N2 Wild Coast Road project to support development along key trade corridor

29th April 2021

By: Schalk Burger

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

     

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The N2 Wild Coast road project will contribute to economic growth and open a trade corridor along the south-eastern coast of South Africa that will promote trade and tourism in South Africa and neighbouring countries Mozambique, Swaziland and Lesotho, South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) CEO Skhumbuzo Macozoma said this week.

The new N2 Wild Coast road will create many new opportunities for economic growth in the post-Covid-19 period, he said in a statement issued on April 29.

The project is expected to create thousands of new jobs and opportunities for the development of small, medium-sized and microenterprises (SMMEs), but will also make the movement of people and goods much easier, especially through the Eastern Cape. It represents a significant socioeconomic injection for local communities and about R4-billion will be spent on targeted enterprises during the construction period.

Small Business Development Deputy Minister Nokuzola Capa said the department had the necessary resources to support and coordinate programmes around SMME development, urging community members and other stakeholders to approach the department.

Addressing the ‘Taking Sanral to the Wild Coast’ stakeholder engagement meeting held in Lusikisiki on April 28, Sanral regional manager Mbulelo Peterson said its strategy and policies deliberately focused on the transformation of the construction industry, particularly the impact of Sanral's procurement in terms of job creation and opportunities for SMMEs.

“As we appoint contractors to execute projects on behalf of Sanral, we support the construction industry. This industry is critically important, but we also want to maximise the participation of black contractors, professionals, suppliers and designated groups in all our projects,” he said.

The stakeholder engagement meeting would also assist in the development of local communities, said OR Tambo district municipality executive mayor Thokozile Sokhanyile.

She urged SMMEs to unite and work closely with Sanral, as well as local and provincial government structures.

“We need to work together as partners and find solutions for SMMEs in the region. Sanral is here to assist us through infrastructure to support economic development,” she said.

Sanral has partnered with key stakeholders to assist black-owned businesses to benefit from project participation. The agency has signed memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with role-players in the industry to ensure rapid transformation. MoUs were signed with construction equipment and services companies and organisations, including Bell, Barloworld, Wirtgen, Pilot Crushtec, National African Federation of Building Industry and the South African Forum of Civil Engineering Contractors to assist with training of supervisory personnel.

The project was endorsed by the Presidential Infrastructure Coordinating Commission as a catalyst for economic development in the Eastern Cape province, and is a key part of the Strategic Integrated Project 3 South-Eastern node and Corridor Development, with the key purpose to serve as a catalyst to uplift economic growth in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.

It is Sanral's flagship project in the Eastern Cape. The 410 km route runs from the Gonubie Interchange, near East London, to the Mtamvuna river on the border of KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape near Port Edward.

The project has been under way since 2011; however, the major greenfield portion of the route between Port St Johns and Port Edward only started in 2016. The greenfield portion of the project traverses the Wild Coast, through the OR Tambo and Alfred Nzo district municipalities.

Local municipalities within the project include Port St Johns local municipality, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela local municipality (formerly Mbizana) and Ingquza Hill local municipality.

The project connects the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga provinces, traversing Cape Town, George, Port Elizabeth, East London, Mthatha, Durban and Ermelo. The project includes two megabridges, the Mtentu Bridge and Msikaba Bridge. There are also seven additional new major river bridges and several new interchange bridges that form part of the project, the roads agency said.

Edited by Chanel de Bruyn
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor Online

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