August 7, 2014
South Africa

Anger over Addo road closures

August 7, 2014 | www.heraldlive.co.za

Road closures related to the transportation of wind turbine components have left members of the hospitality industry in and around Addo fuming.

Components en route to the Grassridge Wind Farm, situated along the R335 between Port Elizabeth and Addo, will be loaded onto abnormally large trucks at the Port of Ngqura. Some roads between the harbour and the farm will be closed for short periods in the morning.

But various tourist destinations and accommodation providers, including the Addo Elephant National Park, are fuming as they were not consulted, or even notified, before the process started.

South African National Parks (SanParks) spokeswoman Fayroush Ludick said while they knew about the coming wind farm, they had only found out the components were being transported after they were already on the road on Monday morning.

“We are concerned about business we could possibly be losing. Many guests, especially international visitors, come from Port Elizabeth and will be greatly inconvenienced by the delays on the road. [And] people with other accommodation, who might want to visit us just for the day, may decide to turn back due to the delay.”

She said not only their guests but also farmers in the area and other businesses might have to reroute transport vehicles and drive extended detours to reach their destinations. – Riaan Marais

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2014/08/07/anger-over-addo-road-closures/