Eastern Cape Roads, Transport and Community Safety MEC, Weziwe Tikana-Gxothiwe, has cautioned stakeholders against causing unnecessary delays on the R61 Bhaziya to Mthatha road construction project that is set to get underway next month.
Tikana-Gxothiwe said delays in road construction projects were causing escalations in the price of the delayed projects, which in turn take money meant for other road projects elsewhere in the province was lost.
She made the comments as she, together with the South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL), formally introduced the appointed main contractor for the R61 Bhaziya to Mthatha Airport road construction project, H&I Construction, at the Mthatha Airport on July 29.
“You will recall that the initial contract for the project was awarded in 2017 and that the contractor was supposed to finish the work by 2019 and the contract that has been awarded now is way more than the initial amount budgeted for the project.
“I want to implore all stakeholders involved to work together in ensuring that the contractor that has been appointed is able to finish the work within the prescribed period, as any delays will mean more escalations on the budget allocated, which will mean that we will have to take money meant for another project elsewhere to cover the escalations,” Tikana-Gxothiwe cautioned.
The construction on the road project came to an abrupt halt over three years ago, after the construction company that was working on the project, Basil Reed, went into business rescue and eventually liquidation.
The project, valued at approximately R237 million, will create about 250 employment opportunities for the duration of the project, scheduled to take 15 months.
The scope of work will include widening the existing road cross-section with surfaced shoulders and additional auxiliary lanes to facilitate traffic flow, while some access roads leading to the R61 will be re-gravelled or surfaced as part of the project.
SANRAL southern region manager, Mbulelo Petersen, said the project would also have positive spin-offs for local small, micro, and medium enterprises (SMMEs).
Petersen said about R71 million of the total budget for the project has been set aside for local SMMEs while a further R19 million will be spent on labour over the 15-month period allocated for the project.
