The South Africa National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) has launched a Contractor Development Programme (CDP) aimed at increasing the capacity, equity ownership, sustainability and quality of work of grade five to nine civil engineering (CE) contractors registered with the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB).

This programme will assist CE contractors maximise their participation on road projects and also provide the requisite skills development, training, mentorship and financial support needed to address the challenge of “the missing middle” CIDB grades.

Projects identified for the CDP will be based in all nine provinces and participation is limited to five years.

“Contractors who are interested in the programme need to indicate provinces that they will be willing to participate, and the number of participants will be determined by the number of approved projects set aside as well as on budget availability.

“Sanral has set aside projects of which 10% will be ringfenced for designated groups such as black-owned construction companies and companies that are owned by people with disabilities, if they meet the qualifying criteria,” says Sanral transformation and stakeholder relations GM Siphiwo Mxhosa.

He also highlights that the qualifying criteria require companies to be active CIDB-registered black-owned civil engineering contractors graded between five and nine CE. Black contractors with Potential Emerging (PE) status will also be considered with the exception of those graded at four CE PE.

Qualifying companies must also be registered in the National Treasury Central Supplier Database, operational for at least three consecutive years and owned by South African citizens.

Companies that are currently doing business with Sanral may still apply, provided they disclose all active Sanral contracts, conflicts of interest, related-party relationships and capacity constraints. Only contractors with a maximum of two active projects, including subsidiaries will be considered for the programme.

“It is the responsibility of each respondent to ensure that its authorised representative attends the compulsory virtual clarification meeting for the full required duration.

“A representative may not represent more than one respondent at the meeting. Late arrivals (15 minutes late) will not be allowed to participate in the meeting, and the Expression of Interest (EoI) briefing presentation will be sent to all respondents who attended the briefing session. It is the responsibility of the respondent to ensure they receive the presentation,” Mxhosa says.

A compulsory virtual briefing session will be conducted on June 23. The closing date and time for receipt of EoI documents is July 10 at midday. EoI documents must be placed inside the tender box at the Sanral offices in Bellville in the Western Cape, Mkondeni in Pietermaritzburg, Menlo Park in Pretoria or Baywest in Gqeberha.