Minister Fikile Mbalula put the estimated damage to KZN roads at around R5.6 billion. Photo: GCIS / Flickr
Estimated damage to roads in KZN at R5.6 billion – Mbalula
Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula shared that the estimated cost of the damage to roads in KZN is over R5 billion.
Minister Fikile Mbalula put the estimated damage to KZN roads at around R5.6 billion. Photo: GCIS / Flickr
Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula says the estimated damage to provincial and municipal roads in KZN amounts to R5.6 billion. The minister shared that it would cost billions to fix roads in the province following the devastating floods.
The costs and extent have yet to be confirmed
Nearly 450 people have been confirmed to have lost their lives as a result of the torrential rains and floods. Infrastructure damage has been widespread and the extent and cost have yet to be confirmed.
Minister Mbalula said that the department gave the National Roads Agency the mandate to be the implementation agency. He explained that some municipalities had done work of their own, he made specific note of the eThekiwni Municipality.
“The province has committed resources, some municipalities have already done work, particularly eThekwini, but I know it’s not sufficient. We are going to improvise in terms of capital-intensive support,”
Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula
Mbalula says R700 million can be spent on National roads
Mbalula shared that Government will be verifying the true cost of the damage before implementation. He added that they would be clamping down in situations where inflationary prices are brought up in terms of building roads.
“We will verify that before implementation and where there is inflatory prices in building roads, we will clamp down,” said the minister.
Mbalula added that Government will be able to spend R700 million to repair national roads. The focus will be on the N2 and N3.
KZN floods latest: Estimated damage in eThekiwni at R757m
eThekwini Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda provided an update on the estimated cost of damage. According to Kaunda, the recent torrential rains and flooding caused damages of around R757 million.
Kaunda shared that the tourism and manufacturing industries were among those impacted. In a statement released on Thursday, Kaunda shared that the number of visitors for the Easter weekend is expected to drop.
The mayor explained that the lack of water and electricity in many areas in KZN will affect jobs in the hospitality sector. Kaunda shared that the city is currently working on restoring water and electricity but infrastructure had been badly damaged. Read the full story here.
