This was revealed on Tuesday by Transport Minister Dipuo Peters in a Parliamentary reply to a question posed by the Inkatha Freedom Party.

“The provincial department of transport spent about R290m for the construction of the specified (Nkandla to Kranskop) road,” Peters was quoted as saying.

This came as concerns over delays in the implementation of the Moloto Rail Corridor were mounting, The Star reported.

The project was announced by Zuma three years ago. It would link Pretoria, Mpumalanga and Sekhukhune in Limpopo. Last month, a bus accident on Moloto road near Kwaggafontein, Mpumalanga left 30 people dead.

On Friday the Mail&Guardian published a leaked provisional report on Nkandla by Public Protector Thuli Madonsela titled “Opulence on a Grand Scale”.

Excerpts from the unfinished report, found that some of upgrades to the president’s home, which amounted to more than R200m, were unjustifiable and came at “enormous cost” to taxpayers.

The upgrades included a swimming pool, outdoor amphitheatre, marquee area and two helipads.