10 years and R170 million to build a bridge in the Western Cape

The South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL) will resume construction to double the Gwaing River Bridge over the N2 national road in George and complete the project 10 years after it published the first tenders.

According to the roads agency, construction on the project, which started in January 2018, was halted after the two previous contractors – KPMM Roads & Earthworks and Mamlambo Construction – faced financial difficulties.

SANRAL added that its previous attempts to procure contractors were also unsuccessful, leading it to publish a third tender to double the Garden Route bridge last year.

After previous failed attempts to get contractors back on site, the roads agency awarded the new contract worth R170 million, excluding VAT and CPA, to Power Construction (Pty) Ltd.

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 between July and October 2026.

SANRAL explained that this period, which has already started, allows the contractor to prepare to commence with the roadworks.

This includes establishing resources, engaging with stakeholders and affected communities, developing plans to achieve SANRAL’s transformation objectives, and ensuring all contractual, operational, and statutory obligations are in place.

Despite an initially tabled completion date of July 2020, the new deadline for completion of the road doubling project is mid-January 2028 – exactly 10 years after the project started in 2018.

According to SANRAL’s Provincial Head for the Western Cape, Randall Cable, the project will entail completing a new 180m-long second bridge and repairing and refurbishing the existing bridge.

It will also include dualling of around 2.2 km of the existing N2, as well as minor widening and resurfacing of the existing carriageway.

“Despite all the delays encountered, SANRAL is committed to completing this project,” he explained.

Ten years and three tenders later

The first two contractors both filed for voluntary liquidation before completing the work they signed up for.

Cable confirmed this to the George Herald and explained that KPMM was weighed down by cash flow constraints, causing the contractor to fall behind schedule.

The final nail in the coffin was the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic four months before the project was meant to be completed. KPMM pulled out of the contract in April 2021, nine months after it was meant to be completed.

Following the contractor’s voluntary liquidation, the contract was assigned to its subcontractor, Mamlambo Construction, which had the appropriate Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) grading and construction experience.

However, it followed KPMM in filing for voluntary liquidation in June 2022, merely seven months into the contract.

After the two contractors failed to complete the work, SANRAL terminated the Gwaing River Bridge contract and started a new procurement process to complete the outstanding work.

According to Cable, the new tender was advertised on 28 March 2024 and closed on 10 May the same year; however, SANRAL failed to appoint a new contractor by October 2024.

The need for additional internal assessments arose during the evaluation stage, extending the project’s timelines, and as a result, the tender period lapsed before SANRAL could award the tender to a contractor.

Because the roads agency’s procurement policies prevent it from awarding lapsed tenders, the Gwaing River Bridge doubling contract was included in its 2025/26 annual procurement plan.

The new tender process commenced in June last year and led to SANRAL awarding the job to Power Construction nearly twelve months later.

Cable ensured that the steel already enclosed within the concrete remains unaffected, adding that the integrity of the existing decks and piers has not been compromised.

This will allow the newly appointed contractor to resume work where previous contractors left off.