The Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform, Gugile Nkwinti, announced Thursday, 9 July 2015, that the construction of the proposed new N2 Wild Coast Toll Road is expected to start in September 2016 according to a press release issued by the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform.

He was speaking at a public consultation meeting in Bizana, Eastern Cape, in his capacity as the chairperson of the Presidential Infrastructure Coordinating Committee (PICC), which is tasked with overseeing strategic infrastructure projects.

The PICC manages 18 strategic infrastructure projects (SIPs), and Minister Nkwinti is responsible for SIP 3; which is looking at South-East Node and Corridor Development. A South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL) report on the status of the project was received by Minister Nkwinti  before the public consultation meeting.

“We have made a decision. What we want to know now is where we are going to relocate people who have to make way for the road. In the case of graves, we want people to indicate where the graves will be relocated,” said Minister Nkwinti.

“We are left with 13 months before construction starts,” said Minister Nkwinti.

If court processes against the construction of the toll road persist, the project will start in 2017, Minister Nkwinti said.

Before construction resume, houses, graves, animal veld, and mielie fields will be relocated to suitable alternative land.

A survey commissioned by SANRAL about the proposed new route for the N2 along the Wild Coast indicated an almost unanimous level of support for this development.

The primary reasons given for the support of the proposed N2 Wild Coast Toll Road are based on the perception that the construction will provide employment opportunities.

SANRAL argues that communities along the N2 Wild Coast are among the poorest in the country and the construction of the toll road would bring much needed employment in the area.