Durban - MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison, Sipho Hlomuka, officiated the commencement of a multimillion-rand rehabilitation upgrade of main road P395, commonly known as Marine Drive, in Port Shepstone under the Ray Nkonyeni Local Municipality, on Friday.
Hlomuka said that more than 25km of the road would be rehabilitated between Southbroom and Port Shepstone over a period of 30 months.
“P395 serves as an alternate route to the N2. It also connects local roads that lead to communities and the beach.The rehabilitation of P395 is envisaged to be constructed in one phase,” he said.
The MEC said 36.75% of the value of the contract was to be allocated to local emerging contractors and more than 198 job opportunities would be created.
According to Hlomuka, the R580 million project is set to breathe new life into the town of Port Shepstone.
"The project has been welcomed by the communities of South Coast who attended the officiation and expressed optimism that this project would help revive the business and tourism sector, thereby creating job opportunities."
Hlomuka added that the province would continue to implement infrastructure development to improve access to tourist destinations as part of efforts to help drive sustainable economic growth.
"It is important for us to focus on places such as the South Coast that have a high attraction for tourists. Good roads and generally well maintained infrastructure assists in drawing tourists, thus boosting the economy.
“We believe that the rehabilitation of this road will assist the South Coast in reviving its tourism sector, which was battered by the impact of Covid-19.”