Question NW2294 to the Minister of Transport
20 November 2020 - NW2294
Mey, Mr P to ask the Minister of Transport
(1)What progress has been made with the upgrading of the Moloto Road (R573) which stretches from the Mpumalanga and/or Gauteng border, north of Pretoria to Marble Hall in Limpopo, specifically with regard to the (a) planning and design of upgrades, (b) completion of the required environmental impact assessments, (c) appointment of contractors to undertake the specified upgrades and (d) projected (i) cost and (ii) time lines in each instance; (2) what (a) progress has also been made with the proposedMoloto rail link thatwould ease pressure on the road and (b) is the projected (i) cost and (ii) time lines in this regard; (3) what total amount has been spent annually since the 2016-17 financial year onimpact studies and other professional services for the upgrade of the (a) Moloto Road and (b) proposed rail link; (4) whether he will make a statement on the matter?
Reply:
1.a) Please see column 1 (a) in Table 1 below for planning and design status.
(b) The Environmental Impact Assessment process commenced in 2016 for Moloto Road Corridor and the Environmental Authorization was issued on 12/05/2017 (DEA Ref 14/12/16/3/1/162).
(c) Please see column 1 (c) in Table 1 below for status of contractor appointments.
(d) (i) Please see column 1 (d) (i) in Table 1 below for projected costs.
(d) (ii) Please see column 1 (d) (ii) in Table 1 below for projected timelines.
(2) (a) There has not been any progress on the proposed rail link project due to funding availability. The application for funding the Moloto Rail Project submitted to National Treasury in October 2014, in the form of a Treasury Approval (TA 1) was not approved. The subsequent request for funding submitted to National Treasury in 2017 under the Budget Facility for Infrastructure (BFI), was also not granted.
(b) Refer to (2) (a)
(c) Refer to (2) (a)
(3) (a) Please see Table 2 below for the SANRAL Moloto Road expenditure to date.
(b) No budget has been spent on the proposed Rail Project since the last feasibility study was completed in 2014.
(4)
Table 1: SANRAL R573 Road Projects
SANRAL Project (Project Numbers) |
SECTION & PROVINCE |
1 (a) Planning and Design update |
1 (c) Appointment of contractors |
1(d)(i) projected cost (Incl. VAT) |
1(d)(ii) Timelines |
Comments |
R.573-010-2021/1 |
Stormvoel (km 0,0) to Baviaanspoort road (km 2,4)(Moepel road) |
Design 95 % Completed |
No |
R423 million |
December 2021 to May 2023 |
Gauteng Section of R573 only gazetted as National Road on 5th June 2020, enabling SANRAL to now proceed with finalisation of designs and issuing of construction tenders. |
R.573-010-2023/1 |
Km 2,4 to km 4,0 (Interchange) |
Design 90 % Completed |
No |
R488 million |
April 2022 to September 2024 |
Gauteng Section of R573 only gazetted as National Road on 5th June 2020, enabling SANRAL to now proceed with finalisation of designs and issuing of construction tenders. |
R.573-010-2022/1 |
Km 4,0 to km 8,4 and PWV 2 |
Design 90 % Completed |
No |
R1 300 million |
April 2022 to March 2025 |
Gauteng Section of R573 only gazetted as National Road on 5th June 2020, enabling SANRAL to now proceed with finalisation of designs and issuing of construction tenders. |
R.573-010-2024/1 |
Km 8,4 to km 18,4 |
Design 70 % Completed |
No |
R700 million |
Start April 2024 |
Gauteng Section of R573 only gazetted as National Road on 5th June 2020, enabling SANRAL to now proceed with finalisation of designs and issuing of construction tenders. |
R.573-010-2023/2 |
Km 18,4 to km 28,4 |
Design 70 % Completed |
No |
R700 million |
Start April 2023 |
Gauteng Section of R573 only gazetted as National Road on 5th June 2020, enabling SANRAL to now proceed with finalisation of designs and issuing of construction tenders. |
R.573-010-2024/2 |
Km 28,4 to km 37,4 |
Design 70 % Completed |
No |
R700 million |
Start April 2024 |
Gauteng Section of R573 only gazetted as National Road on 5th June 2020, enabling SANRAL to now proceed with finalisation of designs and issuing of construction tenders. |
R.573-010-2022/1 |
Km 37,4 to km 48,568 |
Design 80 % Completed |
No |
R600 million |
December 2022 to November 2024 |
Gauteng Section of R573 only gazetted as National Road on 5th June 2020, enabling SANRAL to now proceed with finalisation of designs and issuing of construction tenders. |
R.573-020-2016/1 |
Section 2 - Mpumalanga |
Completed |
Yes |
R105 million |
Completed |
4 intersections upgraded |
R.573-020-2019/4 |
Section 2 - Mpumalanga |
Completed |
No |
R560 million |
April 2021 to Sept 2023 |
Tender adjudication process for the appointment of a contractor underway. |
R573-020-2019/1 |
Section 2 - Mpumalanga |
Design 90 % Completed |
No |
R346 million |
April 2022 to October 2023 |
Finalising bridge designs. |
R573-020-2019/2 |
Section 2 - Mpumalanga |
Design 65 % Completed |
No |
R197 million |
June 2022 to June 2023 |
Covid19 delayed Resolution of the Kwamhlanga business node due to encroachment within the road reserve. |
R573-020-2019/3 |
Section 2 - Mpumalanga |
Completed |
No |
R413 million |
November 2021 to February 2023 |
Planning Pre-community resolution meeting and Community resolution meeting as part of land acquisition process. |
R573-020-2019/5 |
Section 2 - Mpumalanga |
Design 65 % Completed |
No |
R406 million |
March 2022 to June 2024 |
Resolution of the Kwaggafontein business node due to encroachment within the road reserve. |
R.573-030-2016/1 |
Section 3 - Limpopo |
Completed |
Yes |
R244 million |
January 2017 to October 2021 |
The Contractor has since re-established the site after experiencing cashflow problems. |
R.573-030-2019/1 |
Section 3 - Limpopo |
Completed |
No |
R362 million |
April 2021 to Sept 2023 |
Tender adjudication process for the appointment of a contractor underway. |
R.573-023-2019/1 |
Section 3 - Limpopo |
Completed |
No |
R405 million |
January 2022 to June 2024 |
Covid19 delayed the Community Resolution meetings required to finalise the land acquisition process. |
R.573-030-2019/2 |
Section 3 – Mpumalanga |
Design 90 % Completed |
No |
R450 million |
April 2022 to September 2024 |
Finalising the bridge designs. |
Table 2: SANRAL R73 Moloto Expenditure to Date
Table 2: SANRAL R73 Moloto Expenditure to Date