​Thembisa Shologu
The Department of Public Transport and Road Infrastructure is forging ahead with some of the province's major road infrastructure projects. This despite the delays brought about by COVID-19 and subsequent lockdowns in major road infrastructure projects.
Earlier this year, the Department officially unveiled its Transport Infrastructure House (TIH), a project monitoring and management facility through which it will fast track the delivery of transport infrastructure projects.
The TIH will assist the Department gain a full view of its 67 transport infrastructure projects to the value of R23 billion from planning, design and to construction.
"We are acutely aware of the state of our economy following months of depression due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, these 67 projects become critical in helping us grow the economy of our province and create much-needed jobs.
"The TIH will also help us bring about efficiencies in the project delivery pipeline so that infrastructure is delivered on time, within budget and at the right quality," said MEC Jacob Mamabolo.
The Department is also working with other provinces and state-owned entities to improve and unlock opportunities in freight and logistics in the province and ensure the growth of this critical sector.
"The Department will in the 2021/22 financial year, strengthen the partnership with KZN Department of Transport, Transnet and the German Federal Ministry of Environment represented by GESI and collaborate on the development of a Smart Corridor solution between KZN and Gauteng as an urgent intervention to expedite projects along the corridor to improve the movement of freight and people," said Mamabolo.
Despite the constraints experienced by the department, it introduced agile strategies to achieve some progress on its Deliverology targets.
"The Gautrain is currently at 24% of pre COVID-19 ridership levels. The Gautrain Management Agency (GMA) will conduct the feasibility study on behalf of the Department for travel demand management of heavy road freight during peak periods in Gauteng.
"The study will include key tasks to understand the status of Truck Stops, current and future needs, roles and responsibilities of the Department. The study will commence in the 2021/22 financial year," said MEC Mamabolo.
Through the use of smart technology and data, the department can speedily intervene and resolve bottlenecks which often result in time delays and cost overruns.
Key projects that will be targeted include the Vereeniging Intermodal Facility which has been under construction for more than seven years but still incomplete. The contract between the Department and the contractor, Moreteng Investments (Pty) Ltd was eventually terminated in 2018.
The 9km K69, upgrading and doubling of Hans Strijdom (Solomon Mahlangu from the N4 to Mamelodi to K54 are at 50% complete and 74% complete respectively. Both projects started in Jun 2019 and extension of time (EOT) was granted, the revised completion date for K69 is June 2022 and 30 April 2022 for K54.
"The contractors were behind schedule due to Encroachments within the road reserve. The K69 has not been attended to by the City of Tshwane (CoT) to date. While with the K54, the CoT only moved 200 dwellings in April 2021," added Mamabolo.
The National Department of Transport (NDoT) has allocated R 661, 2132, million for Provincial Road Maintenance Grant (PRMG) to alleviate the backlog of road maintenance for the financial year 2021/22.