The R37 project creates space for SMMEs

The planned upgrade and maintenance of sections of the R37 from Burgersfort to Modikwa Mine will soon bring several opportunities for local businesses.

The road has deteriorated immensely over recent times because of the erection of illegal speed humps and violent service delivery protests in the area. It goes without saying that these challenges have had a significant impact on commuters and businesses in the area.

All hope is not lost though, with the SANRAL team hard at work in preparation for the launch of the project, starting with its focus on involving local black businesses in the procurement process as well as the facilitation of increased youth and women involvement in projects.

As part of its approach to all future projects, the roads agency encourages partnerships between larger companies and SMMEs as a way of including locally owned businesses and creating employment.

Speaking about how local organisations can benefit from SANRAL projects, Madoda Mthembu, Project Manager: Routine road maintenance, said: “Besides some of the larger projects which require extensive experience, SANRAL also has routine road maintenance (RRM) projects within the municipality which will help smaller companies build on their experience and capacity through the employment of locals.”

SANRAL’s transformation policy requires that a sizeable value of contracts is awarded to suitably qualified enterprises owned by black-, youth, women and disabled individuals as well as military veterans.

As part of the activities leading up to the commencement of the project, stakeholders were invited to a two-day Taking SANRAL to the People stakeholder engagement event which detailed the upcoming opportunities for SMMEs as well as bursaries and scholarships available to students.

Taking care and control

In October, 26 people’s lives were lost in a horrific multi-vehicle collision on the N1 between Modimolle and Mookgophong. The section of the highway between Kranskop Toll Plaza and Polokwane has recently been the scene of multiple road deaths. SANRAL is by no means unaware of the recent upsurge in fatal incidents on this section of the N1 and we have dispatched a team of engineers to investigate the cause of the carnage and come up with design solutions.

SANRAL prides itself in providing safely engineered roads that connect people to their friends, family and business opportunities. We cannot even begin to express our sorrow that so many lives have been lost so needlessly on our roads. SANRAL offers its deepest condolences to the families of those who met their end on this section of the N1 and we are doing everything we can to make sure these kinds of crashes stop happening.

SANRAL’s Northern Region Manager, Progress Hlahla, said: “So far, in order to improve the safety of travellers, we have improved signage and road markings on this section of road and fixed gravel shoulders. We are also exploring longer term options.”

But we need motorists to hold up their end and play an active part in keeping our roads safe – especially on busy routes such as the N1, which sees about 2 400 heavy vehicles per day, along with other traffic.

“We would like to encourage drivers to make sure things such as tyre pressure is checked, that they stick to the speed limit, rest in between long distances and ensure that their headlights are switched on when there is low visibility,” Hlahla said.

South Africans are all part of one big travelling family. Let’s all take care of each other on the roads – and control of ourselves behind the wheel.

The N1 in Limpopo

A gateway to the opportunity

Soon Musina will be known for more than its baobab trees and impala lilies. A great deal of business will be conducted in the region once the special economic zone (SEZ) near the N1 close to this border town becomes operative.

The N1 provides an essential link to Zimbabwe and large parts of South Africa such as Cape Town. Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies described the SEZ’s location as strategically “close to the main land-based route between South Africa and the rest of the continent”.

The SEZ will bring access to a host of economic benefits for locals, including jobs and business opportunities. This project will also have a major effect on the whole of the Limpopo province, particularly the area between the Soutpansberg mountain and the border with Zimbabwe.

It will mean an increase in heavy traffic as the expected initial R40bn in investment will lead to at least eight large-scale industrial projects, including a power station, a coking coal plant, ferrosilicon plant, a steel plant and a stainless-steel plant.

SANRAL has identified the need to provide an alternative route for the N1 through traffic by providing a ring road around the town. Once completed, the R490m SANRAL project will result in major improvements in road safety, traffic flows and less damage to infrastructure in the town of Musina itself.

BUILDING SOUTH AFRICA THROUGH BETTER ROADS
 
HELLO LIMPOPO 2018