Name of the Project
N2 Wild Coast Toll Road (N2WCTR) megabridges project.

Location
The bridges will be built over the Msikaba river gorge and the Mtentu river gorge, both near Lusikisiki, in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province.

Client
South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral).

Project Description
The Msikaba and Mtentu bridges form the backbone of the greenfield portion of the N2WCTR project – one of government’s 18 Strategic Integrated Projects. 

The greenfield section of the N2WCTR extends from Port Edward, in KwaZulu-Natal, through Lusikisiki, to Port St Johns, in the Eastern Cape. 

This section is a new road and, without the bridges, will not be able to be completed.

The 1.13-km-long Mtentu bridge will be one of the longest main-span-balanced cantilever bridges in the world. 

Reaching heights of more than 220 m, it will displace the Bloukraans bridge, in the Western Cape, as the highest bridge in Africa and the southern hemisphere.

The 580-m-long Msikaba bridge will be the longest main span – constructed by cable-stay method – in Africa, and the second-longest main bridge span in Africa after the Maputo-Catembe suspension bridge, in Mozambique.

The Msikaba bridge cable-stayed design will ensure that the construction of the bridge will have no direct impact on the pristine gorge environment 200 m below, which is one of the environmental requirements in building the bridge.

Pedestrian sidewalks and view sites, which will provide special viewing points for tourists, will be built on either side of the bridges.

Potential Job Creation
Semiskilled and unskilled labour will be sourced locally, and local small, medium-sized and micro enterprises contractors and suppliers of goods and services will be used to meet the required contractor participation goals on the two projects, creating much-needed jobs and local economic development.

Value
The Mtentu bridge will cost R1.634-billion and the Msikaba bridge will cost an estimated R1.65-billion.

Duration
Construction of the Mtentu bridge started in January and is scheduled to take about 40 months.

Construction of the Msikaba bridge is due to start in February 2019. The project is expected to take 33 months to complete. This excludes an initial three-month ramp-up period starting in October this year.

Latest Developments
The tender for the Msikaba bridge has been awarded to the Concor Mota-Engil Joint Venture, following a long delay in the award of the tender. Sanral announced in July 2017 that it had to re-advertise as it had not received fully responsive tenders for the initial bid. The tender was re-advertised in November 2017 and closed in April 2018. The long period was required because of the size and complexity of the tender.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Aveng Strabag joint venture (Mtentu bridge).

On Budget and on Time?
The Mtentu Bridge construction started in January.

Contact Details for Project Information
Sanral project manager Craig Mclachlan, tel +27 41398 3215 or email MclachlanC@nra.co.za or for technical aspects Sanral bridge network manager Edwin Kruger, tel +27 12 844 8038 or email krugere@nra.co.za.