Zuma opens R81 road
Zuma said the government spent R245 million on the construction of the road. The road would decrease the time and cost of doing business between Polokwane, Giyani and Limpopo, he said.
POLOKWANE – Traffic officers must arrest any motorist found driving at high speed as if they are racing at Kyalami.
This was according to president Jacob Zuma during the opening of the R81 road that connects Polokwane and Giyani in Limpopo on Tuesday. Zuma said the government spent R245 million on the construction of the road. The road would decrease the time and cost of doing business between Polokwane, Giyani and Limpopo, he said.
According to Zuma the building of the 61,5km road started in September 2010 and was completed in July. “It created 455 jobs. Apart from the R81, the government also reconstructed the R71, which is in use by Zion Christian Church members during pilgrimages.
“The R71 leads to the Kruger National Park and allows smooth movement to tourist destinations in the province,” he said.
“We have prioritised the development of economic infrastructure such as roads, railway lines, airports, pipelines, ports and harbours, as well as social infrastructure such as water, sanitation or electricity. The overall objective is to develop infrastructure that will boost the economy development,” he continued.
“The increase of tourist numbers to South Africa can be attributed in part to our world-class transport infrastructure. It is easy to reach South Africa due to good roads, airports and ports. We take infrastructure seriously and this is coordinated in the presidency through the Presidential Infrastructure Coordination Commission. The infrastructure plan on the scale needed to change the economy and our social landscape is expensive but necessary,” he said.
“South Africa has 750 000km of roads and we spend about R10 billion to service the roads each year. To rebuild 1km of a new tarred road can cost about R25 million.
It is not surprising that the cost of the infrastructure projects that we are working on is estimated at about R4 trillion rand over the next 15 years.”
Taxi driver Julius Maluleke expressed his satisfaction at the road being complete at long last, saying travelling would now be a joyride.
Farmer Andries van der Merwe said the opening of the R81 would add value to his farm as it would now be easy to transport his tomatoes.
