Southern Africa has entered a new era in intermodal transport with the completion of a road that links Walvis Bay with Maputo. The 2364 km-long roadway traverses four countries (Namibia, Botswana, South Africa and Mozambique) and promises to not only reduce the costs of transportation but also advance the economic development and integration objectives of SADC, NEPAD and the Millenium Development Goal.
Paul Collings attended the official opening of the road.
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| The Doornpoort Plaza has significantly eased congestion on the streets to the north of Tshwane and the Bakwena corridor has created permanent jobs for over 400 tollbooth attendants. |
The trans-continental route was officially completed on September 30th, with the official launch of the N1-N4 Bakwena Platinum Highway which runs from Warmbaths in Limpopo to Skilpadhek (North West Province) on the Botswana border. The new toll highway is a Public Private Partnership (PPP) between SANRAL and investors from Spain and South Africa.
According SANRAL CEO, Nazir Alli: "This coast-to-coast link is essential as a transport network that meets the needs of mining, agriculture, forestry, agro-processing, manufacturing and related economic activities. Its aim is to trigger economic growth throughout the SADC region by enhancing the competitiveness of exporters, as well as saving time, costs and maintenance over the long term."
The good news for exporters who use Durban, Richards Bay and Maputo harbours is that the link has reduced the trip from Johannesburg to Walvis Bay by 500km, cutting shipping time to Europe by 10 to15 days, says Alli. This will no doubt make Walvis Bay a viable shipping alternative and bring advantages to transport operations in the way of cost and time savings despite the toll fees.
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Automation is the way to go. The N1N4 toll route is the first to use e-tagging. Vehicles fitted with an e-tag transducer attached to the back of the rear-view mirror can roll through the plaza without stopping to pay the attendant, A transducer reader suspended from the roof of the plaza recognises vehicle information and the toll fee is automatically deducted from a credit card account. |
Overcoming resistance
Most road users have a love-hate relationship with toll roads. The high quality road surface and absence of pedestrians and animals on the road make travelling that much easier. The toll fees on the other hand are a 'grudge purchase'. The reality is such, explains Leo Röhrig, CEO of Bakwena (the toll concessionaire with a 30-year contract to maintain the 333km-long road): "The state is unable to pay for the maintenance and repair of all of South Africa's roads. The major routes have to be well maintained and this means they have to be run in partnership with business (PPP) which means the introduction of toll plazas."
Röhrig says R3-billion was needed to start the project of which 25% had to come from private equity. "Road builders Murray & Roberts, Wilson Bayley Holmes and Concor were loath to put up the equity so we looked for partners who understand this particular kind of contract structure," he adds.
With R375-million coming from Spain (Drogados Group and investment bank COFIDES), the necessary loan capital was acquired from local banks and the project was given the go-ahead in 2001. In 2003, the 'Platinum Corridor' was opened to the public but not without protest. Röhrig describes incidents where motorists threw snakes and scorpions into the tollbooths to express their outrage at having to pay to use the road.
In order to win the public over, Bakwena launched widescale ongoing information, awareness and social responsibility campaigns costing over R3-million. These initiatives continue to educate not only users of the road but the communities alongside it. Road safety education, bursaries, entrepreneurial training and investment, environmental initiatives and donations are just a few of the mechanisms Bakwena has employed to harmonise the road with its surrounding environment.
"We adopted a policy of patience and transparency and it has worked tremendously well," says Röhrig.
The trucking benefits
The old road that links Gauteng with the platinum fields of the North West Province and Botswana is famous for its speed traps and pitching road surface, not to mention its goats and donkeys. According to Röhrig, the old road is unable to handle the increasing volumes of traffic and is in pretty bad shape. "As a result," he says, "the new toll route is now being used by as much as 60% of the traffic travelling between Gauteng and NW Province/Botswana simply because it is quicker and safer. Truck drivers have a far less demanding task with more road surface to accommodate their rigs, climbing lanes which allow faster vehicles to pass them on inclines and e-tagging at the tollbooths which enables them to pass through the toll plaza without stopping."
Price-wise, the eight toll plazas on the N1N4 Bakwena Platinum Highway aren't too bad, ranging from R19 to R85 for a 'Class 4' vehicle (5 axles or more) across seven plazas with the 8th plaza (Swartruggens) costing big rigs R165. Röhrig explains that toll prices are fixed to CPI and cannot be increased arbitrarily.
Alli adds that frequent users of the toll route can apply for discount cards. The road has several ramp plazas built to discourage the popular trucking sport of toll dodging which, as we've seen on the R103 in KZN-Natal, can be extremely detrimental to secondary roads.
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The very latest technology has been installed at all the Bakwena plazas to prevent fraud. Sensors buried in the roadway can record each vehicle and ascertain what category it is and therefore how much money should be in the till at the end of each shift. |
| Transporters will find much value in being able to traverse the subcontinent on a road that's of First World quality. |
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Double carriageways mean happier drivers, both truckers and
motorists. |
| If
these boys play their cards right, one day they'll have a stake in the toll road. |
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Overloaders be warned
With a price tag hefty enough to make Bill Gates blink, SANRAL and the Bakwena management are unequivocal about their stand regarding overloaded trucks. Röhrig says Bakwena is committed to eradicating the problem on the corridor.
"We've apprehended trucks from Zambia and the DRC carrying copper that weighed over 93 tons! This is totally unacceptable," he says. "Our weigh-in-motion devices are in place and we will be building a static weighbridge in a few months time. We have traffic control centres along the route and traffic officials to police the corridor. With 60 000 heavy commercial vehicles passing through our plazas every month, we have implemented a comprehensive overloading policy."
The strong law enforcement presence (as well as SOS phones alongside the road) is no doubt a welcome security net for hijack-plagued truckers and a strong deterrent to criminals. "We have vehicles patrolling the route constantly," says Alli, "and while crime prevention is not our responsibility, we have gone to every length to make the road as safe as any in the First World." Well done on that one Good Sir.
Word from the Minister
Minister of Transport, Jeff Radebe, attended the launch and spelled out government's grand scheme for the region.
"Our vision for SADC is to integrate the economies of the respective countries by implementing seamless movement of people and goods. Cross-border parks and the provision of roads infrastructure, in particular the Maputo Development Corridor, has partly realised the vision. The challenge, however, remains to solve the disorder at border posts. The coast to coast highway is closely linked to the Millennium Development Goals and the vision for Africa as a whole. The importance of economic integration for Africa derives mainly from the opportunities created to expand trade, pool resources for investment, grow local markets and industrialise efficiently. "
It may sound like politico-speak but one thing's for sure; integration, trade, investment, industrialisation and growth cannot happen without trucks and trucks cannot function effectively without good roads. Now can someone please loan me R165 for my 6x4 in the Groot Marico?
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Minister of Transport, Jeff Radebe, in an optimistic mood about the groundbreaking road. |
| Nazir Alli is a
Public Private Partnership evangelist. |
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