Pretoria - The idea of constructing a high-speed rail link between Gauteng and Limpopo has reached a new gear.
In May this year, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi and his Limpopo counterpart, Stan Mathabatha, came up with the idea to alleviate traffic congestion between the two provinces.
The 240km rail network will transport commodities for regional and domestic markets as well as people.
The two provinces have already created a joint technical team of senior officials to develop a feasibility study around the concept.
Last week, Lesufi, while speaking at the 2023 Smarter Mobility Africa Summit in Midrand, said the team was ready to present the concept paper to Cabinet soon.
“Creating a new rail opportunity to Limpopo is a vote of confidence about the future. This future must incorporate Gauteng, and Gauteng must play a strategic role,” Lesufi said.
He said even though Gauteng was a smart province, it was relatively small and wanted to take advantage of the bigger and rural provinces so that their growth influenced their growth.
He said that the MECs of the two provinces had met and resolved to appoint a team to do a feasibility study on the project and then approach the national government.
“We are now in the process of presenting the concept to the national government,” he said.
He said due to the immense scale of the project, it would need approval from National Treasury and would therefore go out to tender, but there were also two private institutions willing to foot the bill including “a China-based and a local institution”.
“Following approval, it will get to work conducting the studies which will provide an indication of what the railway will cost, with the government aiming to secure a public-private partnership to fund it,” added Lesufi.
According to Lesufi the projected time to get the job done would be four to six years.
“The investors are willing to roll out the cost, but we need to get approval from our cabinets. Now that we have it we are going to the national government to get the same thing,” he said.
Gauteng MEC for Roads and Logistics Kedibone Diale-Tlabela mirrored Lesufi’s assertions at the summit, saying international investors were interested in mass transit systems, including high-speed trains, light rail, and bus rapid transit.
She said: “Our plans in Gauteng for improved public transit are in line with this global trend, and we are also considering expanding our rail network to connect with neighbouring provinces and regions.”
Pretoria News