Decongestion Road

The Road Decongestion Program, initiated by the Road Development Authority (RDA), in consultation with the government, has already identified the roads, which will be part of Toll Road Network with the introduction of tolls for vehicle access into the capital. The officially available information confirms that the initial introduction of the toll will affect sections of the National Highway and the North, the Harbour Bridge, the Port Louis Ring Road and Highway Terre-Rouge/Verdun/Ebene. The standard of decision in favor of the imposition of tolls has already been endorsed by the government so that the quantum of pay will depend on factors that are known with the choice of a private operator. The program of road decongestion, which includes plans to build the Harbour Bridge, Ring Road Phase II, a new bridge over the Grand River North West to connect to the National Highway between Port Louis and Beau-Bassin, or up to Sorezes Belle Etoile, respectively, will require investments of around Rs 18.1 billion. During deliberations last Friday, the Cabinet had reviewed the situation in relation to various aspects of the Road Decongestion Program.

With confirmation from 1 June that the government favors the imposition of a toll for access to Port Louis in order to reduce asphyxia on arterial roads leading to and through the capital, the emphasis is put on the procedures for selecting the private operator will be selected to manage the Toll Roads with the payment of Concession Fees to the Road Development Authority. Currently, the Central Procurement Board shall evaluate quotations submitted as part of a Prequalification Exercise. Indeed, the deadline for submission of tenders has expired since May 19 last year following a tender launched on the international market since March 19 last. The objective of this exercise at the Central Procurement Board is to proceed to select a private developer to the enforcement of various aspects of Road Decongestion Program.

With this first evaluation, the Central Procurement Board will establish a shortlist of three bidders for presentations of their listings in terms of design, construction and operation. It is at this stage that pre-qualified firms are to develop their proposals for the management of Toll Roads as well as the mode of funding identified for Road Decongestion Program.

To reach this stage, the government had sought the expertise of consultants from PIC Solutions Project of South Africa for assessment of the project under the Public Private Partnership (PPP). A Public Private Partnership Committee comprising the Director of Procurement Policy Board, as chairman, and representatives of the Ministries of Finance, Public Infrastructure and the Attorney General's Office has been established for monitoring all aspects of projects under public-private partnership.

Other persons affected by the problem of traffic congestion on the trunk road Curepipe / Port-Louis-Earth Red, that the introduction of the toll is only part of the equation. The other for, as important as the first named, remains a public transport system worthy of the name, and likely to attract passengers who would otherwise have chosen private transport.

In the circumstances, the brutal fact remains that the transit network is experiencing a marked deterioration with breakdowns of buses more frequently on the roads. In addition to this, the financial prospects of the National Transport Corporation, one of the largest operators in this sector, cast doubt on the ability to invest in buses to accommodate this new customer, abandoning the comfort of their cars for public transportation common with the introduction of toll.