Peter Griffiths, AfricaNews reporter in Johannesburg, South Africa
The South African National Road Agency Limited (SANRAL), who are responsible for the upgrades under the R22 billion (¤1.8 billion) Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project, have confirmed that construction of this critical project would stop during the World Cup 2010 tournament.
“Come May 2010, there will be no more construction, no more road closures and we will stop with blasting,” said SANRAL’s CEO Nazir Alli.
Gauteng, as the country’s smallest province, punches above it weight, producing 33% of South Africa’s gross domestic product, resulting in significant pressure on the roads in and around Johannesburg.
“The region accounts for 40% of the country’s manufacturing and financial services and it houses 53% of the country’s affluent households. In this context, the volume of traffic on the N1 between Pretoria and Johannesburg is one of the highest in Africa,” said Gerhard Kotzé, CEO of property group ERA.
The project would see the upgrading of 185km of freeway during phase 1, which would see 34 interchanges upgraded and will widen many freeways to between four and six lanes. Tolling will be implemented in 2011 to cover the costs of the improvements.
According to SANRAL's senior project manager Alex van Niekerk, the project is about 33% complete.
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