New Provincial Roads Model to improve and accelerate delivery in the Western Cape

WESTERN Cape Government Minister of Infrastructure, Tertuis Simmers and officials of the department are travelling across the province, to present the New Provincial Road Delivery Model to district municipalities.

Engagements started in April in the Garden Route District Municipality with mayors, councillors, officials and road workers across the district to discuss the discontinuation of the roads agency function as of 1 April 2026, the implementation of the New Provincial Roads Delivery model, and the reasoning behind it. 

At the engagement, representatives of Agri Western Cape and the Garden Route Ratepayers Association. 

This New Provincial Roads Delivery Model offers a shift toward better governance, financial accountability, and excellent service delivery. 

Simmers said, “Ultimately, the Western Cape Government is laser focused on enabling economic growth that will create more job opportunities. Road infrastructure plays a central role in achieving this and the New Provincial Roads Delivery Model is a groundbreaking step in the right direction.” 

Minister Simmers also engaged directly with road workers and assured them on the record that no jobs will be lost as part of the new roads delivery model. “This is a strategic shift, not an instrument to retrench,” said Simmers. 

“The roads in this province are our pride and joy, and with this new delivery model financial oversight will be enhanced and service delivery to our residents will be markedly improved,” Simmer said.

Aside from the New Provincial Road Delivery Model, the Western Cape has also developed the Road Asset Management Plan (RAMP) which is a data-led instrument that provides relevant stakeholders with a birds-eye-view of the provincial road network.

RAMP shows, for example, that in 2023, over 28-million vehicle-kilometres were travelled per day on the provincial road network of over 32 000km in total. It also shows in detail the overall condition of the provincial gravel road network, of which the DOI is planning to upgrade and maintain 1 200km starting this financial year.

Also presented to the IMC were transport infrastructure programmes that are identified for alternative financing models. These include four key mega projects at a total projected budget of R18-billion.

The New Provincial Road Delivery Model and the RAMP are part of the plans put in place by Western Cape Infrastructure Ministerial Committee (IMC).

Since the inaugural IMC meeting, on 1 December 2024, the Western Cape Infrastructure Framework 2050 (WCIF 2050) has been refined, and the latest version was presented to the IMC.

The WCIF 2050 guides the Western Cape Department of Infrastructure’s (DOI) vision, project pipeline, and budget. It ensures that all infrastructure projects are aligned with the Western Cape Government’s (WCG) economic growth masterplan, the Growth For Jobs (G4J) strategy, as well as the DOI’s broader strategic objectives.

Importantly, the WCIF 2050 includes the Western Cape Infrastructure Implementation Plan 2050 – commonly known as the Singular Project Pipeline. The Singular Pipeline will revolutionise infrastructure delivery in the province, as it identifies and gives an overview of existing infrastructure pipelines, which include national, provincial, municipal and private sector projects.