Court to hear Sanral's Winelands secrecy bid

Johannesburg - An application by the SA National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) to keep secret certain tolling documentation is set to be heard in a closed session at the high court in Cape Town on Monday.

Sanral's application - to ensure that supplementary papers on the proposed N1/N2 Winelands Toll Highway Project not be put on public record - is the latest development in an ongoing legal battle between the parastatal and the City of Cape Town.

In May last year, the municipality was granted an interim interdict to halt the tolling project.

The interdict remains in force until the finalisation of the City's application to have Sanral's declaration of the project and the selection of the preferred bidder, Protea Parkways Consortium (PPC), be reviewed and set aside.

Sanral and PPC now want the matter to be heard in a closed court and to have related court documents kept out of the public domain.

Last week, two non-governmental organisations, the Right2Know Campaign and Section 16, said in a statement that Sanral had previously suggested secrecy was necessary due to "commercial confidentiality".

Sanral declined to comment on the matter at the time, with spokesperson Vusi Mona saying proceedings were subjudice.

On Sunday the Democratic Party suggested that if Sanral's bid was successful, the public would be denied information on the cost of the project, the tarriff fees and the percentage of revenue that the operator would receive.

The province's ruling party said it would picket outside the court on Monday.