TUESDAY, 9.00AM
TRANSPORT Minister Mac Maharaj and Mozambican public works minister Roberto White yesterday signed the three contracts to begin construction of the R3 million toll road from Witbank to Maputo. The road will give Gauteng access to the sea 150km closer than Durban.
Building will start in November and take four years. The road concession was won by Trans Africa Concessions, a consortium including Stocks & Stocks, Basil Read, and the French construction group Bouyges.
Trans Africa have the right to operate the road as a toll road for 30 years, probably charging about R30 to R40 to vehicles for the full trip. Onlye 70km of entirely new roads are involved; for the rest, existing roads are being resurfaced and widened, and interchanges are being added.
Deputy President Thabo Mbeki said yesterday that other projects to follow shortly will include a railway from Johannesburg to Maputo, the widening of Maputo harbour and faster border procedures at Kompatipoort.