audits, and Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) planning and design for government and private clients.
• Road Engineering Engineering services for rural and urban road projects including geometric design, 3D modelling of transport projects, and railway civil engineering, delivered primarily to government road agencies such as SANRAL.
• Bridges & Buildings Structural engineering services for bridges, viaducts, building structures, pedestrian bridges, structural rehabilitation, and structural condition assessments, including bridge design using SOFiSTiK finite element analysis and TMH7 loading standards.
• Pavement Engineering Specialized pavement analysis and design services for flexible and rigid pavements, including economic analysis of road pavements.
• Water Engineering Water engineering services including water engineering design and stormwater management for municipal and infrastructure projects.
• Urban Engineering Urban infrastructure engineering services including urban roads and services design and implementation for property development and municipal projects.
• Geotechnical Engineering Geotechnical investigation and engineering services including subsurface investigations, founding conditions analysis, slope stability assessments, and construction materials evaluation. Recognized expertise in slope stabilization methods including anchored soil nails, gabion walls, and rock trap design.
• Construction & Contract Administration Construction supervision and contract administration services for roads, services, and structures projects, including acting as Owner's Engineer on wind farm and infrastructure construction projects.

Quantifiable outcome

• HHO retains Level 1 B-BBEE contributor status, demonstrating commitment to transformation and black economic empowerment

Named customers6 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered support, core and project-level.

• Baker BaynessupportTechnology or IntegrationAutodesk Gold Partner providing training and support for HHO's digital workflow transformation. Baker Baynes has hosted webinars featuring Infraworks capabilities that helped HHO adopt 3D visualization for stakeholder engagement on projects like the Rea Vaya BRT Phase 1C project.
• AutodeskcoreTechnology or IntegrationCore technology partner providing Civil 3D, Infraworks, and Revit software platforms used by HHO for infrastructure design work. HHO has migrated to Autodesk platforms for structural design and urban engineering projects.
• Red Rocket South AfricacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHHO has been appointed by Red Rocket South Africa as Owner's Engineers for the construction of Brandvalley and Rietkloof Wind Farms, including roads, crane hardstands, turbine foundations, storm water system, and O&M building.
• Planning Partnersproject-levelStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject partner for the Quays Development at Century City where Planning Partners led with HHO providing the underpinning structures and bulk engineering infrastructure.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• SMEC South Africa: Global engineering consultancy (part of Surbana Jurong) with South African operations in transport, water, and civil infrastructure — directly overlaps with HHO's core public-sector portfolio.
• Royal HaskoningDHV (South Africa): International engineering consultancy with Southern African operations covering water, transport, and infrastructure — a broad incumbent competing for major tenders where HHO also bids.
• AECOM South Africa: Global infrastructure consultancy with significant South African presence across transport, water, environment, and buildings — competes for large multi-disciplinary mandates of the type HHO currently wins.
• WSP Africa: Global engineering professional services firm with large South African practice spanning transport, infrastructure, property, and environment — competes for the same large public-sector mandates as HHO but at far greater scale.

Direct peers

• Bigen Africa: African infrastructure consulting firm covering roads, water, transport, energy, and property development — comparable African-focused civil/transport practice serving government and private developers.
• Knight Piésold: Engineering consultancy with strong South African practice in infrastructure, transportation, and geotechnical engineering — comparable in technical offering and project scale.
• Hatch Africa: Global engineering consultancy with South African practice spanning infrastructure, transportation, and energy — overlapping advisory and design work for public and renewable-energy clients comparable to HHO.
• Arcus Gibb: Major South African engineering consultancy active in water, transport, and civil infrastructure, even co-named with HHO on past projects such as Mthatha water supply. Closely comparable in scale and public-sector focus.
• Zutari: One of South Africa's largest consulting engineering firms (formerly Aurecon Africa), offering civil, structural, transport, water, and environmental engineering to public and private clients — directly comparable in service mix and client base to HHO.
• ILISO Consulting: South African consulting engineering firm covering civil, structural, transportation, water, and project management — directly comparable in scale, services, and public-sector focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hho-consulting-engineers

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles19 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about HHO Consulting Engineers