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President Cyril Ramaphosa said the massive N2 Wild Coast road project is anticipated to create thousands of jobs for the province in the future.
The President was in the Eastern Cape on Thursday for a site inspection at the construction of the Msikaba Bridge at Lusikisiki, which forms part of the N2 project.
President Ramaphosa said the bridge construction project would provide targeted employment opportunities for SMME's.
"What I have seen today is truly an extraordinary operation of enormous proportions that is rising to the skies in a rural part of our country. This project is a sign of our government's determination to proceed with our infrastructure build," he said.
"We are committed to ensuring that we grow our economy through infrastructure development. Infrastructure is the flywheel of our economic growth," Ramaphosa said.
The President said the R1.65 billion Msikaba Bridge was one component of the 410km N2 Wild Coast road project, which will link four provinces and improve connectivity between South Africa and Mozambique, Swaziland, and Lesotho.
According to President Ramaphosa, about R4 billion has been earmarked to flow to local small and medium enterprises, and that thousands of jobs are set to be created during the lifespan of the N2 Wild Coast road project.
"Already, some R120 million has gone to local SMMEs as part of upgrading and linking of roads, and there are several more projects in the pipeline," Ramaphosa said.
The President also acknowledged that some communities were opposed to some of the projects underway, referring to the halting of work on the Mtentu Bridge construction site following community unrest.
"I call on all our communities to support, not just this project but all our projects in the Eastern Cape. We want to create jobs here and turn the economic fortunes of the province around," Ramaphosa said.
(Additional source: SAnews.gov.za)
