Hillary Construction to rehabilitate the Old N1 in the Musina CBD, SANRAL announces

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21-08-2024
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Hillary Construction Pty Ltd is the main contractor undertaking the rehabilitation work on the Old N1 road, section 29, cutting through the copper town of Musina in the Limpopo Province.

The South African National Road Agency SOC Limited (SANRAL) said the estimated budget for the project is R227million, excluding VAT and price adjustment.

SANRAL Northern Region Project Engineer, Hennie Kotze, explained that the 5.8km project entailed the reconstruction of the existing layers on the route, resurfacing, new road markings, cleaning the culverts and extending and replacing sidewalks.

SANRAL will improve the current existing road and the old (defunct) railway line will be cut. The traffic circles will be removed and changed into a four-way-stop sign. We will place stop-and-go signage very soon for traffic control,” Kotze said.

The contract was awarded three months ago. There was a mobilisation period of two months in which the Project Liaison Committee (PLC) was put in place, and a labour and targeted enterprise database set up.

“There is some work on the go in town and the contractor is busy putting out tenders for procuring SMMEs to do some of the work,” Kotze added.

Kotze said the contract made provision for 8% of its value to be spent on targeted labour from the Musina area, while 30% would be spent on targeted enterprises which have at least 51% black ownership.

Hillary Construction CEO Trevor Freestone said he had not yet appointed subcontractors and service providers.

“The yellow machines currently busy on the road are just doing excavation work in some sections of the road,” he said. “The opening of tenders will be public, and the adjudication of service providers will be conducted fairly. We will check for compliance and eligibility. Our first priority are residents of Musina.”

Freestone said applicants and SMMEs could use Hillary Construction’s online platform to apply for subcontracting tenders.

“I will sit with colleagues in the office and see if we can have a tender box at the entrance and allow hand applications to cater those not used to online applications. We are Level 01 BEE contributors,” said Freestone.

He said the company would be strict when hiring truck drivers. “Having a driver] s license doesn’t mean you have skills. We need skillful and competent drivers. I’m happy that the project liaison officer is here so that we can start the project together,” he said.

Project Liaison Officer Davis Mashaba is expecting more locals (youth, women and people living with disabilities) to be employed.

“We welcome SANRAL’s commitment to improve the old N1 because it has been damaged by heavy-duty trucks that cross the Beit-Bridge border post day and night. The high traffic volume has damaged the road surface and its many layers,” she said.

“In some areas, it is riddled with potholes that are damaging the car rims and also causing unnecessary accidents,” Mashaba added.

Stanley Semata, a well-known businessman who specialises in civil work in the copper town, said he was happy that SANRAL and the contractor (Hillary Construction Pty Ltd) had clarified how SMMEs would benefit.

“What we don’t need is the interference of politicians in the project. The majority of the youth are unemployed and involved in drugs and alcohol abuse, so we are expecting them to be employed as labourers,” Semata explained.

Businesswoman Patience Mbewe said she would be happy if women got a slice of cake. She pointed out, “When you empower a woman, you empower the nation”.