For over 33 years the Huguenot Tunnel has served more than 100 million road users. SANRAL implemented much-needed upgrades to the south bore, and is set to upgrade the north bore, which will involve bringing a second tunnel online. This will ultimately result in the Western Cape’s first two-directional tunnel, which will be on par with some of the world’s safest and most advanced road tunnels. It is estimated that this R2.5 billion project will take 5–7 years to complete.
Special maintenance has started on the N6 to Dordrecht in Emalahleni Local Municipality, with an estimated budget of R253 million. The Community Participation Goal on the project is R75.9 million, which is 30% of the total project value. About 6% of the project has been earmarked to create job opportunities for local community members. Around 200 job opportunities will be created for skilled and semi-skilled workers during the construction phase.
Media Release
SANRAL willing to respond to the needs of Mpumalanga stakeholders
Pretoria, 30 March 2022 – The South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited (SANRAL) is willing to respond to the needs and expectations of stakeholders in Mpumalanga, says Board Chairperson Themba Mhambi.
Mhambi was speaking during the “Taking Sanral to the people” stakeholder engagement session in Secunda in the Govan Mbeki Local Municipality on Friday, 25 March 2022. This engagement was in line with SANRAL’s fourth pillar of Stakeholder Relations, which requires stakeholders to be consulted about all project-related activities that affect communities.
During the session stakeholders voiced concerns of formal training for small businesses prior to bidding for projects to ensure that they have an improved chance of procuring the opportunities. Stakeholders also pleaded with SANRAL to first consider local businesses to be appointed as the main contractors for projects since there were far more capable businesses in the area, and only outsource where they don’t meet the requirements.
The chairperson emphasised that all SANRAL projects should have a direct impact on the communities
in the form of jobs, community development and skills training for small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs).
“SANRAL is committed to ensuring that its transformation policy is understood and relevant to the communities in which its projects are operating and ensure that all SMMEs in the affected local municipality are afforded an equal opportunity to tender for projects in the area,” he said.
Mhambi said that SANRAL’s Horizon 2030 Strategy is a pro-active response to deliver on the agency’s vision of a national transport system that will ensure a better South Africa for all. It sets out in detail the strategic objectives and the critical enablers that will make it possible for the roads agency to remain a respected, dynamic and responsive organisation over the years to come.
The Executive Mayor of the Govan Mbeki Municipality, Cllr Nhlakanipho Zuma, welcomed the visit by the roads agency as it will solidify the partnership between the two entities and will help in advancing the link between road infrastructure and the local communities.
“We are a diverse municipality which accommodates all forms of nations. We are an economy with high factors of industrialisation which seeks to attract an average of 3,3% of population growth per year,” he said.
The mayor highlighted the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the local economy.
“While we have a population growth of 3,3 %, we are currently sitting at 1% growth of the economy which indicates the state of the livelihoods of our people. Once you have your economic growth sitting beneath the population growth, it means that you are reproducing over elements of poverty and unemployment. Therefore, we appreciate any initiative that will come and advance us,” said Zuma.
The municipality boasts about 998 km of road infrastructure: 505 km are tarred roads and 398 gravel roads which the municipality says it is struggling to maintain to the acceptable standards required.
The municipality is also home to one of the country’s national key points, the Sasol plant, which attracts lots of heavy trucks to the area, meaning the road infrastructure requires maintenance on a frequent basis.
SANRAL projects in Govan Mbeki Local Municipality
SANRAL manages about 2 400km of road infrastructure across the province and has planned a couple of projects throughout the municipality. Some of the key projects earmarked for construction, upgrading and maintenance include:
The duration of these projects ranges from 10 to 15 months, and they are estimated to cost between R40 million to R50 million each. Opportunities for subcontracting in these projects include concrete pavement repair, drainage and structures improvements, road furniture (road signs, guardrails) and road markings.
Routine Road Maintenance (RRM)
There are currently 10 routine road maintenance (RRM) projects servicing the province. Two more will be awarded before 31 March 2022. There is a Special Maintenance Project along the N17 Section 5 from Chrissiesmeer to km 85 within the Msukaligwa and Chief Albert Luthuli Local Municipalities respectively and the project will be completed approximately on 31 March 2023.
SANRAL has approximately 2 500km of road network where maintenance is being done through RRM projects in the province.
Maintenance of the road is an ongoing exercise and is the only consistent activity within the SANRAL road network that is critical in creating jobs for local communities and subcontracting opportunities for targeted businesses on an ongoing basis.
SANRAL will continue to consult with all key stakeholders and partner with provincial and government entities to uplift communities and grow the economy to guarantee a better life for all.
MEDIA RELEASE
Gwaing River Bridge upgrade making steady progress
Western Cape, 25 March 2022 – Work on the upgrade of the Gwaing River Bridge in George is making steady progress with 45 construction workers currently on site. This is after the South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited (SANRAL) had in December last year confirmed that the contract for the construction of the second bridge over the Gwaing River was assigned (ceding of rights and transfer of obligations) from KPMM Roads and Earthworks to Mamlambo Construction.
On the day the agreement between the two contractors became effective the site and the immediate area experienced exceptionally high rainfall. This resulted in the Gwaing River coming down in a flood. The flood caused significant damage to the temporary work on the bridge construction site, with a large portion of the scaffolding being washed away. Construction commenced earlier this year, with a view to complete the works in 2023.
At present, the priority is to repair the damage that was sustained during the flood, and this requires the removal of the reinforcing steel (inside the temporary formwork) and thereafter the removal of the temporary formwork itself. The formwork on top of the scaffolding is visible from the existing N2. Portions of the scaffolding are to be dismantled and rebuilt before the formwork (and reinforcing steel) can be reinstated on top of it.
In addition to the above mentioned repair work, the contractor is busy with the construction of the stormwater facilities and preparing for the construction of the balustrades on the portion of the completed deck. “Despite all the project setbacks and delays, the project is still within allocated budget. The majority of workers are working underneath the bridge deck which is being constructed and are not visible to road users on the N2. SANRAL remains committed to completing this project and providing the much-needed infrastructure to the required standards and specifications,” said Randall Cable, SANRAL Western Region Manager.
Traffic Advisory
Road closures on the N1 due to sinkhole rehabilitation: Road Markings
Pretoria, 22 March 2022 – The South African National Road Agency SOC Ltd (SANRAL) wishes to notify road users to expect road closures on the N1 South bound between N1/R21 (Flying Saucer interchange) and Botha Avenue in Centurion to allow for rehabilitation work on the sinkhole.
The lane closures on the N1 section 21 at Km 22.1 Southbound will be implemented as follows:
Progress Hlahla, SANRAL’s Northern Regional Manager, said the closure is required to allow for road marking in the lanes of the southbound carriageway. The reconfiguration of the lanes is required to remark the road which has since been increased from three (3) lanes to four (4) to assist in alleviating traffic congestion.
During this period only two lanes will be open. The duration of the closure will be kept as short as possible.
“Motorists are requested to plan their trips, accordingly, consider alternative routes and use caution when making use of the roads,” said Hlahla.
SANRAL apologises for any inconvenience caused during this period and will continue to provide updates to road users as information becomes available.
MEDIA STATEMENT
Evaton West road is NOT a SANRAL road
Pretoria, 17 March 2022 – The South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited (SANRAL) has noted recent media reports about the Evaton West community expressing their unhappiness at a pothole-ridden road in their central business district (CBD) at Emfuleni Local Municipality in the west of Gauteng Province.
In a news insert on television channel Newzroom Afrika, a community member can be seen expressing his unhappiness about the state of the road, saying that they have reached out to SANRAL to intervene in fixing the potholes, and that SANRAL referred them back to the Emfuleni Local Municipality.
“SANRAL would like to categorically state that the road in question is not a SANRAL road, and that it falls within the jurisdiction of Emfuleni Local Municipality. It is therefore incorrect to state that SANRAL is not doing anything to fix the potholes on that road.
“SANRAL’s distinct mandate has always been to finance, improve, manage and maintain the national road network. The road in question does not fall in that category,” said Vusi Mona, SANRAL’s General Manager for Marketing and Communications.
The conversation pertaining to SANRAL’s management of the national road network also falls against the current national discourse, where certain provincial and regional roads in some parts of the country are in the process of being transferred to SANRAL. It is worth noting that for roads to be transferred to SANRAL, there are processes that first need to be followed in order for those roads to be gazetted.
TRAFFIC ADVISORY: Immediate
Temporary closure of the R396 between Maclear and Emabeleni township near Tsolo
Eastern Cape, 14 March 2022: The South African National Roads Agency SOC Ltd (SANRAL) would like to notify motorists that the R396 between Maclear and Emabeleni township is temporarily closed due to road works.
“Motorists are requested to plan their trips accordingly, consider alternative routes and apply caution when making use of the roads,” said Mbulelo Peterson, SANRAL’s Southern
Regional Manager.
SANRAL apologises for any inconvenience caused.
TRAFFIC ADVISORY
Rapid response to clear crash with hazmat spill on N1
Northern Cape, 11 March 2022 – A crash involving two heavy vehicles on the N1 section 10, between Hanover and Richmond, which resulted in the road being closed for most of yesterday, has been cleared in the early morning hours and the road re-opened to traffic.
While no injuries were sustained by any of the drivers, the safety risk was significantly compounded as one of the trucks were carrying Sodium Hypochlorite, a toxic and corrosive substance, which spilled onto the road surface.
Routine Road Maintenance (RRM) clean-up teams, including hazardous material spillage experts, were on site and worked tirelessly to contain and remove the hazardous material (hazmat) to prevent significant pavement damage and risk to road users.
All relevant Road Incident Management System (RIMS) role-players were activated in record time and through a well-coordinated communications operation, traffic was diverted and accommodated via alternative routes. The N1 was closed at Three Sisters at the N12 turn-off and traffic was redirected onto the N12 towards Victoria West, through to Britstown,
where traffic was further redirected onto the N10 toward De Aar, to re-join the N1 at
Hanover.
“We extend our gratitude and appreciation to the RRM team as well as Provincial Traffic and all Emergency Services for their rapid response. We also wish to thank the road users for their patience and cooperation with traffic authorities during the delays and resultant congestion on the road,” said Randall Cable, SANRAL Western Region Manager.
MEDIA RELEASE
CONTRAFLOW ON NATIONAL ROUTE 3 (N3) BETWEEN CATO RIDGE AND DARDANELLES SET TO BEGIN
Pietermaritzburg 7 March 2022 – Traffic between Camperdown and Dardanelles on the N3 will switch to contraflow on the evening of 9 March 2022, a few days earlier than expected, the South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited (SANRAL) has announced. “Contraflow is a temporary arrangement where traffic on a road is transferred from its usual side to share the other half of the carriageway with traffic moving in the opposite direction,” said Mohamed Parak, SANRAL’s Eastern Region Project Manager.
The move to contraflow in the area forms part of the construction work on the upgrade of the N3 from the Cato Ridge Interchange to the northern end of the Dardanelles Cutting which began on 14 April 2021. This project is in the district municipality of uMgungundlovu and local municipalities of eThekwini and Mkhambathini.
“The progress on the construction of the side-drain exceeded expectations and switchover to contraflow will be possible a few days earlier than previously expected,” said Parak.
This 48-month construction project will see the upgrade of 6.4km of the existing four-lane dual carriageway to an eight-lane dual carriageway by widening into the median and outer shoulders. A road-over rail bridge will be extended to accommodate the widening of the road, together with numerous pipe culverts. The upgrade will include lighting along the 6.4km.
The R103 provincial road, which runs next to the N3, will also be upgraded between the outer limits of the contract. A new section of R103 will be constructed alongside the N3 on the southern side between Camperdown Interchange and the existing R103 Overpass just south of Camperdown Interchange.
“The temporary widening of the existing N3 has been proceeding well and all traffic can now be diverted onto the temporarily widened road between Camperdown Interchange and Dardanelles. Traffic on the northbound (Pietermaritzburg bound) will be diverted to the temporarily widened southbound (Durban bound) carriageway at Camperdown Interchange and diverted back to the northbound carriageway at Dardanelles (km 26,6). The switchover will be done at night. Contraflow conditions will exist on the southbound carriageway between Camperdown Interchange and Dardanelles with concrete barriers in place between the two opposite traffic streams. Two lanes will be available in both directions,” said Parak.
Once the traffic has been diverted off the northbound carriageway, the existing northbound carriageway will be available for total reconstruction of the new four-lane northbound carriageway. It is expected that contraflow conditions will be in place until January 2024.
The speed limit along the route has been reduced to 80km/hr to improve safety of the construction team and road users. Temporary lane closures to permit construction on the trafficked carriageways can be expected in the evening and the public will be informed in advance of such activity.
“We appeal to road users to note and comply with the advance warning signs and speed restrictions when travelling past the construction work zones. Motorists are encouraged to plan their trips accordingly, and to make provision for the additional travel time,” said Parak.
MEDIA RELEASE
SANRAL’s response to a Moneyweb article
Pretoria, 3 March 2022 – The story titled “Sanral delays awarding tenders worth at least R16bn” which appeared in Moneyweb on 3 March 2022 refers.
Before we respond to the substantive issues raised in the article, let us point out that Moneyweb had sent us a list of questions on 2 March 2022 and published the article the same day at midnight. In email exchanges between SANRAL and Moneyweb, the latter acknowledged receipt of our request to delay publication as our responses were going through internal approval processes. This was not a breaking a story and ours was a reasonable request, we thought, and to which Moneyweb did not object.
But Moneyweb could not resist the possibility of facts getting in the way of a juicy story and so it decided to go ahead and publish without a response from SANRAL, or verifying facts. One of the first things any rookie journalist learns in the profession is how important it is to be fair. Reporters must always include the other side.
Sometimes, though, there is no other side. In the case of SANRAL, the other side was there and had been in touch with Moneyweb’s journalist – not for the first time. He knows we always honour our commitment to respond to his questions. But this time around the facts might have gotten in the way of his innuendos dressed up as journalism.
Worse still, his effectiveness as a hired gun might have been blunted. This is also not the first time this journalist has published a factually incorrect statement, which after checking with SANRAL was proven to be inaccurate. We refer to the article published in November 2021 regarding SANRAL allegedly taking a loan from the New Development Bank of R7 billion.
Here are the facts responding to the substantive issues raised in the Moneyweb article.
SANRAL is dealing with a significant backlog in procurement, which is widely known and published, caused by the following:
All the above conspired to create a significant backlog which resulted in 258 projects (R31.7 billion), planned to be awarded in 2020/21, being rolled over to the current Annual Procurement Plan of 2021/22. The 2021/22 plan included a further 312 projects (R30 billion) to commence with the procurement process in this financial year.
To provide perspective on the impact the SCM reform has on the administrative processes that must be concluded, it is noteworthy that in 2020/21, 212 contracts were awarded. However, this represents 4 180 tender submissions, which had to be checked for compliance in terms of eligibility criteria and the Regulations, before they could be evaluated for functionality, price and preference.
One must bear in mind that any administrative error will result in the award being declared irregular.
We can confirm that the delay is not due to a lack of funding, as projects will not be planned until the funding is secured.
We can also confirm that the delays had nothing to do with the SANRAL Board. As a matter of good governance, the Board does not get involved in the procurement process. The Board only reviews an award, post evaluation and adjudication by Management, when a tender exceeds the threshold of R750 million, as per the SANRAL Delegation of Authority. In such instances, the Board must satisfy itself that all due processes have been followed. Otherwise, all other bids are finalised and awarded at the Management Bid Adjudication Committee (MBAC) level. The Board does not sit at MBAC.
Since 1 April 2021 to 28 February 2022, 267 contracts have been awarded, which represent R33 billion. Some 69 contracts have been evaluated, and are in various stages of adjudication/award. A further 148 projects are currently under evaluation, of which 35 closed more than 6 months ago. Of the total of 570 listed in the Annual Procurement Plan for 2021/22, 256 advertisements have closed and 16 are currently advertised.
It must also be indicated that the majority of projects are not delayed between adjudication and award, but rather between closing of advertisement and completing of the evaluations.
For 2021/22, 267 awards have already been made – Bid Adjudication Committees meet on a weekly basis to consider recommendations from the various Bid Evaluation Committees and continue to make awards. These awards are published on the SANRAL website and others, as per the requirements.
As for the suggestion or advice by WBHO Group CEO Wolfgang Neff that the SANRAL Board “may not have the correct experience to determine whether a bid is competitive or not and whether the contractor will be able to compete the work” we find such remarks unfortunate and revealing about his understanding of how SANRAL procurement works. These issues are determined through an extensive evaluation and adjudication process, which includes many specialists in engineering, procurement and legal fields. The Board merely seeks clarity where it has any concerns on the award made by MBAC.
Thus, Mr Neff’s suggestion about the role that consulting engineers must play is, unfortunately, incongruent with SANRAL’s corporate governance position on the matter of conflict of interest.