City of Joburg Mayor Dada Morero has indicated that the City is moving towards the restoration of Lillian Ngoyi Street, which was left devastated following a gas explosion in 2023. City of Joburg Mayor, Dada Morero has indicated that the first phase of the rehabilitation of the Lillian Ngoyi Street following a gas explosion in 2023 will be done by the end of August this year. Picture: Siyabonga Sithole
Amid a slew of delays and challenges, City of Joburg Mayor, Dada Morero in the company of MMC for transport Kenny Kunene reassured residents of a smooth restoration of the Lillian Ngoyi Street following a gas explosion almost two years ago.
Morero, who addressed the media during a site visit to the area on Monday, revealed that the city has earmarked R194 million towards the Johannesburg International Transport Interchange (JITI) programme.
“We will be passing the budget of the city which will then include the balance of R100 million into the project. So, in essence, the total is R194 million. What we have put out now is R94 million. It is also important to note that an allocation of R26 million has been set aside for the SMME participation. In the total of R194 million we have insisted that SMMEs can participate fully in the project,” he stated.
Despite many challenges with the Lillian Ngoyi Street project, including the appointment of the contractor, Morero said he is confident that it will be completed before the end of August this year.
The project has suffered many delays due to some of the challenges almost two years after the gas explosion.
"We are committed to ensuring that by August, we deliver it, and we want to reaffirm to the people of Johannesburg that come August 2025, the road will be functional, and all our motorists will enjoy the road. Over and above, it is also to ensure that we unlock the economy in this particular street and in our city,“ the mayor said.
In August last year, the City of Johannesburg terminated the contract of Step Up Engineering, a service provider appointed to repair a part of Lillian Ngoyi Street following the company’s failure to resolve outstanding defaults in due time.
“The progress of the construction is currently sitting at about 15% of the first work stream. The road has two work streams. The first relates to where the explosion happened which will be delivered by end of August 2025. The second work stream will be ensuring that the road is expanded,” he said.
Morero indicated that the new contractor has been given strict instructions to minimise delays and save the city the much-needed funds.
“We have ensured that the contractor delivers within budget so that we do not escalate costs. We have ensured that the contractor is on site and sticks to timelines. He started work in November and is catching up with the work,” he added.
siyabonga.sithole@inl.co.za
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