‘Road network has reached crisis point’ - Ndebele

Limited funding remains a major problem for infrastructure spending in South Africa – but the country is not alone in trying to find solutions to this dilemma, Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele told Parliament last week when he delivered his annual Budget speech. “South Africa sits at a crossroads with regard to road infrastructure investment, which is needed not only to develop and build new roads but more importantly to manage our ageing road network,” said Ndebele. “More than 75% of our current road network is 20 years or older. Based on the road design life span of 20 years and the various report indicators, 40% of the provincial network has reached a crisis point due to the limited maintenance that has been done.” Ndebele said he estimated that at least R75 billion was needed over the next five years to arrest the situation. He said another major concern was that the road network was not keeping up with the growth of the vehicle population that is estimated in Gauteng alone to grow by 10% per annum. “With the road network not keeping up with this growth, the resultant effect is congested roads, with safety being compromised and most importantly a negative impact on the economy.”