The Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA) has halted the Rea Vaya construction in Louis Botha due to violent protests on the Rea Vaya projects located along the Louis Botha Development Corridor over the past year.
The level of violence has escalated since July 2019 and the JDA management took a decision to stop all construction work at three projects; the Watt Interchange, the BRT Stations as well as the Rea Vaya depot on Vincent Tshabalala Road in Alexandra.
Acting CEO at the JDA Douglas Cohen said: “We have advised the three affected contractors to temporarily suspend the works (as per the provision in the contract) and to remove plant in order to mitigate against further unnecessary standing time costs and damage/theft to property.
“The JDA has also requested the contractors to retain in place all possible measures to ensure the safety of all personnel on-site and around the construction sites,” said Cohen.
The JDA is working closely with the City and the Transport department to determine the root cause of the violence and threats to construction workers as well as a resolution to ensure that all stakeholder concerns are addressed and that construction resumes at the earliest.
“One of the major shared concerns between ourselves the City, JMPD and the Transport Department is to ensure that lives are not harmed and that the equipment on the various sites is safeguarded until we are able to resume work at the sites,” concluded Cohen.
