Moving closer to opportunity

MEC NANDI NDALANE

Our provincial road network is vital to the economic growth of Limpopo. The bulk of our products in the fields of agriculture, mining and commerce are carried on the provincial road network and none of our world-class tourism and heritage sights would be accessible without the existence of well-designed and well-maintained roads.

Visitors to our province will be aware that extensive construction is currently taking place on key sections of the N1 – the road that serves as South Africa’s gateway into the rest of the continent. The Polokwane Ring Road will significantly improve commuting around our provincial capital and at the northern border the Musina Ring Road will help to improve traffic flows close to South Africa’s busiest port of entry.

An exciting new development undertaken by SANRAL is the upgrading of the R37 between Burgersfort and Madikwa in the Fetakgomo Greater Tubatse Municipality. This project will not only improve safety on a very dangerous

stretch of road but also provide better access to a district in the province with huge potential for growth.

The province of Limpopo values its close working relationship with the South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL). Through the years there have been high levels of cooperation between SANRAL and the Road Agency Limpopo (RAL) and we are fortunate to share expertise and professional experience.

We especially welcome SANRAL’s ongoing commitment to the transformation of the engineering and construction sectors. This will unlock opportunities for black-owned, women-owned and youth-owned enterprises to get a far greater slice of construction contracts and have a ripple effect into local economic development.

This publication, Hello Limpopo, highlights some of SANRAL’s primary activities in our province and how our road network is moving the people of Limpopo closer to opportunity.

Nandi Ndalane is the MEC for Public Works, Roads and Infrastructure in Limpopo

China coopoeration reaches Limpopo

SIBUSISO MACOZOMA

At the recent Africa-China conference in Beijing the focus was on closer cooperation in many fields between the two economies. One of these was special economic zones (SEZ). While not mentioned by name, one of them is in Limpopo, right up near the border with Zimbabwe along the N1 and near the town of Musina.

It will have many consequences. Some of these are that it will boost the economy of Musina, the region near the border and the province. Because of the expected increase in traffic, SANRAL is constructing a ring road around Musina - to save the town from congestion and increasing the transport flow along the national highway.

Directly tied in with these developments is the upgrading of the border post at Beit Bridge. This too should greatly help to improve road traffic between South Africa and Zimbabwe and countries further north.

These are just some examples of how SANRAL is increasing opportunities in this northernmost province of South Africa. You can read about these and more in this edition of Hello Limpopo, your publication about the roads and developments in your province.

The national roads agency not only builds and maintains the highways to international standards, but its work directly affects the communities along its routes. This is spelt out in greater detail in the progress report on the upcoming R37 between Burgersfort and Modikwa project. As is what work will be done and the completion date is expected to be.

A ring road has at least two advantages - it takes traffic out of a town and improves traffic flows on the nearby highway. There are two under construction in Limpopo which have run into a temporary hiccup. In the spirit of openness here at SANRAL, we tell you about both on page 6.

When you read and/or hear SANRAL you think roads. But you should also think people because people are high on the agency’s agenda. Such as the Limpopo students who received bursaries and scholarships and our new regional manager for our northern region - which includes Limpopo.

And we tell you that it may look easy to paint a white line on black tar but it actually requires some real skill. In the end it is worth it as it improves road safety.

Skhumbuzo Macozoma is SANRAL’s CEO
BUILDING SOUTH AFRICA THROUGH BETTER ROADS
 
HELLO LIMPOPO 2018