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Cape Town – A joint venture between Aveng Grinaker-LTA and European-based Strabag won a R1.6bn tender to build the Mtentu bridge as part of the N2 Wild Coast road project.
The South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) said in a statement on Thursday that construction of the bridge is due to start early in November this year and expected to last for approximately 40 months.
Aveng Grinaker-LTA, a multi-disciplinary South African-based construction company, recently concluded a black economic empowerment deal in which a 51% beneficial interest was sold to Kutana Construction.
Strabag, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany, has extensive experience in balanced cantilever methodology bridge construction.
“As the first of its magnitude in South Africa, the Mtentu bridge will be one of the longest main span balanced cantilever bridges in the world and will reach heights of approximately 220m,” said Sanral communications manager Vusi Mona.
“Critically, it is going to create employment and business opportunities in the area. The whole of the project will be a growth engine for the Eastern Cape both during and post construction,” Mona said.
The construction of the 1.1km long bridge in a remote location is a major undertaking that requires specialised engineering skills and building techniques.
The Mtentu bridge has been identified as a national priority under the Presidential Infrastructure Coordinating Commission (PICC) and one of government’s 18 Strategic Integrated Projects (SIPs) to support economic development and address service delivery in the poorest provinces.
The bridge, once completed, is expected to shorten travel time, connect communities in the region project and open up business and tourism opportunities for the Wild Coast, Mona said.
“By improving the travel time between Durban and East London by up to three hours for heavy freight and by providing a high mobility route through an area that is extremely isolated and underserved by road infrastructure, the route will have significant social and economic benefits and will act as a catalyst for local and regional development,” he said.
Job creation
Sanral expects that 8 000 full time equivalent jobs will be created over the construction period of four to five years.
More than R400m will be allocated to wages for unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled workers employed directly on the N2 Wild Coast road project and a further R1.5bn is destined for local small and medium-sized companies made up of local contractors and local suppliers of goods and services to the road and bridge construction projects.
Meanwhile, Sanral said the tender for the Msikaba bridge, set for construction near Lusikisiki, will be re-tendered due to the fact that the agency received no fully responsive tenders.
“The Sanral Board resolved that the roads agency was obliged to re-tender the bridge rather than condone matters of non-compliance found in the bids that were received,” Mona said.
A new tender for the Msikaba bridge will be advertised within the next two to three months.
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