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The South African National Roads Agency Limited says it will be investing over R60 billion up until 2027 on roads and other infrastructure in the Eastern Cape.
Sanral project engineer, Marlize Nel-Verwey, made this announcement to delegates at the Eastern Cape Provincial Investment Conference taking place at the East London ICC.
She said over the past three years the Agency had spent just over R800 bn, on approximately 5000 kilometres of road in the Province.
Nel-Verwey says this money was expended on just under 1 500 service providers, of which 80% were majority black-owned companies.
She said Sanral also created just over 10 500 full-time jobs during this period, with a wage spend of R900 million just in the Eastern Cape.
The Road Agency says it is planning to spend R60.3 bn on infrastructure over the next five years until the end of the 2027 financial year.
"In 2023 we forecast to spend R4 bn. Our forecast for 2024 financial is just over R8.2 bn that we have already committed," Nel-Verwey added.
She says this includes the N2 Wild Coast Project which consists of two mega-bridges and the R1.7bn Ntsikaba Bridge which is already under construction.
Nel-Verwey says 30% of the work will go towards local enterprises.
She says R1.4 bn of the R4 bn of the total spend on the Ntentu River Bridge will go to small businesses in the Eastern Cape.
