Name of the Project
N1/N2 Winelands toll-highway project.

Location
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 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 N1/N2; the upgrade of the second bore of the Huguenot tunnel; the construction of toll plazas between the R300 and Bot river; and the construction of the new, closed ‘cut-and-cover’ tunnel alignment through Helderzicht, extending west from the Danie Ackerman Primary School to the Victoria street interchange.

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

Jobs to be Created
Not stated.

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 comprises the upgrade work on the N1 and N2 during an initial construction period of about three years and the upgrade, 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 and end in 2042.

Latest Developments
Sanral has appealed a judgment over the right to toll the N1 and the N2 highways at the Supreme Court of Appeal. The judgment had been in favour of the City of Cape Town.

On September 30 last year, the Western Cape High Court reviewed and set aside approvals that would enable Sanral to go ahead with tolling on those highways in the Winelands district.

City of Cape Town Councillor Brett Heron said in a statement on August 17 that Sanral had launched an appeal against that judgment, and that the city had defended its position. Judgment was reserved after the argument.

The city maintains that according to the Sanral Act, only the Sanral board can declare a toll road, and the board allegedly did not do this. The board was also not given the information to do so, he said. The public's complaints and objections – which form 99% of the comments – were not presented to the board either, he continued.

He added that although national government could decide how road infrastructure was funded, Sanral had to follow due process and act within the law.

The City of Cape Town has said that it will take the issue to the Constitutional Court if necessary.

Comment from Sanral was not immediately available, but it said in a statement released in September 2015 that there had been speculation and misinformation about the funding model to be used on the project.

Its Western Cape regional manager Kobus van der Walt said the initial cost of works would be R10-billion, R2-billion short of Sanral's total allocation a year.

"The notion that Sanral should fund this project from its own resources is therefore, uninformed. This year, we received a total allocation of R12.5-billion to look after the entire national road network. Clearly we cannot take all of it to do one project in one province."

Van der Walt also said the Western Cape is the only province that has permission from the National Treasury to implement a fuel levy to finance roads, but it has not been implemented to date.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Sanral, tel +27 21 975 4600.
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.