The backlog on South Africa’s road network has reached R197-billion, up from R149-billion in 2010, says South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) CEO Nazir Alli.
This backlog included the strengthening and regravelling of roads, and excluded periodic resurfacing, upgrades, the addition of new lanes and new roads.
“This is an estimate. We suspect the situation is worse,” says Alli.
To close the funding gap, a fuel levy of R2.15 a litre of fuel would need to be added the fuel price, which already carries a more than R2 levy a litre.
To sustain the current network, with no reference to the backlog, will require an additional R1.35/l levy, says Alli. “The levy will, of course, need to keep up with inflation.”
Alli says he is opposed to the use of fuel levies to pay for road upgrades.
By: Irma Venter
http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/roads-backlog-jumps-by-r50bn-from-2010-2014-10-06
