The South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) has begun the rollout of two major road infrastructure projects in Mpumalanga, worth about R9-billion.

Both projects are still at the design stage, which the engineers will finalise soon, Sanral said in a statement on February 7.

The roads agency has assigned a dedicated team of engineers and project managers to carry out the design and delivery of key road infrastructure projects to unlock economic growth. This is critical, especially for a province well known for its tourism.

“There will be an upgrading of the N2 between Ermelo through Mkhondo to the KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga border. It is estimated that this project will cost more than R6-billion.

“There is also the upgrading of the R40 between Hazyview and Bushbuckridge, which is estimated to cost more than R3-billion,” revealed Sanral northern region operations and maintenance manager Madoda Mthembu.

He noted that the current state of the provincial infrastructure was a decent condition except in some areas where heavy summer rains had contributed to the formation of potholes. Mthembu assured that potholes were addressed daily by appointed routine road maintenance (RRM) contractors.

There are currently ten RRM projects servicing Mpumalanga. Two more will be awarded before March 31. Mthembu said there was a special maintenance project along the N17 Section 5 from Chrissiesmeer to kilometre 85 within the Msukaligwa and Chief Albert Luthuli local municipalities respectively. He said this project would be completed by March 31, 2023.

Moreover, an upgrade project along the R573 Section 2 between Kwaggafontein and Vlaglaagte within the Thembisile Hani local municipality is expected to be completed by February 28, 2024.

Mthembu said there would be further conventional projects awarded during the remainder of this year. These would include the N11 Section 9 from the Hendrina power station to N4 in Middelburg and the resurfacing of the N12 Sections 19 and 20 from Delmas to Orgies.

He said a key part of ensuring the success of the projects rested with solidifying virtuous relations with all relevant stakeholders, including the municipalities, business forums and community structures.

“As things stand, the existing relationship with all stakeholders is good – with a few exceptions, where there is further engagement and consultation taking place,” he noted.

He admitted that previous projects had experienced stakeholder challenges, such as contractors or community members who disrupted projects or wished to participate without following proper procedures.

However, Sanral said it had embarked on a drive to ensure there was continuous engagement with stakeholders to reach a mutual consensus and compromise that benefitted all affected parties.

Sanral hopes the projects rolled out this year will benefit local communities through the creation of jobs and by providing local small-, medium- and micro-sized enterprises (SMMEs) an opportunity to participate. 

All projects will have project liaison committee (PLC) to oversee the participation of local SMMEs in the projects. The tenders for SMMEs will be advertised under the auspices of the PLC to ensure maximum participation.

“All Sanral projects have a subcontracting component as per the government legislation; 30% for all conventional projects and between 40% and 60% for RRM projects,” Mthembu concluded.