MBABANE – South African consultancy firm Atana (Pty) Ltd has been awarded a E1.15 million contract for the provision of consultancy services for the multi-billion AfDB funded road project.
The South African consultancy firm is expected to conduct road safety audits and inspections on two strategic roads forming part of Eswatini’s multi-billion-Emalangeni Road Infrastructure Improvement Programme Phase 1.
The contract, valued at E1.153 million, covers the 80.2-kilometre Siphofaneni-Sithobela-Maloma-Nsoko (MR14) Road and the 25.7-kilometre Maloma-Siphambanweni (MR21) Road.
The appointment represents the latest development in Phase I of the E2.8 billion Eswatini Roads Infrastructure Improvement Programme, which is being financed through a combination of African Development Bank (AfDB) funding and Government of Eswatini resources.
According to the official publication of award issued by the AfDB, Atana was selected following a competitive procurement process for the consultancy services.
The contract is expected to commence on August 19, 2026, and will run for 7 months.
Atana’s 7-month assignment is specifically focused on identifying road safety deficiencies at different stages of development and ensuring that these are eliminated or mitigated at the most appropriate time.
The objective is to reduce costs, minimise disruption to road design, construction and operation, and ultimately improve the safety of the road environment.
The consultancy will apply the South African Road Safety Audit Manual (SARSAM), May 2012.
The audit will cover three stages.
The first is the detailed design review stage, which takes place after completion of the detailed design but before preparation of the contract documents.
According to the award notice, this represents the last opportunity to influence the design before construction begins.
The second is the work zone traffic management audit, which will consider traffic management arrangements and guidance provided to contractors, including provisions under the South African Road Traffic Signs Manual relating to road works signing.
The third is the pre-opening road safety audit, which is conducted before the road is opened to traffic, following substantial completion of the project.
This enables the audit team to assess the road from the perspective of different road-user groups.
The main contractor of the roads is yet another South African joint venture comprising Stefanutti Stocks (Pty) Ltd and WBHO Construction (Pty) Ltd.
The joint venture clinched the mega-project with an evaluated contract award price of E2 669 159 318.99.
The construction phase is already underway running for a duration of 36 months, followed by a 12-month defect notification period.
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