Freight infrasturcture has not kept pace with development of new mines in rural areas, delegates to a freight forwarding conference were told on Wednesday.

That was causing severe strain to the roads network, which was aggravated by the power crisis, transport department director-general Mpumi Mpofu said.

She said 60%-70% of roads in Limpopo had been detarred, as a result of Eskom's increased reliance on truckers for coal trucks to supply power stations, a problem regularly documented in Eskom's annual reports, and this had contributed to power outages as coal reserves run low.

Transport inadequacy had also led to tension between Eskom, coal hauliers, and transport authorities, over who should be responsible for road maintenance and the costs involved.