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The South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) does not anticipate any further delays in the completion of the Msikaba megabridge project despite one of the partners in the joint venture (JV) tasked with constructing the bridge entering business rescue.

"Sanral can confirm that, following a meeting with creditors and other affected stakeholders that took place in October, the roads agency does not anticipate any delays in the projects' completion time," says Sanral spokesperson Lwando Mahlasela.

"The expected completion date is April 9, 2029, and it is important to emphasise that construction of the project is not affected by the business rescue process."

Mahlasela says the financially distressed Concor still forms part of the Mota-Engil Construction South Africa–Concor JV that is constructing the Msikaba bridge.

"The JV's obligation to construct the Msikaba bridge remains in force. The JV is currently delivering on their contractual obligation to construct the bridge."

Concor entered voluntary business rescue in October.

The company is currently 100% owned by the Government Employees Pension Fund and the Unemployment Insurance Fund.

Concor's former majority shareholder was the Southern Palace Group, which entered business rescue in 2022.

The Msikaba mega-bridge forms part of Sanral's N2 Wild Coast road project, which entails the construction of a 410 km stretch of road from East London to the Mtamvuna river on the border of the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces.

Announced in 2019, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the bridge project was originally scheduled for completion by the end of 2022.

The structure is a 580-m-long cable-stayed road bridge spanning the Msikaba river.

Once completed, the pylon spires of the bridge are set to tower almost 130 m high on each side of the nearly 200-m-deep river gorge.

Serious questions are being raised about the South African government's plan to again initiate a process to procure 5.2 GW of new nuclear capacity following previous high-profile failures and given the far-reaching changes under way in the electricity supply industry.

These changes include a phased transition towards a more competitive market design, where public procurement will progressively give way to commercial transactions, as well as strong signals of a growing need for far greater generation flexibility, represented by the shift that has taken place from loadshedding to curtailment.

There is also significant uncertainty about the demand outlook, with electricity demand in South Africa having declined in response to a surge in tariffs, despite an ongoing planning assumption of electricity demand growth.

Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa indicated this week that he intended publishing a Section 34 Ministerial determination by April that will open the way for the procurement of new nuclear in line with an allocation included in the Integrated Resource Plan of 2025 (IRP 2025).

The IRP 2025 has been criticised for inserting policy adjustments, including the inclusion of nuclear, that have not been fully justified or costed, and which deviate materially from a least-cost outcome at a time when electricity affordability has emerged as a leading concern.

Speaking at a conference in Gauteng, Ramokgopa insisted that there was a role for new nuclear in South Africa's future electricity system, but said he would Gazette the Ministerial determination only after public consultations and once he had received the concurrence of the National Energy Regulator of South Africa and the National Treasury.

Public comment, he said, would be sought on a 'Case for Nuclear' document, which would be published by the Department of Electricity and Energy (DEE) in November, and a roadshow would be undertaken in February to further consult with communities and stakeholders.

Nevertheless, there is concern that government intends pressing ahead with another nuclear procurement process regardless of any critical public comment that could arise, given Ramokgopa's insistence at the same conference that: "We are going to build nuclear in this country."

Speaking during a subsequent webinar hosted by EE Business Intelligence, DEE deputy director-general Zizamele Mbambo outlined a roadmap showing that government anticipated construction would begin in 2028 and that the first nuclear unit would begin operating in 2036.

The power station would be owned and operated by Eskom, while the vendor, the reactor design and the financial model would emerge from a competitive-bidding process.

Mbambo also indicated that early public engagement was viewed by government as key to ensuring that any new procurement did not again fail, as was the case when Eskom abandoned its Nuclear-1 procurement in 2008, with the subsequent process to procure 9.6 GW based on the 2010 edition of the IRP having faced strong public and legal opposition.

FLEXIBILITY NEEDED

However, speaking during the same webinar, Meridian Economic MD Grové Steyn argued that the South African electricity system, which now drew its cheapest new electricity from variable solar and wind plants, did not require inflexible nuclear generators.

"It needs cheap energy, firm capacity, flexibility and system services, and it should buy each from the cheapest source," he said, adding that large nuclear stations did not pass the least-cost test for any of those components.

Professor Mark Swilling, of the Centre for Sustainability Transitions at Stellenbosch University, underlined this point, noting that the National Transmission Company South Africa was currently curtailing utility-scale renewables plants, because of surplus production and the aged coal fleet's inability to respond flexibly. It is anticipated that curtailment compensation payments could rise to R4-billion this financial year.

Swil...

Engineering News editor Terence Creamer discusses government's latest move to procure 5.2 GW of new nuclear; why this is back on the table, how government is approaching it and the possible risks.

Portfolio Committee on Trade, Industry and Competition chairperson Mzwandile Masina has supported a call from members of the committee, initiated by the DA's Toby Chance, for an urgent oversight visit to the troubled South African Bureau of Standards (SABS).

The call was made during a meeting on November 11 at which senior SABS executives, including acting CEO Blake Mosley-Lefatola, and board members, were absent, and at which outdated and incomplete financials were provided by the SABS staff members present.

In a scathing assessment of the briefing, Chance, who is the DA's spokesperson on trade, industry and competition, warned that the performance suggested that the SABS was facing an existential crisis.

"Not a single board member was present at the meeting and the Ministerial team and director-general sent their apologies due to Cabinet committee commitments. The acting CEO was off sick. This left the head of compliance risk and legal services to lead the SABS delegation," Chance wrote in a statement following the meeting.

"What they presented was not a pretty sight. A ransomware cyberattack in November 2024 crippled its systems so badly it had to re-build them from scratch. The loss of data meant the annual report was published over a year late, while the Auditor General has yet to review the 2025/26 results," he added.

Chance described the SABS as being at the heart of South Africa's quality system and noted that the SABS mark had, at one time, been a trusted signifier of quality for South African-manufactured products.

"Its decline has to be reversed as part of the Government of National Unity's commitment to appoint fit-for-purpose individuals on merit, rather than the rag-tag collection of misfits who have run this treasured institution into the ground."

Besides Chance, the other committee members who raised their objections to the composition of the delegation and concerns about the state of the SABS, included Katherine Christie, also of the DA, the ANC's Malusi Gigaba, and the MKP's Siyabonga Gama.

Masina curtailed questioning of those SABS representatives who appeared before the committee, saying that the committee could not accept the report presented in the absence of the board members and executives who were meant to be accountable for the organisation and its turnaround.

"We take serious exception to both the management and the board of the SABS," Masina said, describing their failure to attend the briefing as suggestive of a "delinquent institution".

"We will write a letter to the Minister and the director-general to express our dissatisfaction," he added, while indicating that it was no longer acceptable for the SABS to be led by an acting CEO.

Masina said he would write to Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau insisting on an urgent oversight meeting so that lawmakers could establish the true state of the organisation and whether the turnaround was indeed taking place.

Department of Trade, Industry and Competition director-general Simphiwe Hamilton, who joined the virtual meeting only after the SABS presentation, acknowledged the concerns raised by committee members and committed to facilitating the oversight visit.

Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has confirmed that a review of the country's coal fleet had been undertaken by Eskom and his department to assess which of the power stations currently slated for retirement in 2030 should be operated for longer to sustain system stability.

Engineering News & Mining Weekly has learned that Eskom, which initially signalled that the outcome of the review would be published in September, will release the findings of the assessment before year-end.

The review outcome follows the recent publication of the Medium-Term System Adequacy Outlook 2027–2036 by the National Transmission Company South Africa (NTCSA), which says adequacy over the period is conditional on fleet performance and the timely delivery of generation, storage, flexibility and grid upgrades. It also notes that the risks increase in the absence of progress on gas-to-power and storage.

In a conference address this week, the Minister said: "The department, working with Eskom, is reviewing the coal fleet on its merits. On its own merits, some stations may have a case for longer operation, and others will retire."

Any decision to extend the life of certain coal plants "would reflect plant condition, costs, and the applicable environmental requirements" and would be taken in the national interest and to preserve system adequacy.

Much of Eskom's coal fleet is currently operating with exemptions to South Africa's legally prescribed minimum emission standards, while five stations (Grootvei, Arnot, Camden, Hendrina and Kriel) were granted a suspension decision in 2024 on the expectation that the plants would cease to operate beyond March 31, 2030.

At power stations with exemption decisions (Kendal, Duvha, Matla, Matimba, Medupi, Lethabo, Majuba and Tutuka), Eskom was expected to undertake projects to enable the facilities to comply with their atmospheric emission licence conditions.

In his speech, Ramokgopa underline the importance of coal to the South African economy and stated that it would be irresponsible to allow the country to return to supply instability "when we have such an endowment".

"There should not be just an obsession of closing down the coal-fired power stations – we accept that responsibility, and the pace and scale we will announce to the country."

This view was reinforced by Eskom chairperson Mteto Nyati who told the same conference that the 2030 timeline for the retirement of certain coal stations posed a risk to security of supply.

"We have just come back from a situation where we had a problem around energy security. We cannot just make those decisions of retiring power stations that still have maybe another ten years of life," Nyati said.

Speaking to Engineering News & Mining Weekly on the sidelines of the conference Eskom CEO Dan Marokane said the review was currently being progressed through governance processes and would be released before the end of the year.

He said delays to gas-to-power and battery storage procurement processes pointed to there being a system-adequacy gap in the 2030s should the coal stations be decommissioned as scheduled.

The publication of the review findings, Marokane added, would trigger engagements with various stakeholders, including the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment.

On whether the life-extended coal fleet could be configured to respond to the current problem of inflexibility in the South African electricity system, which was manifesting in higher levels of curtailment of the renewables generators, Marokane said Eskom was assessing options.

He said a key aim was to increase demand, particularly during midday-surplus periods, while also assessing, with an international utility partner, the feasibility of operating the coal plants more flexibly.

"There's a level to which you can push for flexibility, especially at some of the older stations. I think the biggest issue that we want to confront is how do we create demand to take up the excess capac...

A document outlining the case for introducing new nuclear electricity generation in South Africa will be released by the Department of Electricity and Energy (DEE) for public comment this month as government seeks to lay the groundwork for another procurement process, following the failure of three previous attempts since 2008.

Speaking at a nuclear and clean energy conference in Gauteng, Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa also confirmed he was planning to Gazette a Section 34 Ministerial determination between April and June, opening the way for the procurement of the 5.2 GW nuclear allocation included in the Integrated Resource Plan of 2025.

Besides the public consultations, Ramokgopa said the determination would be published only once the department had received concurrence from both the National Energy Regulator of South Africa and the National Treasury.

Deputy director-general for nuclear energy regulation Zizamele Mbambo confirmed that the DEE's 'Case for Nuclear' document had already been finalised and would be released for a 60-day comment period.

A roadshow would also be undertaken in early 2027 to canvass further responses.

Ramokgopa indicated that the document and public consultations were designed to address criticism over a lack of consultation during previous moves by government to initiate the procurement of new nuclear.

In 2008, Eskom cancelled its Nuclear-1 procurement process for commercial reasons, while a later controversial move to procure 9.6 GW was permanently halted in 2017 after the Western Cape High Court ruled that the government's process was unlawful, largely owing to consultation deficiencies.

Then in 2024, Ramokgopa formally withdrew a Gazetted notice opening the way for a 2.5 GW procurement process, amid renewed legal threats in relation to a lack of public consultation.

The Minister said that the consultation process now being planned was part of an "ultra cautious" response to what he described as a "litigious environment" in relation to nuclear.

While indicating that alternative views would be considered, the Minister nevertheless outlined his strong support for nuclear, before insisting: "We are proceeding with the nuclear build programme."

He also argued that 10 GW of nuclear would be required to stimulate localisation and industrialisation, with the initial projects set to rely largely on established designs provided by foreign vendors.

It was, thus, not immediately clear whether small modular reactor designs would be considered initially, but the Minister indicated that he saw a future role for the technology.

These included designs that produced both electricity and industrial-process heat, such as the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor, which was in the process of being transferred from Eskom to the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation, or Necsa.

It was confirmed that any new nuclear power station would be owned and operated by State-owned utility Eskom, and that the department would employ the International Atomic Energy Agency's Milestones Approach for assessing Eskom's readiness to proceed.

The Milestones Approach involved three progressive phases of development, assessing, first, whether a country was ready to make a knowledgeable commitment to a nuclear power programme, second, whether it was ready to invite bids, and third, whether it was ready to operate the first nuclear power plant.

"The department will work with Eskom to assess financing structures against their effects on the tariff, Eskom's balance sheet, and any exposure assumed by the State," the Minister said, adding that the financing structure must support a build sequence that the country could sustain.

The estimated total value of all properties on the City of Cape Town's general valuation roll has jumped by 145% from R0.91-trillion rand in 2012 to R2.227-trillion in 2025.

This is according to the Western Cape capital's fourth and latest Spatial Trends and Implementation Tracking Report.

The report provides an overview of development and land-use patterns in Cape Town since 2012.

Between 2012 and 2025, the strongest growth in property values occurred along Cape Town's coastal and high-amenity areas, particularly the Atlantic Seaboard, City Bowl, Southern Peninsula, Bloubergstrand, Somerset West and Durbanville.

"Changes reflect spatially differentiated demand and supply, redevelopment and new development, including development on previously vacant land," notes the report.

In contrast, the weakest growth was observed in Philippi and parts of the Cape Flats, including Mitchells Plain, while Khayelitsha recorded moderate to low levels of property value appreciation.

This spatial pattern suggests that accessibility, coastal location, environmental amenities and market demand continue to be key drivers of property value growth across the metropolitan area, notes the report.

The report explains that a number of internal and external hedonic pricing factors also play a role in determining property values.

Internal factors relate to the characteristics of the property itself, including the land and buildings, such as size, appearance and finishes.

External factors relate to the characteristics of the surrounding environment, such as crime rates, proximity to facilities and other locations (with both positive and negative implications), desirable locations (such as the coast and the mountain), and the value of other properties in the area.

Booming Table Bay In the high-density Table Bay district, which includes the Atlantic Seaboard and central business district (CBD), the estimated total value of properties on the city's general valuation roll increased from R196-billion in 2012 to R464.1-billion in 2025.

The Spatial Trends and Implementation Tracking Report states that property values have increased across the district, with the most significant increases in and around the CBD, extending into Woodstock and Salt River.

The pattern of property-value change broadly aligns with areas designated as mixed-use intensification areas, development focus areas and new development areas.

Redevelopment and property improvements in Woodstock and Salt River have contributed to some of the observed increase in property values.

Spatially targeted mechanisms and tax incentives, including National Treasury's Urban Development Zone (UDZ), have also supported commercial and residential development in the inner city.

Increases in property values in this district cannot, however, be attributed solely to policy or changes in density, notes the report.

The locational qualities of the CBD and Atlantic Seaboard, including access to employment, sea and mountain views, heritage landscapes, and destinations such as the promenade, Table Mountain and the V&A Waterfront, also contribute to higher property values.

"Higher-density development tends to occur in areas where higher property prices can be achieved," adds the report.

"The district remains attractive for development and has generally experienced increasing property values, excluding properties within national park boundaries.

"Property values are lower or have declined in some locations on the edges of established neighbourhoods or closer to industrial areas."

67% Jump in Informal Structures According to the latest Spatial Trends and Implementation Tracking Report, Cape Town's urban footprint, or built environment, grew by 4 056 ha between 2012 and 2024, with some 31% of land inside the urban development edge still undeveloped.

Formal gross residential density has increased from eight dwellings a hectare in 2012, to 11 dwellings a hectare in 2025, however, the rate and form of densification vary betwee...

The International Energy Agency (IEA) says prevailing energy security concerns linked to disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz have placed renewables at the top of the policy agenda and will support a further acceleration in installations over the period to 2031.

This growth will be supported by an acceleration in renewable capacity additions in emerging and developing economies, with installations in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, and sub-Saharan Africa forecast to almost triple in the 2026-to-2031 period compared with the previous six years.

For the first time, the amount of renewables capacity added in emerging and developing economies outside China is expected to match the amount added in advanced economies.

"The new chapter of the renewables growth story is a truly global one as their deployment spreads well beyond major markets into every corner of the world," IEA executive director Fatih Birol said when releasing the report on November 6.

"This is making them a key pillar of the global power sector. Today, they account for a third of global electricity generation; in the next five years, they will be getting closer to half of it."

The IEA's 'Renewables 2026' report shows that China, where policy changes have slowed deployments, will remain the largest contributor to the global rise, but its share will decline from over 60% in 2025 to an average of 53% over the forecast period.

India is emerging as the world's second-largest growth market, with its total renewable capacity set to more than double by 2031.

AFRICAN ADDITIONS

The report forecasts that sub-Saharan Africa will add over 120 GW of renewable electricity capacity over 2026-2031, almost doubling today's installed base and marking a significant acceleration from 2020-2025.

Growth is expected to be concentrated in South Africa and Nigeria, which together account for over 40% of the regional capacity expansion, followed by Kenya, Ethiopia and Angola.

"The main structural shift in the region is the rapid expansion of distributed solar PV," the report states, indicating that utility-scale PV growth will remain concentrated in South Africa, which will account for 48% of the region's utility-scale additions.

"Residential, commercial and off-grid systems account for nearly two-thirds of all new solar PV capacity over the forecast period, led by Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya, but increasingly supported by broader uptake across smaller markets."

Overall, the report forecasts that global renewables capacity will increase by almost 4 800 GW in the 2026-2031 period, 57% more than was added during the previous six-year period.

Solar PV is set to account for more than three-quarters of this capacity growth, followed by onshore wind.

Renewables are forecast to generate almost 45% of global electricity in 2031, up from 33% in 2025, with electricity generation from wind and solar PV combined more than doubling globally and reaching over 28% of total power generation by 2031.

The IEA says the rapid expansion in variable renewables capacity will require stronger grids and interconnections, more affordable storage and dispatchable supply, as well as enhanced demand-side flexibility.

CURTAILMENT RISES

The report notes that technical curtailment of wind and solar PV output in key markets almost doubled in both 2024 and 2025.

Curtailment reached almost 200 TWh last year and could exceed 800 TWh by 2031, the equivalent of almost 8% of total variable renewable generation.

In addition, the number of hours of negative electricity prices has continued to rise across Europe, reducing revenues for merchant projects and projects operating under corporate power purchase agreements, and testing the market-based deployment model that has expanded rapidly over the past decade.

"Battery storage deployment is accelerating in many countries and addressing some of these challenges, but not fast enough," the report states.

The IEA says the highest priority is for countries to ensure...

Engineering News editor Terence Creamer discusses the first test train by a private Train Operating Company and the additional reforms being pursued to open rail to private sector participation.

Grindrod's first test train has successfully completed a round trip between Belfast and Komatipoort as part of South Africa's open-access rail programme.

Grindrod Rail's new CEO Siyanda Mba says the empty train departed from Komatipoort on November 1 and returned on November 2 with 2 991 t of freight on board.

The commercial service will, once operational, support the railing of coal to the JSE-listed company's Matola Terminal in Mozambique.

"The purpose of the test was to assess numerous factors that are critical to the granting of the rail permit, as well as rail operations," says Mba.

"The test focused on understanding the rolling stock performance. This was done through an engineering simulation process carried out by Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) and Grindrod's engineering team.

"The test also provided the Grindrod teams with a full understanding of the infrastructure, train operations and, importantly, the interface processes with all Transnet operating divisions and CFM [railways in Mozambique]," explains Mba.

"This was an important step as it assists in defining an effective operating model for all parties and the key levers that are required to provide value to customers."

Mba assumed the role of CEO of Grindrod Rail on October 1. She has 25 years of rail industry experience, having spent most of her career at TFR.

Under South Africa's new open-access rail programme, third-party train operating companies are allocated slots to run freight services on the national railway network owned by Transnet.

"This test train is also significant because it takes open access from policy into practical implementation," notes Mba.

"There is still work to be done, but getting trains onto the network is how the industry starts building confidence in this new model."

Grindrod plans to kick off commercial operations next year, following the successful completion of the test phase and the implementation of the required operating arrangements under the Rail Access Agreement (RAA) with the Transnet Rail Infrastructure Manager (TRIM).

Mba says the test run will also determine if the JSE-listed logistics group will be awarded a rail permit by the Railway Safety Regulator.

"Our priority is to establish a service that customers can rely on and that can scale over time," she adds.

"Our entry into rail open access is deliberately phased. In the first year of operation, we plan to transport approximately 288 000 t using our two allocated slots a week – primarily coal from Mpumalanga to our Matola terminal in Mozambique."

Mba says the plan is to then scale up based on what the group learnt from this initial phase.

The second step would be a third weekly slot, which would lift volumes to roughly 432 000 t/y, subject to the allocation of additional capacity and customer demand.

"For Grindrod, the opportunity lies in more than adding additional tonnage onto rail.

"It is about using rail to integrate and unlock efficiencies at our ports and terminals. That is the strategic opportunity – connecting the corridor more effectively and capturing value across the broader logistics chain for improved customer service."

Rolling Stock Investment In the first phase of commercial operations next year, Grindrod aims to deploy four locomotives and 50 wagons from its existing fleet to run two slots a week.

A third slot would require an additional 50 wagons, at a total cost of around R100-million. These wagons are already on order and expected to arrive in the first half of next year, says Mba.

The locomotives are drawn from Grindrod's existing fleet.

"This is a disciplined investment in growth – deploying assets we already have while adding capacity as the opportunity grows," says Mba.

"The pace of growth will ultimately be shaped by customer demand, corridor performance and the availability of additional slots. The opportunity is to prove the model, build confidence and then scale.

"Our immediate focus is on dry-bulk commodities that complement Grindrod's existin...