R13bn to be spent on road infrastructure

TRANSPORT Minister Blade Nzimande has unveiled a R13 billion road infrastructure programme, comprising a number of packages in several provinces, in response to the Presidential Stimulus Package that will create an estimated 20 000 jobs.

Nzimande said yesterday that the R3.5bn budget from the stimulus package, which would be supplemented by the SA National Roads Agency (Sanral) budget allocations, would unlock an investment of R13.1bn in critical and strategic road infrastructure.

He said that a number of stimulus projects were in place on the Sanral network, some of which were “shovel ready”, and where they were able to move from the design to the construction phase. “Many of these will reach completion within the next 12 to 24 months, and their economic impact reaches communities in all nine provinces and beyond into the Southern African region,” he said.

Nzimande said the Department of Transport would, in the next financial year, be implementing a number of projects in response to the call by President Cyril Ramaphosa that departments must implement far-reaching measures that would nearly double the number of jobs being created in the economy each year.

He said in the Eastern Cape work was well under way to upgrade the N2 Wild Coast road from East London to Port Edward, which was a pivotal initiative that could unlock economic opportunities in some of the most impoverished districts in the country.

Nzimande said the N2 Wild Coast Road would save three hours of travel time between Durban and East London.