Message by the MEC

MXOLISI KAUNDA

Upgrading road infrastructure is crucial to unlocking the economic potential of KwaZulu- Natal and the country as a whole. We are pleased that our national roads agency (SANRAL) is investing billions of rands in KwaZulu- Natal to upgrade road infrastructure. This will contribute immensely to the attainment of our strategic goal of making KwaZulu-Natal a gateway to Africa and the world.

The expansion and upgrading of road infrastructure in the province are critical for a number of reasons.

These include the fact that KwaZulu-Natal is the second most populous province - after Gauteng - with over 11 million citizens who make 19.7% of the country’s total population. It also attracts the second highest number of visitors, especially during the holiday seasons. Furthermore, our province:

  • has the third highest number of registered vehicles at approximately 1,6 million, which is growing annually at an average rate of about 25 percent;
  • has several international (Lesotho, Swaziland and Mozambique) borders and national (Free State, Mpumalanga and Eastern Cape) boundaries, perhaps more than all other provinces;
  • has the country’s busiest ports, namely Durban and Richards Bay, and must thus handle overwhelming volumes of

heavy vehicles carrying freight.

These trucks are passing through major national and provincial routes, particularly the N2 and N3, to and from the harbours.

All these factors demand that our province should have state-of-the-art infrastructure. It is precisely for this reason that we are excited about the completed R1.2bn Mt Edgecombe Interchange, the construction of the R500m Umgeni Interchange and many other upgrades along the N2 and N3.

These multi-billion rand infrastructure investments in the province will not only facilitate the economic growth in the province but they will also enhance road safety.

Over and above this, SANRAL’s infrastructure investment in the province has contributed immensely to creating business and job opportunities for SMMEs and ordinary citizens of KwaZulu-Natal.

Undoubtedly, this will go a long way in addressing the triple challenge of unemployment, poverty and inequality. It will also help accelerate government’s programme of radical socio-economic transformation which seeks to bring the majority of the previously marginalised into the mainstream economy.

Mxolisi Kaunda is the KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, community Safety and Liaison

KZN road upgrades will boost national economy

SKHUMBUZO MAZOCOMA

KwaZulu-Natal has two major ports in Durban and Richards Bay and the expeditious movement of goods to the rest of South Africa and neighbouring countries is an economic priority. The upgrading of the N2 and N3 at a cost of more than R28bn will ensure that the required infrastructure is built to resolve the traffic congestion currently experienced by providing higher mobility and increased safety.

The N3 upgrade will boast a four to five-lane freeway per direction on an 80km stretch between Pietermaritzburg and Durban. The N2 upgrade will entail a four to five-lane freeway per direction over the 54km route between Amanzimtoti and Dube Tradeport.

The N3 upgrades will solve bottlenecks between Durban and Pietermaritzburg.

In an effort to fast-track empowerment in the road construction industry, SANRAL signed memoranda of understanding with suppliers of construction machinery that give small contractors access to these to allow them to participate more meaningfully in major construction projects.

Thus, new entrants will be attracted to the construction and engineering sectors, particularly black contractors, who will in turn grow their business and create jobs.

SANRAL has long recognised that the importance of transport infrastructure to economic growth creates opportunities for private investment in road development and management. Public Private partnerships (PPPs) are an alternative means of financing and operating the national road network, with the costs being recovered through user charges or tolls.

The mandate of the N3 Toll Concession which is to design, finance, construct, operate and maintain the section of the N3 extending from Cedara in KwaZulu-Natal to Heidelberg in Gauteng has seen millions of rands being poured into refurbishment and periodic maintenance of this stretch of the N3 to make it operationally more efficient and safer.

Roads are the arteries through which the economy pulses. By linking producers to markets, workers to jobs, students to school, and the sick to hospitals, roads are vital to any development agenda.

Rutted roads will give a rotten economy. Hence, SANRAL will always ensure that our roads are right and proper to make South Africa grow and develop.

Skhumbuzo Macozoma is the SANRAL CEO

BUILDING SOUTH AFRICA THROUGH BETTER ROADS

HELLO KWAZULU-NATAL 2019