The developer behind the R50bn Port of Gauteng, Francois Nortjé, says provincial legislation is blocking the development of major new roads and stifling development.
“No road can be built in Gauteng because of the GTIA [Gauteng Transport Infrastructure Act 2001]. But even if they change the act, I don’t think they would be able to build the roads because they have not done EIAs [environmental impact assessments]. They did not do EIAs, so they do not know if they can build these roads.”
Nortjé said that over the past 15 years a number of portions of land earmarked for roads had been invaded. “Landowners are abandoning the land because the land is worthless. You own the land, but you cannot get building plans, you cannot build on it — you can only use it for agriculture. The land is not protected, hence the invasions,“ he said, referring to informal settlements on land earmarked for development.
No road can be built in Gauteng because of the GTIA [Gauteng Transport Infrastructure Act 2001]. But even if they change the act, I don’t think they would be able to build the roads because they have not done EIAs [environmental impact assessments]. They did not do EIAs, so they do not know if they can build these roads.
He said that under the Transvaal administration in the 1970s, no rezonings were permitted where the Pretoria/Witwatersrand/Vereeniging (PWV) road system was planned. The system then paved the way for the creation of the Gauteng Transport and Infrastructure Act (2001), which gazetted about 850 sections.
Nortjé said because the gazetting of the sections was done en masse, EIAs were never carried out. “It’s not expropriation as we know today, but it’s as good as expropriation. It’s still in your name, and you can farm on it or something like that, but you can’t develop it.”
He said motorists should enjoy free-flowing traffic around OR Tambo International Airport, but roads to alleviate congestion could not be built because the land had been invaded or was in environmentally sensitive areas. He said the development of the PWV15, meant to create an alternative to Gillooly’s interchange and the PWV3 were planned around wetlands, while parts of the PWV5 from Roodepoort to OR Tambo and the PWV14 linking the M2 to the R21 had been invaded.
“So, of the four roads around OR Tambo airport to alleviate traffic pressure one day, two have been invaded and two will never get environmental approval. We’ve got a problem. My opinion is you will never build another major road in Gauteng. The horse has bolted on roads”.
After a lull during Covid, “the roads are getting fuller and fuller at a massive rate, and we’re going to hit a traffic attack in Gauteng”.
Nortje and his NT55 Investments is developing the Port of Gauteng in the southeast of Johannesburg and have been fighting a legal battle against the department of environmental affairs in Gauteng to set aside an EIA for the proposed road K148 leading to the Tambo Springs freight and logistics hub, which has been on the cards for 11 years.
Early last year, to prepare for the court case, Nortjé discovered that article 9.1 of the GTIA did not allow EIAs where the preliminary designs had been approved. While they lost the case, an appeal is due to be heard in February next year. “It is a disgrace that the government doesn’t recognise its own laws,” he said.
The Tambo Springs hub is part of the government’s plan to cut down on the number of haulage trucks carrying cargo from Durban port on the N3.
The department of transport referred the Sunday Times to the Gauteng department of transport. The Gauteng department did not respond at the time of going to print.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.