The SA National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) is approaching several banks in the hope of raising R1.48 billion, it said on Wednesday (31 July).<\/p>\n
Sanral’s toll and traffic manager Alex van Niekerk said the bulk of the amount needed was to service debt on the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP).<\/p>\n
“We are reaching the stage, in the next three months, when it will become critical,” he said.<\/p>\n
E-tolling to fund the project had not yet started, but the monthly cost of the necessary infrastructure amounted to about R25 million.<\/p>\n
Van Niekerk said he could not name the commercial banks Sanral was approaching for the loan.<\/p>\n
Sanral’s business comprised two portfolios: the non-toll portfolio which accounted for 84%, and which was financially healthy. The remaining 16% was the toll portfolio component, which included the GFIP.<\/p>\n
Sanral was not facing bankruptcy, because only the smaller portfolio had cash flow problems. This had not yet affected Sanral’s capacity to maintain other existing toll roads, van Niekerk said.<\/p>\n
Last week\u00a0Bloomberg reported that the agency had run out of money, with debt totalling R65 billion, including interest.<\/p>\n
The group denied\u00a0that it had run out of money to the extent that investors were reluctant to provide more funding.<\/p>\n
\u201cReports that Sanral is broke are factually incorrect. Sanral operates two portfolios \u2013 the toll roads and non-toll roads,\u201d spokesman\u00a0Vusi Mona<\/a>\u00a0said in a statement last Thursday (25 July).<\/p>\n However, van Niekerk said that\u00a0new projects to extend highways had not been put out to tender because Sanral was reluctant to take on more debt at present.<\/p>\n He could not say when e-tolling was likely to become a reality. This depended on the adoption of the Transport Laws and Related Matters Amendment Bill and the pending legal battle about e-tolling.<\/p>\n Sanral said in April it would begin e-tolling on Gauteng’s roads within two months. The Opposition to Urban Tolling Allowance (Outa) had been fighting the implementation of e-tolling in the courts.<\/p>\n On January 25, the Constitutional Court granted Outa leave to take the matter to the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein. The case is expected to be heard in September.<\/p>\n Van Niekerk said Sanral had “no reason… to not be confident” about the outcome of the legal battle, as the courts had twice found in its favour.<\/p>\n Last April, the High Court in Pretoria granted Outa an interdict approving a full judicial review before electronic tolling could be put into effect.<\/p>\n The interdict prevented Sanral from levying or collecting e-tolls, pending the outcome of a review. Sanral and the National Treasury appealed the court order.<\/p>\n In September, the Constitutional Court set aside the interim order. In December, the High Court in Pretoria dismissed Outa’s application to scrap e-tolling.<\/p>\n Sanral spokesman Vusi Mona said Sanral still hoped to “win the hearts” of Gauteng motorists.<\/p>\n The public should bear in mind that government made policy and it was Sanral’s job to implement that policy, he said.<\/p>\n “If we had it our way, we would not even get involved in funding.”<\/p>\n He said that the GFIP relied on the “user pays” principle in much the same way as was envisaged for the National Development Plan (NDP).<\/p>\n “The great majority are raving about the NDP. Contained in there, the user pays principle features,” Mona said.<\/p>\n “We think South Africans are reasonable, we think they will come round [to e-tolling].” Plans to introduce e-tolling on these freeways had encountered resistance from various sectors of society.<\/p>\n Sanral: we aren\u2019t broke<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Cash-strapped Sanral a red herring?<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0E-toll \u201cpropaganda\u201d costing Sanral millions: DA<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Sanral: e-toll revenue taxed before going offshore<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n DA to fund Outa e-toll legal fees<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n
\nEarlier, it was reported that the agency had run out of money, with debt totalling R65bn, including interest. The agency reportedly borrowed R20bn from local and foreign investors to fund the GFIP.<\/p>\nMore on Sanral and e-tolling<\/h3>\n