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

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 the backbone of the greenfield portion of the N2WCTR project – one of government’s 18 Strategic Integrated Projects. 

The greenfield section 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 using the cable-stayed method – in Africa, and the second-longest main bridge span in Africa after the Maputo-Catembe suspension bridge, in Mozambique.

The Msikaba bridge cable-stay 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. Local small, medium-sized and microenterprises 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.

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

Planned Start /End Date
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, excluding an initial three-month ramp-up period starting in October this year.

Latest Developments
The Aveng Strabag Joint Venture (ASJV) has said that it will appeal the dismissal of an urgent application, lodged by the ASJV in February, seeking to prevent Sanral from making a call on the bonds pertaining to the Mtentu bridge contract, terminated due to force majeure.

The ASJV launched a pre-emptive application in the North Gauteng High Court for an order preventing Sanral from making a call on the Mtentu bonds until its dispute with the agency has been resolved.

Two bonds had been provided, including a R245-million performance guarantee and a R82-million retention money guarantee.

On March 22, Judge Tintswalo Makhubela dismissed the application with costs, but no reasons were immediately provided.

“The ASJV has provisionally noted its intention to appeal the order which will be supplemented when the reasoned judgment is made available,” Aveng has said in a statement to shareholders.

The ASJV has reiterated its stance that it has a right to terminate the contract after having been prevented from executing works on the project site, in the Eastern Cape, by “community unrest, protest action and threats of violence against its personnel”.

In court papers, the ASJV has outlined civil commotion and unrest on the site from October 22, 2018, when it formally notified Sanral of the force majeure.

As at January 14, 2019, the force majeure event had endured for a continuous 84-day period, at which point the ASJV was entitled to terminate the contract. The contract termination took effect on February 6, 2019.

Sanral has argued, however, that there is no force majeure and that the ASJV's termination, therefore, constitutes a repudiation or abandonment of the contract.

Aveng has said in its statement that should a demand be made by Sanral, the ASJV will, if required, institute further proceedings to interdict payment of the bonds by the guarantor.

“Aveng has engaged with and has satisfied its financiers regarding the consequences of a call being made,” the company has said, highlighting a Sanral concession that any potential call pertaining to the retention money guarantee be limited to a maximum of about R22.5-million.

Aveng has said that it is comprehensively indemnified for all losses resulting from any claim Sanral might make with regard to the performance security.

Sanral has welcomed the March 22 High Court’s decision to dismiss the ASJV application, arguing that the judgment confirms its position that the ASJV consortium is wrong to suspend construction of the Mtentu Bridge on the N2WCTR.

Spokesperson Vusi Mona has said that Sanral will now exercise its legal rights as contained in the contract.

The ASJV has said it remains confident, however, that its entitlement and decision to terminate the contract will be vindicated by the facts.

To resolve the dispute over the contract, the ASJV has started formal dispute proceedings against Sanral.

“The Mtentu contract requires the dispute to be referred to adjudication followed by High Court proceedings if the matter is not finally determined at adjudication stage,” Aveng has explained.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
ASJV (former contractor for Mtentu bridge contract) and Concor Mota-Engil (Msikaba bridge contract).

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

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.