2 new megabridges being built in South Africa, a new luxury sedan, and the official petrol price for February

These were the five biggest stories in South Africa’s transport industry this week.

2 new megabridges being built in South Africa

Two new megabridge projects are under construction in the Eastern Cape.

The two bridges – the Msikaba and Mtentu – are a major part of the South African National Road Agency N2 Wild Coast project, which intends to create a safer and shorter main route through the Eastern Cape’s Wild Coast region from East London to KwaZulu-Natal.

The 580m-long Msikaba Bridge will be the longest suspension bridge in South Africa, while the Mtentu Bridge is set to become the tallest bridge on the continent when it is finished with a peak of 223 metres.

Official petrol price decreases for February announced

The Department of Petroleum and Mineral Resources’ latest fuel price adjustments took effect on Wednesday, 4 February 2026.

The cost of petrol dropped by 65c per litre, while diesel saw a slightly smaller reduction of 57c per litre.

The fuel savings are largely thanks to the rand’s strong performance against the dollar, which offset the fluctuating oil prices in January.

South Africa goes quiet on new bullet trains

South Africa has failed to deliver on its goal of establishing a high-speed passenger rail service by the end of 2025.

In 2019, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced an ambitious plan to create a bullet train network connecting all of the country’s major cities. A year later, former director-general for transport Alec Moemi promised that a high-speed rail project was in the works, with a initial launch anticipated for 2025.

However, these plans have since been scaled back to a single rail corridor running from Pretoria to Limpopo. The government has also yet to publish the National Rail Masterplan, which was supposed to be finalized by the end of 2025.

New luxury sedan launching in South Africa very soon

Volvo has officially confirmed that the new ES90 will go on sale in South Africa in the first quarter of 2026.

The ES90 is an upmarket sedan that will serve as one of Volvo’s key product launches this year – the other being the new EX60 SUV.

It will be made available in three trim levels with multiple powertrain options, including one with 500kW and 870Nm.

Traffic light theft is so common that South Africa is switching to stop signs

Across South Africa, municipalities are replacing traffic lights with stop signs to minimise losses from vandalism and cable theft.

Most recently, a three-way intersection had its robots replaced with stop signs because it has become too costly for the municipality to repair.

Other metros, such as Johannesburg, Tshwane, and Gqeberha are facing similar issues, though Cape Town is pioneering a new “tamperproof” traffic light system to combat the issue.