The Gautrain metro seen here arriving at a station
The first phase of the extension of the Gautrain line is undergoing the necessary approvals by the national treasury to enable commencement of the procurement cycle, according to William Dachs, chief executive of the Gautrain Management Agency (GMA).
This follows the conclusion of the feasibility study for the possible extensions, Dachs told Mail & Guardian.
The proposed Gauteng Rapid Rail Integrated Network (GRRIN) project will connect the Marlboro to Sandton stations in Johannesburg to Randburg, Cosmo City and Little Falls. The route extension will mostly be above ground — but will go underground in the Randburg central business district.
The route was published following a consultative process which allowed affected parties the opportunity to make submissions regarding possible options. The route for phase 1 of the extensions was determined by the Gauteng member of the executive council for roads and transport in May.
“Route determination is the first step in the process of defining a rail reserve for a future railway line in Gauteng,” Dachs said.
“Although the process of determining the route included the legislated stakeholder consultation process prior to the publication of the route, the GMA commenced with various stakeholder and community engagements in July that are intended to provide further information and clarity on the process of defining provincial rail reserves in Gauteng.”
The implementation of the project is not expected to start before 2026. The reason for this, Dachs explained, is that the process of defining the rail reserve for a future railway line in Gauteng will be undertaken in four stages in accordance with the Gauteng Transport Infrastructure Act (GTIA).
The four stages are: route determination, preliminary design, proclamation, and expropriation.
“Preliminary design that provides more detail and thus certainty of the future route is the next step and is planned to commence during the 2024/2025 financial year with a duration of between three to five years,” Dachs said.
“This duration includes the technical design, the EIA [environmental impact assessment] thereof, as well as consultation with interested and affected parties. This is then followed by proclamation and expropriation.”
Dachs said the sale by Murray & Roberts of its 50% stake in Bombela Concession Company, which operates the Gautrain, “will not have any impact on the operations of the Gautrain”.
The engineering and construction group agreed to sell its stake for R1.38 billion to Amsterdam-headquartered infrastructure group Intertoll.
The other 50% in Bombela is owned by Strategic Partners Group, a broad-based black economic empowerment company, and the J&J Group, an investment holding and management company.
The Gautrain is a public-private partnership project, with the Gauteng provincial government being the public partner and the primary promoter. The private partner is the Bombela Concession Company, which holds a 19.5 year concession for the construction, operation and maintenance of the Gautrain.
The public-private partnership was appointed by the Gauteng provincial government in 2006.
In a statement, the Gauteng government said other than the public announcement, it has not been informed of the transaction and awaited formal notification and details from Murray & Roberts, given that it has the right to approve or disapprove of any material change in ownership in the Bombela Concession Company.
According to Murray & Roberts the provisional sale agreement covers a 33% in Bombela held by Murray & Roberts, as well as a 17% stake held by the Murray & Roberts BCC Financing Company, with the transaction still needing approval from shareholders.
[/membership]