City begins work to repair street
LILIAN NGOYI: DAMAGE CAUSED BY GAS EXPLOSION Repairs to ‘very critical transport route’ cost R196m.
Repairs on Lilian Ngoyi Street, which was damaged in a methane gas explosion last year, have started, with completion expected by year-end. Johannesburg mayor Kabelo Gwamanda told the media in a briefing yesterday that the day marked the first day of the construction phase to fix the area of the explosion, adding that the city has “realised a milestone in our efforts to speedily rehabilitate Lilian Ngoyi Street”.
The explosion on the street, formerly known as Bree Street, left one person dead, several others injured and disrupted services in the city centre on 19 July, 2023.
“From today, the people of Lilian Ngoyi Street and surrounds will begin to see the movement of heavy-duty machinery and equipment, [so] we urge them to display maximum levels of participation to protect the development from disruption and any form of criminality,” said Gwamanda.
He said the city would “pay close attention” and monitor the progress to ensure that timelines were met by the contractor, Step Up Engineering.
The city anticipated the reconstruction on the 400m stretch of the street to be finalised by 15 December.
Joburg city manager Floyd Brink said quality assurance and internal audits would be conducted. He confirmed that the cost of the repairs on the “very critical transport route in the CBD” was R196 million – including R13 million for contingencies.
A budget of R178 million was previously estimated. “The amount of R196 million should not be misconstrued. It includes all other services within that area [such as] professional fees and contingencies for the project,” he said.
Gwamanda said the funds were for the scope of work that the city has identified thus far.
“It’s not a definite budget that we can say 12 months from now, there would not be additional discoveries that would have been identified by the experts that are running a parallel process with the construction company, who will then be advising the city as we continuously explore each and every inch of the city to ensure we prevent further disasters,” the mayor said.
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