Sanral lines up R3.1bn tenders

THE South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) is to award R3.1billion in tenders for two megabridges in the Eastern Cape in the next two months.

The agency has also reached an agreement with the Treasury on a hybrid funding model for 410km in upgrades and construction of the N2 Wild Coast road.

Critics of the multibillion-rand project said on Tuesday that they were considering interdicting the construction of the bridges on environmental grounds. The critics also cited socioeconomic concerns and said that alternatives had not been fully considered.

The bridges are two of seven bridges within the greenfields section of the road, one crossing the Mtentu River, just outside Xolobeni, and the other crossing the Msikaba River, near Lusikisiki. The 112km section of new road would link Ndwalane outside Port St Johns and Mzamba on the border with KwaZulu-Natal and would be partially funded via the fiscus and partially through tolls, Sanral said on Tuesday.

Chairwoman of Sustaining the Wild Coast, Margie Pretorius, said there was still widespread dissatisfaction with the failure to consider alternatives. A court challenge seeking to overturn the environmental authorisation had been pending since 2012, and was expected to go to court in October, said Pretorius.

Cormac Cullinan, an attorney representing community groups on the Wild Coast, said the October court proceedings would probably end Sanral’s technical challenge to the application, which had delayed the case.

The Amadiba Crisis Committee – formed to oppose the now halted mining of titanium at Xolobeni in Pondoland – demanded a halt to construction work pending the resolution of its concerns. — BDLive