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.

The Msikaba bridge is located on the N2, which connects the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga provinces, and traverses the cities and major towns of Cape Town, George, Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth), East London, Mthatha, Durban and Ermelo. This includes a new greenfield section of 112 km between Port St Johns and Port Edward, including the two megabridges and several additional major river interchange bridges.

Only the new greenfield section of the project will be tolled. None of the sections between East London and Mthatha or between Mthatha and Ndwalane, near Port St Johns, will be tolled. The public participation process for the tolling of the greenfield section of the road is yet to start.

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

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

The 580-m-long Msikaba bridge will be the longest main span bridge in Africa – constructed using the cable-stayed method – 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.

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 Bloukrans bridge, in the Western Cape, as the highest bridge in Africa and the southern hemisphere. The 141-m-tall Pier No 9 (equivalent to a 40-storey building in height) 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.

Potential Job Creation
So far, the Msikaba project has created work for 137 unskilled local labourers and 372 jobs for skilled persons, of whom 190 are locals.

Capital Expenditure
The Msikaba bridge project will cost an estimated R1.65-billion and the Mtentu bridge project R3.5-billion.

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

Construction of the Msikaba bridge started in January 2019. More than 53% of the Msikaba bridge project was completed by February 2022, with completion projected in March 2023.

Provided that there are no significant delays on the Mtentu bridge project, the construction period is estimated to be 49 months, including a four-month mobilisation period.

Latest Developments
Sanral has cancelled tenders valued at R17.47-billion. The tenders that the Sanral board has not approved include the Mtentu bridge project.

Sanral has said the tenders were cancelled because of  “a material irregularity in the tender process”, where a resolution made by its board in January 2020 was not implemented in the evaluation of the affected tenders.

The agency has not explained what this resolution entails. 

Sanral has stated that the board’s decision was informed by the conclusion of a “proactive assurance” conducted by its internal audit and legal teams, both of which “were bolstered by an external legal opinion”.

The agency says no prudent board would have allowed the awarding of the tenders to go ahead in the face of such an opinion.

Although it is unfortunate that the tender cancellations will lead to a delay in the implementation of “critical infrastructure projects . . . it cannot be said that governance procedures must be thrown out of the window because we are all now rushing implementation”, Sanral has noted.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Concor Mota-Engil, a joint venture between Concor Construction and MECSA Construction (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.