Bad news about South Africa’s petrol prices, and a state-owned transport company on the brink of collapse

The South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL) looks set to complete a bridge doubling project in the Western Cape ten years after it started.

Expanding the Gwaing River Bridge over the N2 national road in George will require R170 million to complete after a third contractor was appointed to finish the project, which started in 2018.

The project is now expected to take over 15 months to complete, with construction estimated to start mid-October 2026, following a three-month mobilisation period.

Brent crude oil prices encountered turbulence, dropping on optimism over the agreement between Iran and Oman, before rising on reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin was planning to escalate the war in Ukraine.

As a result, oil is trading 0.5% lower this morning, with a barrel costing $87, though prices are still up more than 40% this year due to the ongoing conflict that slowed oil movement through the Strait of Hormuz.

Attacks have been halted, and diplomatic talks will resume between the US and Iran, but Iranian officials have also said the strait would not open unless the US met Tehran’s conditions.

The Middle East state has said that an agreement wouldn’t lead to an immediate reopening of the strait.

However, crude appears to be flowing from the Persian Gulf. US President Donald Trump claimed that 10 million barrels of oil exited the waterway on Tuesday.

The South African rand remained unfazed by these global developments and remained below R16 to the US dollar overnight.

Despite weakening ever so slightly to the greenback, the rand is currently trading at R15.96 against the US currency.

5 important things

Bad news about petrol prices next week: South Africa’s fuel prices have deteriorated once again, with the country now facing fuel price hikes of between R1 and R3 per litre this September [TopAuto].

2027 Hyundai Tucson revealed with a radical new design: Hyundai has just pulled the wraps off the new generation of the Tucson compact SUV. Like most of the automaker’s designs recently, it’s a radical departure from its predecessor, with a boxy look and prominent fender flares [Car and Driver].

State-owned company on the brink of collapse despite receiving R1 billion in taxpayer bailouts: Great North Transport (GNT) is seeking a R199 million bailout after receiving R1 billion in taxpayer money over the past decade. The company, which remains in financial distress despite the bailouts, said the additional money is needed to prevent a collapse before it reaches break-even [Daily Investor].

New EVs to charge in less than 5 minutes: Chinese carmaker Geely says it’s about to smash the 5.5-minute electric car charging time record with a battery breakthrough, but there’s a catch. Geely has announced it has developed a 1000V electric architecture for its vehicles, which will allow charging from 10-80 per cent in less than 5.5 minutes [Bega District News].

A new era for petrol stations in South Africa: For decades, petrol stations in South Africa were built around the single purpose of selling fuel to motorists. However, this is changing due to shifts in consumer behaviour, and two businesses have proved that turning petrol stations into a consumer experience can be highly successful in South Africa [Newsday].