WC department terminates contract for Maalgate bridge

GEORGE NEWS - Early in June, George Herald reported on the construction that had come to a halt on both the Gwaiing river bridge on the N2 and Maalgate river bridge on the R102 between George and Mossel Bay.

The same contractor, Mamlambo Construction, had been appointed for both projects. The client on the Gwaiing project is the SA National Roads Agency Ltd (Sanral) and on the Maalgate project the Western Cape Department of Transport and Public Works.

Departmental spokesperson Jandré Bakker confirmed this week that the department has terminated its contract with Mamlambo and the process of finding a replacement contractor has started.

"Should all the programme processes run smoothly, we envisage a contractor on site in early September 2022. This is due to prescribed processes that have to be followed. Our priority remains traffic control in order for traffic flow to continue."

In March, when construction works on this project were halted, Mamlambo had committed to getting the project back on track. The completion date aimed for at that stage was 12 October 2022.

Previous articles:

Gwaiing project

Sanral told the newspaper early in June that it was engaging Mamlambo for the Gwaiing project and if it were to become clear that there was no alternative, the contract with Mamlambo Construction might be terminated.

This week, Sanral did not want to give an update on the progress. The original completion date of the Gwaiing project was July 2020. The original contractor, KPMM, started construction in early 2018, but they stopped work from April to September 2019 after running into financial difficulties. With the demise of KPMM, the contract was ceded to Mamlambo Construction in December 2021.

George Herald contacted Independent Group on whose website Mamlambo is listed as a subsidiary, however, we were referred to a director of Mamlambo. He has not responded to an email or to a voice message.

Some local subcontractors on these two projects have been hit hard by Mamlambo's withdrawal.

Bakker's comment on the fate of these companies was that matters between subcontractors and main contractors are to be resolved between themselves and not through the Department of Transport and Public Works.

Previous articles:

'We bring you the latest George, Garden Route news'