Name and Location
N1/N2 Winelands toll-highway project, Western Cape, South Africa.

Client
South African National Roads Authority Limited (Sanral).

Project Description
The project encompasses 105 km of the N1 highway between Cape Town and Worcester and a 70 km of the N2 between Bot river and Cape Town.

The toll-highway project will include the construction and upgrade of roads and associated infrastructure on certain portions of the N1 between the R300 and Sandhills, and on the N2, in the Western Cape; the construction and upgrade of portions of the road; the upgrade of the second bore of the Huguenot tunnel; the construction of toll plazas between the R300 and the Bot river; and the construction of the new, closed ‘cut-and-cover’ tunnel alignment through Helderzicht, extending west from of the Danie Ackerman primary school to the Victoria street interchange.

In 2003, the project was granted environmental authorisation and was gazetted as a toll road in 2008.

Value
As the project is a 30-year concession, Sanral has proposed to develop it through a public–private partnership.

The concessionaire will finance the construction, maintenance and operation through toll collection and will be required to hand over the road to Sanral after this time.

The overall cost of the project is estimated at R10-billion.

Duration
The concession contract for the proposed project will be for a 30-year period and will comprise the upgrade work on the N1 and N2 during an initial construction period of about three years, and the ugrade, maintenance and operation of the road for the remaining 27 years

The initial construction works will take three years to complete. The operation and maintenance period for the public–private partnership project is expected to start in 2015, running to 2042.

Latest Developments
The City of Cape Town has been granted an interim interdict, halting the proposed N1/N2 Winelands toll highway project.

Western Cape High Court Judge Ashley Binns-Ward ordered on May 21 that interim relief be granted, pending the same court's review of Sanral's decision to implement the toll project.

The city argues that Sanral's decision is irrational because it claims the transport Minister at the time, Jeff Radebe, approved the project without knowing the full costs involved.

It also argues that Sanral is withholding vital documents from it, including a toll feasibility and strategy report and documents proving that the board came to a decision on the project.

Sanral has stated that it is not withholding information about the project's cost, as it is "impossible to know" at the present stage. Sanral has further criticised the city for taking three years to institute legal proceedings.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Group Five, Basil Read, Bouygues Construction (lead construction partners).

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Sanral, Kobus van der Walt, tel +27 21 975 4600 or email Waltjc@nra.co.za; or project manager Tiago Massingue, tel +27 21 957 4627, fax +27 21 946 1630 or email massinguet@nra.co.za.
Group Five, tel +27 11 806 0241, fax +27 11 803 5829 or email scoventry@groupfive.co.za.
Basil Read, tel +27 11 418 6300 or fax +27 11 418 6333.
Bouygues Construction, tel +33 1 3060 3300, fax +33 1 3060 4861 or email bouygues-construction.com.