The Bakwena Platinum Corridor Concessionaire has announced plans to inject over R5-billion into the rehabilitation and upgrade of the N1N4 toll road over the next 15 years as it reaches the midway mark of its 30-year concession with the South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral).
Tasked by Sanral in 2001 to manage, maintain and upgrade the 385-km route, Bakwena had started its “second intervention” of upgrades since building the national route between 2001 and 2004 at an initial cost of R5.33-billion in 2015 rand terms, CEO Graeme Blewitt said on Tuesday.
Traffic on the routes steadily climbed by around 3% a year, necessitating corrective action and enhancements to the extensive infrastructure, said Bakwena commercial manager Liam Clarke.
As many as 170 000 vehicles passed daily through the 17 Bakwena-managed toll plazas on the N1N4 route.
Bakwena would complete the current R3.68-billion upgrade and rehabilitation programme during 2018/19 and would embark on its “final intervention” of rehabilitation before handing the asset back to Sanral in 2031.
At the end of 2029/30, Bakwena would spend R1.7-billion to rehabilitate its routes to ensure that the roads were in the condition stipulated by the concession, Blewitt said.
