Name of the Project
N2 Wild Coast Toll Road (N2WCTR) megabridge projects.

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

Project Owner/s
South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral).

Project Description
The Msikaba and Mtentu bridges form part of the N2WCTR project.

The 1.13-km-long Mtentu bridge, which includes a 260-m-long main span, will be one of the longest main-span-balanced cantilever bridges in the world. Only ten prestressed concrete girder bridges worldwide have a main span of 260 m or longer. Reaching heights of more than 220 m above the river valley, it will displace the Bloukraans bridge, in the Western Cape, as the highest bridge in Africa and the southern hemisphere. The 141-m-tall Pier No 9 will also be the tallest bridge pier in Africa and the southern hemisphere.

Being one of the longest main-span-balanced cantilever bridges and one of the highest bridges in the world makes the construction of the Mtentu bridge a technically highly challenging project. The remote location and local social dynamics add to this complexity.

The 580-m-long Msikaba bridge will be the longest main span – constructed using the cable-stayed method – bridge in Africa, and the second-longest main bridge span in Africa after the Maputo-Catembe suspension bridge, in Mozambique. With a deck height of 194 m above the river valley, Msikaba will become the third-highest bridge in Africa and the 133rd highest in the world. The (Msikaba bridge) cable-stay design will ensure that the construction of the bridge will have no direct impact on the pristine gorge environment almost 200 m below, which is one of the environmental requirements in building the bridge.

Potential Job Creation
Semiskilled and unskilled labour will be sourced locally. Local small-, medium-sized and microenterprise (SMME) 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. The two megabridge projects, together with the seven adjacent roads packages, are expected to create about 8 000 full-time equivalent jobs during construction, while more than R2.8-billion will flow to SMMEs, the bulk of which will be from the OR Tambo and Alfred Nzo district areas, in the Eastern Cape.

A further 29 000 permanent direct and indirect jobs might also be created during the service period of the road once it is opened, Transport  Minister Fikile Mbalula said on October 25, 2020.

Capital Expenditure
The Msikaba bridge project will cost an estimated R1.65-billion and the Mtentu bridge project R2.5-billion.

Planned Start/End Date
The N2WCTR project started in 2011; however, the major greenfield portion of the route between Port St Johns and Port Edward started only in 2016.

Construction of the Mtentu bridge is expected to resume in early 2021, with construction expected to take 42 months, including a four-month ramp-up period. Completion of the bridge is expected to be in mid- to late 2024, depending on delays.

The Msikaba bridge project is in the early construction phase, following an extended initial ramp-up period. Construction started in January 2019 and the planned completion date is mid-2022.

Latest Developments
Aveng has taken note of Sanral's statement on November 18 that the Supreme Court of Appeals (SCA) has dismissed an appeal to prevent the agency from claiming guarantees from the Aveng-Strabag Joint Venture (ASJV) with regard to the Mtentu river bridge project.

The ASJV has, over the past 18 months, been engaged in two separate litigious matters against Sanral, emerging from the termination of the contract for the construction of the bridge in February 2019.

This followed disruption to the works by local communities, resulting in a dispute between Sanral and the ASJV as to whether the ASJV or Sanral had validly terminated the contract.

The ASJV has noted that Sanral's statement does not mention that, in dismissing the ASJV's interdict application, the SCA “overruled the factual findings that were erroneously and improperly made by Makhuvele J, sitting as the court of first instance (which incorrectly held that the nature of the disruptions on site did not constitute force majeure within the meaning of that term under the contract and that the ASJV had repudiated the contract)".

Moreover, Aveng has said that it does not mention that, in dismissing the ASJV's interdict application, the SCA "confirmed a vital aspect of the contract, namely, that Sanral has assumed the absolute risk, through a comprehensive indemnification of the ASJV, for the validity and correctness of any demand that it may make.

"The SCA judgment is clear that although there is no contractual bar requiring Sanral to establish its entitlement before making a call, Sanral will be liable to the ASJV for the full extent of any damages, losses or expenses that it suffers as a result of the wrongful demand”.

It adds that any demand made by Sanral is made at the risk that the roads agency might have to repay it to the ASJV, with interest, and all associated costs and damages.

"We look forward to challenging [Sanral's] statements in due course in the appropriate legal forum,” Aveng has said.

For completeness, Aveng has also noted that, on September 1, a unanimous full bench of the Mthatha High Court upheld the ASJV’s appeal against an order obtained by Sanral in 2019 against the ASJV, whereby Sanral had attempted to prevent the removal of plant and equipment from the construction site by the ASJV and other contractors.

“Ultimately, the ASJV was vindicated on appeal, with the full bench of the Mthatha High Court finding that in light of the uncontested evidence presented by the ASJV, the order that Sanral had sought against the ASJV was not appropriate,” Aveng has said.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Concor Mota-Engil JV (Msikaba bridge contract); HVA Joint Venture (Msikaba and Mtentu bridge consultants comprising CH2M and SMEC); V3 Consulting Engineers (lead consultant – Ndwalane to Ntafufu and Kulumbe to Mtamvuna river); ERO Engineers (lead consultant – Ntafufu to Bambisana turn-off); Naidu Consulting (lead consultant – Bambisana turn-off to Lingeni); Aurecon Rohm consortium (lead consultants – Lingeni to Msikaba); Knight Piesold (lead consultant –Msikaba to Mtentu) and KBK Engineers (lead consultant – Mtentu to Kulumbe).

Contact Details for Project Information
Sanral project manager Craig McLachlan, tel +27 41398 3200 or email MclachlanC@nra.co.za, or for technical aspects Sanral bridge network manager Edwin Kruger, tel +27 12 844 8000.