Speaking notes for the Minister of Transport, Fikile Mbalula, on the occasion of the N4 road upgrade visit on the Belfast-Machado section in Mpumalanga on 22 April 2021 at 09h00
Chairperson of the SANRAL Board,
Mr Themba Mhambi SANRAL CEO,
Skhumbuzo Macozoma Mayor of Emakhazeni Local Municipality Mayor of Steve Tshwete Local Municipality
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
When President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered his State of the Nation Address, in February this year, he indicated that resource commitments have been made for national roads such as the N1, N2 and N3 to support the construction and rehabilitation work that needs to be carried out. The President reaffirmed the importance and the role of the construction industry in the South African economy, as well as job creation initiatives that will result from prioritising road infrastructure as an integral part of the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan.
South Africa’s road network is responsible for transporting of 87% of goods and 93%of person trips annually. The importance of maintenance programmes is not only for the longevity of roads but more importantly, a massive source of job opportunities.
Trans African Concessions (TRAC) manages the N4 Toll Route, which starts at the Solomon Mahlangu off ramp in Gauteng and ends in Maputo, Mozambique. The N4 Toll Route is a toll road built employing the Build, Operate and Transfer(BOT) form of Public-Private-Partnership (PPP).TRAC became the custodian of this road in 1997,when it signed a 30-year concession contract with the South African and Mozambican national roads agencies –the South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited (SANRAL) and the National Roads Administration (ANE).
The N4 Toll Route is the catalyst for trade and investment between three South African land-locked provinces of Gauteng, Limpopo, and Mpumalanga as well as neighbouring countries. These three Provinces are rich in natural resources, and the corridor links them directly to international markets through the Maputo Port. The N4 Toll Route also links the City of Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality to the Port.
This makes it a favourite among transporters because it connects to the N12 near Emalahleni and its world-class road infrastructure make it reliable, convenient, and safe.
TRAC is responsible for the following projects:
Emalahleni – Middelburg Road Pavement Rehabilitation and Upgrade: The rehabilitation project between the O.R. Tambo
and Van Dyksdrift interchanges in the Highveld region is 48% complete, with a completion date of March 2022. The R380million project, includes the removal and replacement of concrete slabs from the originally constructed concrete surfacedroad, overlaying the entire section with asphalt, and the
construction of an additional 7 kilometres of passing lanes.
The project has created employment opportunities to locals. There are over 280 workers on site to date, sourced from eMalahleni and Steve Tshwete local municipalities. The 58 SMMEs that are benefitting from this project, are all local enterprises. The communities of eMalahleni and Steve Tshwete have been given an opportunity to supply machinery equipment and plant, as well as providing ancillary services such as vdrains, stone pitching, gabions, guardrails, fencing, road marking and road signs.
These also include services such as security, traffic accommodation and drainage. Subcontractors have been appointed, giving them an opportunity to be empowered and for the relevant technical skills to be transferred to them.
There has been minimal negative environmental impact on this project. Internal environmental monitoring is continuously conducted to ensure that all environmental principles and compliance with TRAC’s generic environmental management plan takes place.
The Belfast-Machado road rehabilitation and upgrade: The extensive upgrade between Belfast and Machadodorp on the N4 Toll Route is progressing well and is 26% complete. The R400 million project, is expected to reach completion in 3 years. Roadworks will include the rehabilitation of a 30km section, which will also be upgraded to a four-lane carriageway. The initiative will not only benefit road users, but the local community too. In line with an MOU signed between the eMakhazeni Local Municipality, Trans African Concessions (TRAC), SANRAL and WBHO/Motheo JV, 21 local small, medium and microenterprises have already been appointed with approximately 300 jobs created.
The upgrade from a two-lane road to a four-lane road will benefit road users in this region in terms of ease of travel, convenience, and road safety. The improved vertical alignment, consolidation of farm accesses and additional capacity as part of the widening, not only makes the N4 safer, but also improves mobility, resulting in reduced travel times and travel costs. The construction of the Machadodorp interchange is also aimed at improved road safety, but still provides convenient access to the town. Local communities also directly benefitted from the job creation during construction.
On the environmental front, the project is in the upper catchment area of the Elands River, with five tributaries, that are wetlands, requiring bridge upgrades. As part of the upgrade, additional land has been acquired for the road reserve to accommodate the road widening and future road upgrade requirements. A full Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was conducted during the planning phase guiding the project towards environmental sustainability during its implementation.
Prior to construction a search and rescue of protected plants was done with the assistance of an ecologist, transplanting the plants in suitable habitats. The Environmental Authorisation also requires an external audit to be conducted quarterly during construction.
Audit reports are submitted to the Environmental Authorities. A wetland specialist has also been appointed to assist with recommendations for the rehabilitation of the affected wetlands.
The New Karino Interchange: This Mbombela-based project, valued at R390 million, is 50% complete. The project will see the existing intersection transformed into a grade-separated interchange, with on and off-ramps and a bridge that will separate cross-traffic from through-traffic and thus ease traffic flow at this extremely busy intersection.
This project has brought positive economic benefits for the Mbombela communities, particularly for SMMEs. Many SMME companies continue to benefit by learning new skills and growing their companies. There are over 50 emerging contractors that have benefitted from the project, as well as 275 employees on site. Improved and safer access roads, reduced travel times will also stimulate further economic growth through this project, particularly in the area north of the Crocodile River.
The upgrading of the Karino intersection to an interchange is deemed a next phase of the original Nelspruit Northern Ring Road project completed in 2010.
Nelspruit Botanical Gardens and the Barberton Nature Reserve were recipients of the protected plants removed as part of a search and rescue conducted by an experienced ecologist. Several indigenous trees were also saved and transplanted.
The contractor has minimised negative environmental impact on the project as well as disturbance of the natural environment by barricading no-go areas to be left untouched inside the interchange loop areas. As part of the environmental authorisation, quarterly external environmental audits are conducted as well as frequent water quality testing at bridge sites to ensure that all environmental requirements are met. This is also supplemented by additional regular TRAC internal inspections on the project. Alien plant and tree eradication within the newly acquired land areas will also be done.
Kaapmuiden to Kaalrug Rehabilitation and Upgrade: This 15.5km road project includes upgrading the carriageway to four lanes and the rehabilitation of the existing road. The project is 70% complete and expected to be concluded in August 2021. The project is worth R340 million and is situated in the rural outskirts of the Mpumalanga Province bordered by Mozambique, where unemployment is high. Through this project, 213 local community members and 51 SMMEs between CIBD Grades 1 and 4 have been employed.
The key motivation with appointing SMMEs of these Grades is to transfer skills and develop the lower graded companies to a higher grading, while also preparing them for the next phases of the project. The contractor has also paired specialised companies with local SMMEs to give them the platform to understand how the construction industry operates.
The contractor has also added a few courses that focus on occupational health, safety, and environmental training as part of skills development. This has benefitted unemployed youth from Nkomazi Local Municipally. Moreover, the upgrade from a two-lane road to a four-lane road will benefit road users in this region in terms of ease of travel, convenience, and road safety.
The consolidation of farm access and additional capacity as part of the widening not only makes the N4 safer but also improves the mobility resulting in reduced travel times and travel costs.
A basic environmental assessment has been conducted and an Environmental Authorisation has been obtained. Protected trees have been saved as far as practically possible. External environmental audits and frequent water testing are conducted.
SANRAL has been the pioneer in pursuing and sustaining successful public-private partnerships (PPPs), which have delivered substantial dividends over the years for the country. Two of these are with concessionaires in Mpumalanga – the N1/N4 Bakwena Platinum Concession Consortium (BAKWENA) and the N4 Trans African Concession (TRAC).
SANRAL, through TRAC, is responsible for the design, finance, and construction as well as ongoing operations and maintenance of 385 km of toll roads between Pretoria and Bela-Bela on the N1 and between Pretoria and the Botswana border on the N4.
SANRAL is also responsible for the N4 which forms part of the important Trans-Kalahari link between Walvis Bay and Maputo and is entering its thirteenth year of operation.
The town of Ermelo is located along three major national routes - the N2, N11 and N17. SANRAL is responsible for maintaining, protecting, and enhancing the functional integrity of these national routes as Class 1 mobility spines.
The N2, N11 and N17 are important freight corridors for the transportation of timber, agricultural produce, and coal. They also carry commuters, private and tourism traffic.
During construction of the N4 from Nelspruit to Matsulu through the gorge, protected trees and aloes were removed and will be replanted once construction is complete. SANRAL, through its concessionaire TRAC, also ensured that a bird specialist was appointed to monitor raptors in the vicinity to determine the effect of blasting on breeding habits of the birds.
These projects are part of our broader infrastructure investment aimed at ensuring sustainable livelihoods of our people and enabling economic activity. We are hard at work building a road infrastructure network that enables access to social amenities and infrastructure, while serving the critical economic role of moving goods.
I thank you.
