City to inject R99m into infrastructure

The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality will spend R99m on infrastructure projects like fixing potholes, resurfacing roads and servicing housing sites in Uitenhage.

The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality will spend R99-million on infrastructure projects like fixing potholes, resurfacing roads and servicing housing sites in Uitenhage over the next two years.

Magennis Street is one of the projects that will receive funding, with R25-million set aside for its reconstruction.

It is envisaged that the street will be used for the Integrated Public Transport System (IPTS) buses if the project is eventually rolled out to Uitenhage.

The city has also allocated R30-million for bulk sewer pipes in KwaNobuhle.

A tender for the Magennis Street upgrade was advertised last month and will close on December 3.

A section of the road where a yellow crate was placed over a giant pothole last month has already been patched.

The R99-million injection into Uitenhage projects is a welcome development as the town’s residents have complained for years that the metro often takes months to respond to reported service delivery problems like potholes and water-pipe leaks.

Yesterday, infrastructure and engineering political boss Andile Mfunda led councillors and officials on site inspections of Uitenhage and KwaNobuhle projects.

Speaking of the importance of upgrading Magennis Street, Mfunda said the road was key as it connected KwaNobuhle to town.

Infrastructure and engineering executive director Walter Shaidi said the metro would spend R7-million on resurfacing Magennis Street next year, R12-million in the 2016-17 financial year and a further R6-million afterwards.

“Contractors will be on site in April . We will be upgrading Magennis Street to a public transport corridor because the IPTS buses will run here.

“We might even have sidewalks. The road was unsafe because there were holes. The road was a frustration,” he said.

The servicing of 790 housing sites in Gunguluza Area 11 at a budgeted R34-million is expected to be completed by March next year. The project started earlier this month.

Also in Area 11, the municipality has budgeted R10.9-million for a bulk water project.

It started in May and was expected to be completed on December 11, Shaidi said.

The city would also maintain and tar gravel roads, fix water leaks and repair potholes in the area.