SA picks builder for World Cup railway

PRETORIA – South Africa named an international consortium on Saturday as preferred bidder for a multibillion rand high-speed train project, described by officials as Africa’s biggest ever public-private partnership.

The 80-km railway is designed to link Johannesburg and its airport with the capital Pretoria in time for the 2010 soccer World Cup – creating 148 000 jobs, a boost in a country with an official unemployment rate of 26 per cent. The provincial government picked the Bombela consortium, made up of the world’s biggest passenger train maker Bombardier, South African engineering firm Murray & Roberts and French firms Bouygues Travaux Public and RAPT Development to build the train.”By announcing the preferred bidder for the Gautrain project …we are joining hands with the private sector in the biggest public-private partnership yet tackled in Africa,” Gauteng provincial Premier Mbazima Shilowa told reporters.The project has been long in the planning, but South Africa’s success in securing rights last year to host the 2010 World Cup gave the Gauteng provincial government the impetus to push ahead.It was initially estimated to cost seven billion rand.Officials said they could not yet put an exact price tag on the project, adding that the provincial government would enter into negotiations with Bombela and expected to announce cost details by November.Bombela is derived from the Zulu name for train, Mbombela.”It would be premature to announce any cost as this will jeopardise the next phase of the construction procurement process,” said provincial finance head Paul Mashatile.He said the contract would set the framework for the project during the construction and 15-year operational, where after it would be transferred to the government free of charge.Delays announcing the winning bid have raised concerns that it may not be ready in time for the 2010 soccer showpiece.”The construction period allowed is 54 months which means that the project will be completed in a few months before the World Cup,” said Mashatle.Construction will be undertaken by Murray & Roberts and Bouygues, while Bombardier will deliver the Electrostar train – with final assembly in South Africa.They will be assisted by empowerment partner Loliwe.RAPT will be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the system.The project is seen contributing to revival of the civil engineering sector, which contracted six per cent in real terms last year.”This is a major project by any standards.For Murray & Roberts it is an important part of our growth process.It will improve our financial performance because it is a project that offers us growth,” chief executive Brian Bruce told Reuters.”We haven’t had a strong focus on revenue growth over the last five years, we have been fixing the company.This is the manifestation of our ability to have fixed the company and this project will take the company forward and create value.”The train will be designed to travel at a speed between 160 and 180 km per hour, the journey between Johannesburg and Pretoria lasting less than 35 minutes.It will transport soccer fans between Johannesburg’s international airport and both the city centre and Pretoria – and to serve commuters as an alternative to the congested highway between the two cities once the tournament is over.Mashatile said the project would increase Gauteng’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 0,7 to 1 per cent – giving a boost to what is already South Africa’s richest province, accounting for 33 per cent of national GDP and around a tenth of the GDP of the entire African continent.Some economists say the overall boost to the national GDP from the project could be 2,6 billion rand annually.Bombela beat the rival Gauliwe consortium, comprising Spanish transport company CAF, South African builder Grinaker/LTA, Spanish civil contractor Dragados Concessions and rail operator Metro de Madrid.- Nampa-ReutersThe provincial government picked the Bombela consortium, made up of the world’s biggest passenger train maker Bombardier, South African engineering firm Murray & Roberts and French firms Bouygues Travaux Public and RAPT Development to build the train.”By announcing the preferred bidder for the Gautrain project …we are joining hands with the private sector in the biggest public-private partnership yet tackled in Africa,” Gauteng provincial Premier Mbazima Shilowa told reporters.The project has been long in the planning, but South Africa’s success in securing rights last year to host the 2010 World Cup gave the Gauteng provincial government the impetus to push ahead.It was initially estimated to cost seven billion rand.Officials said they could not yet put an exact price tag on the project, adding that the provincial government would enter into negotiations with Bombela and expected to announce cost details by November.Bombela is derived from the Zulu name for train, Mbombela.”It would be premature to announce any cost as this will jeopardise the next phase of the construction procurement process,” said provincial finance head Paul Mashatile.He said the contract would set the framework for the project during the construction and 15-year operational, where after it would be transferred to the government free of charge.Delays announcing the winning bid have raised concerns that it may not be ready in time for the 2010 soccer showpiece.”The construction period allowed is 54 months which means that the project will be completed in a few months before the World Cup,” said Mashatle.Construction will be undertaken by Murray & Roberts and Bouygues, while Bombardier will deliver the Electrostar train – with final assembly in South Africa.They will be assisted by empowerment partner Loliwe.RAPT will be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the system.The project is seen contributing to revival of the civil engineering sector, which contracted six per cent in real terms last year.”This is a major project by any standards.For Murray & Roberts it is an important part of our growth process.It will improve our financial performance because it is a project that offers us growth,” chief executive Brian Bruce told Reuters.”We haven’t had a strong focus on revenue growth over the last five years, we have been fixing the company.This is the manifestation of our ability to have fixed the company and this project will take the company forward and create value.”The train will be designed to travel at a speed between 160 and 180 km per hour, the journey between Johannesburg and Pretoria lasting less than 35 minutes.It will transport soccer fans between Johannesburg’s international airport and both the city centre and Pretoria – and to serve commuters as an alternative to the congested highway between the two cities once the tournament is over.Mashatile said the project would increase Gauteng’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 0,7 to 1 per cent – giving a boost to what is already South Africa’s richest province, accounting for 33 per cent of national GDP and around a tenth of the GDP of the entire African continent.Some economists say the overall boost to the national GDP from the project could be 2,6 billion rand annually.Bombela beat the rival Gauliwe consortium, comprising Spanish transport company CAF, South African builder Grinaker/LTA, Spanish civil contractor Dragados Concessions and rail operator Metro de Madrid.- Nampa-Reuters