Sanral projects boost construction in local towns
Municipalities in Mpumalanga, North West and Limpopo are significant beneficiaries of the two- to three-year nationwide construction programme, valued at R40 billion, announced recently by the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral).
The local investment will go towards upgrading the R573 Moloto Road, which runs from Gauteng through Mpumalanga to Limpopo. It is part of a R3 billion rehabilitation programme for the road.
A total of R315 million will be spent in Thembisile Hani Local Municipality in Mpumalanga and is set to create more than 900 direct jobs.
The major thrust of the programme will be to upgrade gravel access roads to surface roads and improve drainage.
"One such project will benefit communities in the Ephraim Mogale Local Municipality in Limpopo, where the gravel road from Tshikanoshi to Malebitsa will be upgraded to an asphalt surfaced road," says Progress Hlahla, the manager for Sanral's Northern Region.
Rustenburg in the North West will see local investment totalling R180 million. It will create more than 500 direct jobs and will result in the construction of the Dr Moroka Level Crossing bridge to ease traffic flow as well as increase road and pedestrian safety.
"These projects are in addition to our unremitting routine road maintenance programme, which ensures that the road assets we have are taken care of," says Hlahla.
Treasury has allocated about R21.5 billion per year for the maintenance and improvement of Sanral's 19 262km non-toll network. This will go towards a total of 940 projects that are spread across the country.
The Sanral network forms the backbone of SA's transport system. SA depends heavily on road transport for the movement of 94% of all people and 87% of all goods in the country. The national road network serves as a catalyst for balanced economic growth, business confidence, investment and the transformation of society.
A growing share of contracts will be allocated to black-owned construction companies and enterprises owned by women, the youth and the disabled. In its long-term vision, Horizon 2030, Sanral has committed itself to transforming the construction and engineering sectors by allocating tenders to new entrants in these sectors.
Hlahla says that a total of 51 tenders will be issued for routine road maintenance works, creating opportunities for construction companies with CIDB grades 6, 7 and 8. These companies will be required to further subcontract to smaller SMEs to ensure that they also benefit from this project roll-out. For conventional design and construction projects, Sanral will issue approximately 37 tenders for consultants and 27 for contractors in this financial year.
Over the past six months, Sanral has brokered memorandums of understanding between emerging companies and major suppliers of construction equipment and machinery. These partnerships give black-owned companies greater access to financing, expertise and the sophisticated equipment required to tender for larger contracts.