The South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) has raised an additional R500 million for its national roads improvement project.
Including the R9.95 billion raised earlier this year, Sanral has now raised R14.05 billion funding for the expansion and upgrade of toll roads. The agency is on its way to raising the first R22 billion in debt finance to fund its upgrade project, ensuring e-tolling will be a reality in 2011.
The funding is being raised through the Domestic Medium-Term Note (DMTN) programme, which will allow Sanral to issue notes covered by a government guarantee, on an ongoing basis. In the last auction under the programme, the agency tapped into two bonds, with maturities in 2020 and 2034.
Sanral needs to raise R25 billion for the second phase of its upgrade project and an additional R20 billion for the third phase. More than R20 billion of the total funding is expected to go towards the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP), which is planned to be completed in time for the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
The GFIP aims to provide an interconnected network of inner and outer ring roads as a solution to the traffic congestion experienced in Gauteng. The 185km of new toll infrastructure will see the N1 to Pretoria, Johannesburg ring roads and the R21 to Pretoria, become electronic tolling zones. Roads will be operated on the user-pays principle after October 2010.
The agency recently awarded its R1.16 billion electronic tolling contract to the Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) joint venture - a consortium led by intelligent road traffic telematics company Kapsch Sweden. The system will be installed over a period of 18 months and is scheduled to go live in April 2011.
The agency aims to raise another R12 billion by the end of March 2010, while R50 million has been allocated to its so-called HWAY bond. Most of this capital would be raised through the DMTN programme.
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