Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele, together with the head of the Infrastructure Office in the Presidency Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa on November 22 held a working visit to the Musina local municipality to assess the progress being made with the construction of the Musina ring road.

The construction of the new ring road from Musina South to Musina North started in December 2019 and will be completed in 2022. The road will divert traffic from the N1 in town by providing a bypass around town.

The road will ease congestion between Musina and the Beitbridge border post, which is a gateway to many other Sothern African Development Community (SADC) countries that trade with South Africa.

Musina is experiencing traffic congestion as a result of the many trucks travelling to and from the Beitbridge border post. This causes delays, which become worse during Easter, the festive season and long weekends.

Gungubele said the Musina ring road would alleviate severe traffic congestion in the Musina central business district once it is completed in the second quarter of 2022.

The construction of the ring road forms part of the government’s infrastructure projects programme. Gungubele noted that the ring road was also part of the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan that is being implemented to rebuild and grow the construction sector and, by default, the broader economy, ensuring sustainability, resilience and inclusion.

The project, which is managed by the South African National Roads Agency, includes the construction of interchanges, upgrading of crossroads at the interchanges, as well as new road crossings.

This infrastructure project is an example of trade and investment facilitation in the SADC region, as well as economic growth and job creation in South Africa, particularly for the directly affected residents of Musina.

The Musina ring road project provides access to opportunities for local community members and small, medium-sized and microenterprises. Nineteen targeted enterprises from the Musina municipal area are currently employed to participate in the project.

Up to 12% of the contract value is being allocated to targeted enterprises, of which 10% is allocated to women-owned companies. There is also a contractual requirement to employ local labour, often referred to as targeted labour, to the value of 6% of the contract value.