Bizana, Eastern Cape – The South African National Roads Agency (SOC) Limited (SANRAL) is set to begin construction of three homes for households being relocated as part of the Mtentu Bridge project.
This follows the appointment of three contractors – Zoko Construction, Mtamvuna PreCast and Lisaphele Investment – to build homes for the families who were moved to make way for the construction of haul roads for the R4.05 billion Mtentu mega-bridge project.
“We are happy to be able to finally conclude the last phase of relocations on the Mtentu Bridge haul roads project following unfortunate delays stemming from the termination of the initial Mtentu Bridge contract in 2019,” said Mbulelo Peterson, Regional Manager for SANRAL Southern Region.
Construction of the Mtentu Bridge haul roads affected 12 homesteads. This required the relocation of six homes on the North bank and six on the South bank of the bridge.
Four of the six were constructed on the North bank, while five out of six were constructed on the South bank under the initial contract undertaken by the Aveng Strabag Joint Venture.
The outstanding three could not be completed when the contractor withdrew from the contract in 2019.
“We will be introducing the contractors that will build the houses to the Project Liaison Committees over the next few days with the handing over of the sites set for 20 and 21 August,” added Peterson.
He said it was regrettable that the relocated families spent more time than anticipated occupying temporary structures provided by SANRAL but that the matter would soon be resolved.
Construction of the houses is anticipated to take four months with the structures expected to be completed by mid-December 2024.
The Mtentu Bridge project forms part of SANRAL’s R20+ billion N2 Wild Coast Road project, which is set to open up the coastal strip while providing a safer, flatter and faster link between Durban and the industrial centres of East London. It is set to create a minimum of 1 550 full time equivalent job opportunities during the contract.
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