SANRAL's Nazir Alli - the man who built the bridge all the CEOs will be sleeping on for The Sun International CEO SleepOut™
What do you do after building one of the most iconic bridges on the continent? You seize the opportunity to sleep on it,of course! That's what SANRAL CEO Nazir Alli is most looking forward to. Catch up with this leader that has long been looking after our roads in South Africa.
You'd never guess who will also be up on Nelson Mandela Bridge for The Sun International CEO SleepOut™ - one of the leaders involved in the construction of the bridge itself, SANRAL CEO, Nazir Alli: “I’m very excited, seeing that we built it! What else can I do? When else would I get an opportunity to sleep on this bridge, huh? *laughs* ”
Nazir's motivations for participating in The Sun International CEO SleepOut™ are about prioritising education for the youth: “What I think will break the cycle of poverty and inequality is education. And of course, I believe that people need to have a decent roof over their heads to be able to pursue their studies. You can’t keep on having kids that want to pursue their studies, studying under some kind of street light or in a room that isn’t properly lit.”
Nazir is the CEO of the South African National Roads Agency SOC Ltd (SANRAL). This is an agency of the Department of Transport responsible for the national road network of South Africa - 21 750 km. It has an independent Board operating autonomously along commercial principles in accordance with its legislated mandated supplemented by a contract with its sole shareholder - the Minister of Transport.
Nazir transformed a government department into a fully corporatized entity (SANRAL) with over R355 billion in assets under management. He has 37 years’ experience as a civil engineer and in management, both in the private and public sectors. He led the development of public-private partnerships in South Africa and oversaw the development of the national secondary bond market for toll roads including the introduction of technological innovations such as the inter-operable, multi-lane open road electronic toll collection system, commonly known as e-tolls.
He has consulted internationally to a wide range of governments on public-private partnerships, institutional reform and change management.
Nazir has called on Trueman Goba, Executive Chairman of Hatch Goba, to Rise Up To The Challenge #4Leaders4Change