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Eastern Cape, 11 October 2021 – The South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited (SANRAL) is set to invest an estimated R430 million in the upgrading of the Breidbach and Belstone interchanges in King William’s Town.

The project, which will create an estimated 200 job opportunities for the local community, will ease mobility between East London and King William’s Town and improve pedestrian and motorists’ safety.

“When this project is complete, the people of Buffalo City will be proud of their part of the national road network, which will bring social development and economic growth” said Athi Kiviet, SANRAL’s Project Manager.

The project is currently in its three-month mobilisation period before construction begins early next year. During the mobilisation period, the contractor will interact with the community through the Project Liaison Committee and set up Contract Participation Goals (CPGs). Construction work will take place over 30 months.

“The existing intersection on the Breidbach Interchange requires upgrading due to the high incident of road crashes when vehicles cross or merge with the busy N2. Currently, this intersection carries a large portion of traffic travelling to and from Bhisho, Breidbach, Zwelitsha and East London.

“Upgrading the Belstone Interchange, on the other hand, will result in increased and free flowing traffic between East London and Bhisho. Although the interchange has been designed as a full clover interchange, only two loops and off-ramps will be constructed in the interim. As traffic volumes increase over the years, the other two loops will be constructed,” said Kiviet.

Kiviet was speaking at the official handover of the project to the main contractor, WBHO, by the Premier of the Eastern Cape, Oscar Mabuyane, in King William’s Town on Friday, 8 October.

The Premier also introduced the contractor to the community, cautioning them to ensure that the project is delivered on time. He urged the community of Buffalo City Municipality in the Eastern Cape to work together to ensure the completion of the R430 million Breidbach and Belstone interchanges.

“People must be patient and work together with government in making this project a reality. If there are any contentious issues, let us sit down and work together to resolve them. A Steering Committee will be established to ensure transparency and enable the free flow of information between affected stakeholders, so that the local community may benefit from the project,” said Mabuyane.

Bloemfontein, 7 October 2021 – The South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited (SANRAL) has announced the award of contracts for periodic maintenance of National Route R30 Section 2 in the Lejweleputswa District. The work on the 40km stretch of the R30, section 2, entails repairs and resurfacing.

The project is divided into two packages. Package 1 starts at section 2 from Brandfort North km 5.2 to Theunissen km 25.0 and package 2 begins at Brandfort km 25.0 to Theunissen km 44.3.

“Actophambili Roads (Pty) Ltd and Sirobi Civils JV was the chosen contractor for package 1 while Actophambili Roads (Pty) Ltd were awarded package 2. The Consulting Engineers are KBK RMC (Pty) Ltd,” said Rajesh Dookie, SANRAL’s Eastern Region Project Manager.

The construction phase of the project will commence in the last quarter of 2021. The two contracts will run concurrently over the 12-month period. Upon completion of construction work, SANRAL will officially reopen the entire road section for full use.

“Temporary lane closures and occasional stop/go control will be carried out. Speed reduction will also be imposed. Motorists are advised to take note of the construction activities and to be observant of the advance warning signs, and restrictions, when travelling past the construction work zones,” said Dookie.

Pretoria, 4 October 2021 – The application period for scholarships and bursaries offered by the South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited (SANRAL) has come to an end.

The roads agency is encouraged by the response to its corporate social responsibility initiative, which saw an influx of applications, right up until the deadline of 30 September 2021.

“The significant increase in the number of applications for financial aid is indicative of the economic climate we are experiencing. Parents and guardians are under enormous financial pressure. As a key player in the public-sector infrastructure development space, SANRAL is pleased to be able to extend its reach beyond road construction and into the learning space of South African youth,” said Heidi Harper, SANRAL General Manager: Skills Development.

SANRAL has in recent weeks embarked on a roadshow to reach learners and their teachers, in some of the most rural and remote schools in all four its regions.

“Although our extensive digital communications campaign was able to reach thousands of learners in the key metros, it was important for us to penetrate those communities adversely affected by the digital divide. In areas such as Kuruman in the Northern Cape and Phuthaditjhaba in the Free State, the response to our visits was overwhelming and incredibly humbling,” said Rhona Erasmus SANRAL’s Bursary Coordinator.

The process is now underway to capture and evaluate all the applications.

SANRAL’s scholarship programme was historically developed to give financial support to learners from Grade 10 to Grade12, ideally those who excel in mathematics and science. This year, however, scholarships were made available to all high school learners, i.e. from Grade 8 to Grade 12, irrespective of their subject choices. Furthermore, where learners previously required a 70% overall aggregate to be eligible for consideration, they now required 60% with a view to improving their aggregate to 70%.

Scholarships cover:

• School fees
• Books and prescribed stationery
• Winter and summer uniforms
• Hostel accommodation (where applicable)
• Extra tuition classes in support of improved grades

While SANRAL remains committed to developing a pipeline of Civil Engineering professionals in support of its mandate of building and maintaining South Africa’s national road network, the net has this year had been cast wider, to accommodate applications for bursaries in disciplines such as Public Relations, Auditing, Supply Chain Management, Law, Human Resources and Finance, which collectively support its corporate structure.

Bursaries cover:

• Tuition and registration
• Books and equipment
• Accommodation and meals
• Living allowance

All shortlisted candidates will be contacted via the details they provided in their applications and arrangements will be made for final selection interviews. SANRAL will endeavour to conclude the administrative processes by the end of December 2021, in order to facilitate financial aid at the start of the 2022 academic year.

Lusikisiki, Eastern Cape, 24 September 2021 – President Cyril Ramaphosa visited the Msikaba bridge site of the N2 Wild Coast Road project yesterday (Thursday, 23 September 2021), describing it as world-class and calling on local communities and traditional leaders to support the project, which is one of the flagship projects of the South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited (SANRAL).

President Ramaphosa said work on the N2 Wild Coast project will lead to the creation of 8 000 fulltime jobs and between 21 000 and 28 000 indirect jobs.

“This translates to a wage bill of around R750 million. Both skilled and semi-skilled people have already been employed on this project. Once the road is completed, ongoing maintenance work is anticipated to create another 900 direct, full-time jobs and around 19 000 indirect jobs.

“These numbers affirm SANRAL’s commitment to sustainable job creation. Over the past year alone SANRAL has created 17 760 job opportunities at its various projects around the country. This is part of a government-wide effort to create jobs in our economy,” he said.

The event took place on the banks of the Msikaba river and was attended by several ministers, including transport, Fikile Mbalula; public works, Patricia de Lille; small business, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams; and water and sanitation, Senzo Mchunu. Others in attendance included the Premier of the Eastern Cape, Oscar Mabuyane and members of his provincial cabinet, mayors and councillors, as well as traditional leaders such as the King of amaMpondo, King Zanozuko Sigcawu, accompanied by various Iinkosi around the Mpondoland, and SANRAL board members and executives. (The previous statement had erroneously mentioned that Chief Baleni was present. He was not in attendance.)

The Msikaba bridge is one of two mega bridges which form part of the N2 Wild Coast Road project. The other is at Mtentu, about 64 km away. The construction of the Msikaba bridge is expected to be completed by 2023. Once completed, the Mtentu bridge will be one of the highest bridges in Africa and one of the longest in the world.

The bridges are part of the N2 Wild Coast Road Project that connects four provinces, namely the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Kwa-Zulu/-Natal and Mpumalanga. It is SANRAL’s flagship infrastructure project in the Eastern Cape and one of 18 designated national Strategic Integrated Projects or SIPs of catalytic value.

The President said that the project has huge socio-economic and enterprise development benefits and would yield benefits over a long period.

“Approximately R4-billion will be spent on targeted enterprises during the construction period. This will ensure that the investment on this project will be ploughed back to communities. Already some R120 million has gone to local SMMEs as part of upgrading and linking of roads, and there are several more projects in the pipeline.

“By regulating that a minimum of 30 per cent of expenditure is earmarked for targeted enterprise sub-contractors and suppliers, approximately R4 bn will in future flow to SMMEs from the OR Tambo and Alfred Nzo Districts.”
The project would also have a positive environmental impact, he said.

“The N2 Wild Coast Region Biodiversity Offset Programme will result in the Silaka and Mkhambathi Nature reserves being expanded, and lead to the creation of several new protected areas in the Pondoland Centre of Floral Endemism totalling approximately 20 000Ha.”

The President said that the highway would narrow travelling distances and time, and it will also be safer. “There is the benefit to tourism from both inside and outside the province. There is the benefit to the provincial and national economy. This highway will support the transportation of goods and services to the entire Southern African region.
“With the coming into operation of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in January this year, I can certainly see this project playing a key role in the movement of goods and services to a continental market.”

President Ramaphosa said that, at Msikaba, the community participation goal for targeted labour set by SANRAL was exceeded at the end of July, with it reaching 37 per cent against 32 per cent of work completed. “Sixty-two per cent of the total work force on this site are locals. Of the 329 employed, 156 are employed by the main contractor, and 173 by sub-contractors.

“I want to congratulate the national Department of Transport, SANRAL and the contractors for ensuring that matters around community participation were dealt with sensitively.”

He said the N2 Wild Coast Road Project supports “not only our domestic priorities, but the economic integration agenda of the African continent”.

“It is not far-fetched to say that years from now, this same N2 Wild Coast Road will enable an entrepreneur from Lusikisiki to transport their goods onward to Gaborone, to Lusaka, then to Dar-es-Salaam. It is not inconceivable that a bus from Kinshasa in the DRC will be able to bring tourists directly to the Wild Coast.

“Through the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) we have a common framework for African stakeholders to build the infrastructure necessary for more integrated transport, energy, ICT and trans-boundary water networks to boost trade, spark growth and create jobs. In this regard, the N2 Wild Coast Road Project will no doubt play an important role.”

Head of Investments and Infrastructure in the Presidency, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, will today, 22 September 2021, host the first two sessions of the Pipeline Series of webinars that will showcase infrastructure projects to potential national and international funders.

The seven-part Pipeline Series is part of the build-up to the Sustainable Infrastructure Development Symposium (SIDSSA21) which will take place on 6 and 7 October 2021 in hybrid format under the theme “Quality infrastructure for development, recovery and inclusive growth”.

The October symposium will draw from a range of stakeholders from the financing sector, business sector, academia and project sponsors.

Today’s commencement of the Pipeline Series mirrors the 2020 market-sounding engagement where infrastructure project-sponsors presented opportunities for investment and other forms of partnership to an audience of national and international funding institutions.

The Pipeline Series is aimed at increasing the supply of bankable projects that support the South Africa’s Infrastructure Investment Plan, and to showcase projects in Infrastructure South Africa’s portfolio for capital raising from national and international investors.

The thematic focus for the SIDSSA21 project pipeline is as follows:

22 September 2021

Part 1: Integrated Human Settlements – New Ways of Investing

Part 2: Accelerating Investment into SA’s Student Housing Infrastructure Programme

28 September 2021

Part 3: Municipal Infrastructure Financing – Bulk Funding Solution

Part 4: Digital Economy – The 3rd Great Economic Revolution

Part 5: Deep-Dive Parallel Sessions

• Green Economy – South Africa at the Global Forefront for Green Energy
• Manufacturing and Industrialization – The Export Factor

6 October 2021

Part 6: A Focused Infrastructure Sector Approach

• Transport for Development – Taking Up Space
• Financing Social Infrastructure Differently

Part 7: Unveiling of the Infrastructure Fund Projects

The Pipeline Series is not public, however the outcomes of the series will be made public at the SIDSSA21. All of the sessions will include an overview of the sector discussion as well as project presentations from project owners and sponsors.

Media wishing to conduct interviews on the Pipeline Series or the SIDSSA may do so via the contact listed below.

Persons wishing to join the October SIDSSA21 Symposium are invited to register to attend on the following link: GET INVOLVED – Sustainable Infrastructure Development Symposium SA (sidssa.org.za)

Media enquiries: Nombulelo Nyathela – Nombulelo@presidency.gov.za or Anna Sango – Annas@idc.gov.za

Issued by Government Communications (GCIS) on behalf of Infrastructure and Investment Office in The Presidency