Six additional Gauteng highways will become toll roads, the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) said on Wednesday.
Sanral project manager Alex van Niekerk said the toll-road project, part of the Highway Improvement Scheme, was gazetted last Friday.
The cost to motorists for using the roll roads would be about 50c per kilometre, he said.
He said construction was currently in the tender phase, which would close in about two weeks. The contracts were expected to be awarded in May and June and construction on average for the different roads was about two-and-a-half years.
"That takes us to the end of 2010, about October or November," he said.
As part of the highway scheme, Van Niekerk said about 560km of road in Gauteng would be upgraded in about 20 years.
This first phase would see approximately 180km of highways upgraded.
Sanral spokesperson Wendy Watson said the total amount invested over the next seven years was R22-billion.
"Eventually all highways will become part of the Gauteng highway scheme, which is the toll-road scheme," Van Niekerk said. — Sapa