TRANSPORT Minister Sbu Ndebele yesterday launched the much-anticipated S'hamba Sonke programme in Durban and hoped to create 70000 jobs.

The programme, to run until 2014, would see R22billion being pumped into road construction and maintenance around the country.

Speaking at Durban's International Conference Centre, the minister said KwaZulu-Natal would get the biggest slice of the pie - R1,2billion, followed by Eastern Cape with R1billion.

Ndebele said the programme was started more than 10 years ago when the Community Access Roads Needs Study (Carns) found that in KwaZulu-Natal alone, 11475km of road needed to be constructed.

The Carns study discovered massive inequalities where the majority lived in extreme poverty in under-developed areas, while a few lived within reach of modern infrastructure.

"The study was to give communities access to schools, clinics, community centres and places of economic activity.

"This was one of the key initiatives that gave expression to our commitment to achieving social equity and access," Ndebele said.

Each province has been identified as having its own anchor project that will fall within the S'hamba Sonke project framework.

In KwaZulu-Natal, Nongoma, Dabhazi, Hlambanyathi and the Hlabisa Corridor will form this anchor, together with Eshowe, Ntumeni, Kranskop and the Vryheid Corridor.

Ndebele said the KZN anchor project would support the Tale of Four Cities.

This is a project that is aimed at connecting Durban, Ulundi, Richards Bay and Pietermartizburg.