The South African government has announced plans to boost East Cape roads in South Africa in a major reconstruction programme of roads in the country.
This will see the government in the next five years spend millions of dollars in construction and rehabilitation of the road network throughout the Eastern province. Part of this work will spill over into the western province must the bulk of it will be in the eastern province where most of the infrastructure backlogs lies.
In her policy speech delivered in Bhisho, Roads and Public Works MEC Thandiswa Marawu said this investment will turn most of the roads in the province to be one of the best in the country.
Road sections of the R72 between Port Alfred and Peddie together with the R335 also known as the Addo Road, will undergo a major upgrade in the next two financial years. This will also involve construction of the R334, which is a shortcut between the N2 near Colchester and Uitenhaga.
The reconstruction of the Sandriver Bridge at Cape St Francis is scheduled to start this year. The tender for the same has already been awarded but the contractor is still undergoing legal impediments
Marawu said they has been heavy roll-out of infrastructural projects over the last financial years and this will be carried on into this year.
“Anyone travelling through the length and breadth of our province can attest to this fact,” she said. “The SA National Roads Agency Limited [Sanral] has been working closely with us to achieve the phenomenal results that we see on our roads.”Roads infrastructure is always receiving special attention from all the department’s stakeholders, owing to the critical role of roads in enabling economic activity and mobility to access social infrastructure and amenities,” Marawu said.
She added that a total of R2.3 billion has been spent on the Eastern Cape road and an additional R5 billion will be spent in the 2016-17 financial year.” In response to speculation of whether the government’s focus to the eastern part of the province was a deliberate strategy, Marawu said the plan was a response to many years of neglect to the homeland that has left many roads in a sorry state. She said the focus on upgrading the roads was in line with President Jacob Zuma’s call for the government to invest hugely in infrastructural development.
Business executive at Les Holbrook Border Kei Chamber welcomed the huge investments in infrastructure saying it was foremost in the heart of business. He however urged the government to involve the business community as they have a better understanding of which roads the government should fix.
SMEs will immensely benefit from this construction as the will be allocated 30% of all construction works. The National African Federated Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s provincial secretary lamented that in most cases the often awards tenders to companies that lack the capacity leaving out skillful local contractors who can handle the work diligently.
