The last year went better than expected

The South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) has revealed that it met and surpassed all the goals it set for itself in the 12 months in the 2023/24 financial year.

Between April 2023 and March 2024, the agency spent a collective R27.1 billion on road projects and maintenance, split between R4.1 billion on toll roads which comprises 6% of its entire network and R23 billion on non-toll roads which account for 89% of its portfolio.

“The significant investments in both toll and non-toll roads underscore our dedication to enhancing South Africa’s road infrastructure, ensuring safer, more efficient mobility for all,” said Sanral CEO Reginald Demana.

Looking at the entity’s financial performance, total assets stood at R772 billion at the end of the 2023/24 period, 17% up from the year prior, while both operating activities and investing activities increased by 23% and 7%, respectively.

Targets exceeded

Demana highlights that many of the targets Sanral set for the financial year were not only met but significantly exceeded.

The table below details the target and actual figures the agency set out to achieve in various disciplines:

Demana attributed the achievement to steady operational and strategic growth.

“We are a growing organisation with an increasing network size that currently stands at 24,384 km, plus an additional 3,350 km of roads under assessment for transfer from provincial authorities,” he said.

“It has been a challenging year on many fronts, but we have risen to those challenges, guided by our unwavering commitment to infrastructure development that fosters economic growth and drives transformation.”

Looking at the road ahead, Sanral is on a solid financial standing with R87 billion allocated by National Treasury over the the next three years.

Additionally, its borrowing power has increased to R16.5 billion off the back of its stellar performance last year, thus allowing for larger-scale project funding, said Demana.