MEDIA RELEASE

SANRAL TO EMBARK ON URGENT ROUTINE ROAD MAINTANCE PROJECT IN MANGAUNG

SANRAL’s Edgar Dube says the urgent RRM project will bring the road to a drivable standard

Mangaung, 26 June 2025 – The South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited (SANRAL) will embark on an urgent R130 million routine road maintenance (RRM) project on sections of the N6 and N8 national roads that pass-through Caleb Motshabi township in Mangaung, Free State Province.

This part of the national road network was handed over to SANRAL by the Free State Provincial Government in November last year.

Speaking at an information session that SANRAL convened for local SMMEs and community members in Mangaung yesterday (Wednesday), SANRAL’s Project Manager Edgar Dube said the urgent RRM project was necessary to bring these sections of the road into a “drivable standard,” making it safer for motorists.

“Key works that will be done on the roads include surface repairs, base repairs, erection and cleaning of guardrails, cleaning of culverts, grass cutting, erection and repair of fences, and other general maintenance work. The project will take over a year to be completed,” said Dube.

Local SMMEs and community members will benefit through job opportunities that will be offered on this project. Through this project, SANRAL will ensure that previously marginalised communities – including women, young people, military veterans and people with disabilities – play a meaningful role and benefit from it.

“Working together with the Project Liaison Committee (PLC) through the municipality, we will continue to ensure that information is shared among local communities and also ensure that there is ongoing transparency on matters relating to subcontracting, project execution and employment of opportunities,” said Thandeka Ngema, SANRAL’s Acting Stakeholder Relations Coordinator for the Free State Province.

Ngema also added that the PLC structure still needs to be established on the project, and a Public Liaison Officer (PLO) will also be appointed to ensure transparency and free flow of communication with the community.

“About 30% of the contract value will go to local contractors, particularly those on grades one to four. Although our focus will be on grades one to four for this project, we have not neglected contractors from grade five to nine. SANRAL has now completed its consultation process on the Contractor Development Programme, and the programme will be rolled out to assist contractors from grade five and above. This is indeed part of our ongoing endeavours to transform the construction industry and for local SMMEs to benefit from our projects,” added Ngema.

Just over 1200 kilometres of the province’s roads were transferred to SANRAL between October 2023 and November 2024. These roads will be fully managed by SANRAL’s management in the Free State. SANRAL is also in the process of opening a provincial office in Mangaung. This is in line with the roads agency’s decision to move the organisation from a regional-office based model to a provincial-office based one. The opening of the Mangaung office will also allow SANRAL to enhance its stakeholder engagement endeavours with the Free State Provincial Government, municipalities and the various communities that are affected by its projects.

-ENDS-