Malgas Pont has been reopened

The Department of Transport and Public Works (DTPW) is pleased to announce that the new motorised pont on the Breede River at Malgas is fully operational. While it rendered a limited service over the weekend ahead of the official resumption of service, it officially started operating again from Monday, 22 March 2021. Operating hours are from 06:00 to 18:00 every day of the week. Members of the public are advised that wind, current and other variables affect the safety of river crossings, and the service is only available when crossing conditions are safe, as was the case with the old hand drawn pont.

The use of Malgas Pont is free, and is at the user’s own risk. No non-motorised vehicles or pedestrians will be transported on their own across the river. Any pedestrians and persons using non-motorised vehicles such as bicycles will have to wait for a motorised vehicle to drive onto the pont before they can expect to be transported across the river.

A pont is a flat-bottomed ferry. It essentially takes the place of a bridge in a location where the expense of constructing a bridge is not warranted. The old pont, which was connected to a cable and drawn by hand across the river, was put in place more than a century ago. The old vessel had to be replaced because it was no longer fit for the purpose of moving larger agricultural and construction equipment across the river, and because the vessel and the cable across the river became hazards to public safety. The cable has been lowered to the riverbed. It will remain there for approximately two weeks after which it will be removed.