The South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) has commenced construction on two major road projects in Mpumalanga, costing around R9 billion. Both projects are still in the design phase, which engineers will complete soon, according to a February 7 statement from Sanral. The highways agency has allocated a specialized team of engineers and project managers to develop and implement important road infrastructure projects to boost economic growth. This is crucial, particularly in a province known for its tourism.
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Madoda Mthembu, Sanral northern area operations and maintenance manager, announced that the N2 between Ermelo and Mkhondo and the border between KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga will be upgraded. This project is expected to cost more than R6 billion. There’s also the R40 upgrade between Hazyview and Bushbuckridge, which is expected to cost more than R3 billion. He stated that the provincial infrastructure was in good shape, save in certain locations where heavy summer rains had led to the construction of potholes. Mthembu promised that potholes were filled daily by contractors hired for routine road maintenance (RRM).
Additional Road Rrojects in Mpumalanga
Mpumalanga is currently served by 10 RRM projects. Two more will be given out before March 31. Mthembu stated that a special repair project was underway along the N17 Section 5 from Chrissiesmeer to kilometre 85, inside the Msukaligwa and Chief Albert Luthuli local governments. He stated that the project would be finished by March 31, 2023. Furthermore, a road improvement project along the R573 Section 2 between Kwaggafontein and Vlaglaagte inside the Thembisile Hani local government is scheduled to be finished by February 28, 2024.
Mthembu stated that more conventional projects would be granted over the balance of this year. These would entail resurfacing the N11 Section 9 from the Hendrina power station to the N4 in Middelburg and the N12 Sections 19 and 20 from Delmas to Orgies. He stated that establishing positive relationships with all essential parties, including governments, business forums, and community structures, was critical to the projects’ success. He acknowledged that prior projects had had stakeholder issues, such as contractors or community people who disrupted operations or wanted to engage without following necessary protocols.
Sanral, on the other hand, stated that it had launched an initiative to guarantee constant interaction with stakeholders in order to create a mutual accord and compromise that benefited all concerned parties. Sanral expects that the initiatives launched this year would assist local communities by creating jobs and allowing local small, medium, and micro-sized businesses (SMMEs) to participate. A project liaison committee (PLC) will oversee the participation of local SMMEs in all initiatives. To promote maximum participation, bids for SMMEs will be posted under the auspices of the PLC.
