rating tool provides a unique focus on the socioeconomic impact of road projects in the context of South Africa’s inequality, unemployment challenges, skills development and history of restricted movement.

“Several attempts have been made in the past to set up rating systems for the broader infrastructure industry such as roads, dams, buildings, power plants and toll systems but these took a one-size-fits-all approach.

“Thus, the roads industry in South Africa started pursuing a rating system which would be entirely specific to roads.”

Royal HaskoningDHV undertook the earliest stages in developing a new localised rating system for the roads industry with support from SANRAL.

“South Africa is playing catch up as countries such as New Zealand, America and Australia have had a rating system for many years.

“In these countries, sustainability in infrastructure provision is enshrined law. Their construction and consulting companies use the sustainability rating system as a business strategy and this gives them a competitive advantage over their rivals,” said Nkabinde, adding that South Africa should have adopted a mandatory rating system a long while back.

SuRF’s rating tool is set up so that road authorities can set targets for relevant credits they wish to apply to specific projects for use by their service providers. These are then used for progress reporting purposes and final scoring on completion of the project phases.

There are currently 10 mandatory intervention levels for “best-practices”. These are:

• Relevant environmental, social and heritage resources related permits obtained
• Compilation of an Environmental Management Plan
• Proper disposal of hazardous waste
• Use of energy efficient plant
• Initial and follow-up pedestrian surveys
• Noise impact assessment
• Early community engagement
• Youth Skills Development (in-service training)
• Percentage of works reserved for labour intensive construction and targeted enterprises
• As-built data reporting.