PROGRESS HLAHLA: Roads infrastructure development poised for a welcome boost

Moving people and goods, and thus moving the economy to better serve all who live in SA, the subregion and further afield in Africa, is at the heart of what the SA National Road Agency (Sanral) does. Three recent key developments will support these efforts further, considerably helping to boost economies that are just emerging from the pandemic-induced slump.

The Infrastructure Fund is at the centre, with a R100bn allocation over 10 years, as highlighted by President Cyril Ramaphosa in his state of the nation address in parliament in February. Then there is the R2.5-trillion over seven years of the Africa-Europe Investment Package, also announced in February, and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which became active just over a year ago.

Of course, not all of this funding will go to roads infrastructure, but a significant part of it will. As Ramaphosa said in his last weekly letter in February, the fundamental key is to boost the economy and create jobs. The R17.5bn allocated in the budget will go towards what has been termed “catalytic infrastructure projects” over the next three years. Among other things, this will support the upgrading of roads, bridges, transport, water supply, schools and health facilities.

Similarly, the Africa-Europe Investment Package, an outcome of the sixth EU-AU summit held in Brussels on February 17 and 18, covered a wide range of interventions. One of these is to facilitate mobility and trade within Africa, and between Africa and Europe, by developing multi-country transport infrastructure, supporting investment in sustainable efficient and safe connectivity between both continents and updating and harmonising regulatory frameworks. This is according to a statement by the European Commission.

At the end of February all of the AU’s 55 member states, except Eritrea, had signed the AfCFTA agreement and 39 had ratified it. This includes all the major economies on the continent, among them SA. The free trade area encompasses 1.2-billion people and a total GDP of $2.5-trillion. The combined population of member countries is projected to grow to 2.5-billion by 2050 — more than a quarter of the world’s working population, with an economy estimated to grow twice as fast as that of the developed world.

Fundamentally, the free trade agreement will lead to a progressive reduction of tariff barriers between African countries, enhancing intra-continental trade. This will lead to robust economic growth, boost African businesses and job creation, thereby improving the wellbeing of the continent’s people.

Across the continent this requires maintaining existing road infrastructure, improving it, and growing it — but it also means intra-African co-operation in this area is even more vital than before. It is an opportunity to collaborate in the development of and investment in infrastructure across the subregion and further afield on the continent, to ensure that the trade routes are both operational and optimal.

Sanral is committed to sharing its expertise and knowledge transfer, developing professionals in engineering and related fields for the country and supporting neighbouring countries. It is also committed to driving best practice throughout Africa’s infrastructure development, and works with the Development Bank of Southern Africa to provide commercial engineering advisory services on the continent. 

This forms part of Sanral’s promotion of regional integration through boosting trade routes. This entails enhancing seamless cross-border movement of goods and people. Sanral is at the heart of collaboration between African roads agencies to facilitate cross-border co-operation and teamwork.

The agency's approach is aligned with the AU’s Integrated Corridor Approach. Its national network of more than 22,000km of first-class highways primarily serves to increase mobility internally, supporting national growth objectives, providing access to opportunities for communities along its routes, boosting emerging small businesses, and supporting the commercial, agricultural and tourism sectors.

Through Sanral SA has excellent road connectivity with all of its neighbouring countries. One of the key trade corridors is the N1, which runs from Cape Town to the Beitbridge border post, where it takes people and goods into Zimbabwe and beyond — a gateway to the rest of Africa.

The border post is being upgraded and control measures are being simplified. The capacity of this major artery will be enhanced by plans to dualise the section from just north of Pretoria to somewhat south of the actual border — between the Kranskop Plaza and Makhado.

Work is also in progress to improve the N11 between the Grobler’s Bridge border post with Botswana, all the way through Mpumalanga. And then there is  the trans-Kalahari corridor, running east to west across SA and connecting with Mozambique and Botswana. Sanral’s concession partners, which operate this corridor, are also busy with various upgrades on this route, the N4.

In all it does in the region and further in the continent Sanral is aware that the bedrock of its mission is the efficient and safe movement of people and goods as a key to the economic growth of the country, and thus the upliftment of its citizens.

To continue doing this, and fulfil its regional and continental role, the slew of developments regarding infrastructure investment and transport improvements during February have been a real boost.

• Hlahla is Sanral’s northern region manager.