The building of a 44,7km monorail between Johannesburg and Soweto has been ”put on hold”, the Transport Ministry said on Friday.
It said while the monorail proposal cannot be supported in its present form, the government is in principle not opposed to the concept of a monorail.
The Gauteng project will be suspended pending ”the necessary process, including consultation”, said Transport Ministry spokesperson Collen Msibi.
The decision followed a meeting earlier in the day between Transport Minister Jeff Radebe, Gauteng finance and economic affairs minister Paul Mashatile, and the province’s public transport, roads and works minister Ignatius Jacobs.
On May 16, the two provincial ministers signed an agreement with a Malaysian consortium on construction of the monorail, claiming it would transport 1,5-million people a day and reduce their wait for transport to just 15 minutes.
However, the new transport proposal drew criticism from, among others, the Congress of South African Trade Unions, the South African Transport and Allied Workers’ Union and taxi operators.
At the time of the announcement, Radebe said the first he had heard of the monorail was in the media. He accused the Gauteng government of not consulting, discussing or seeking the national Transport Department’s approval for the project, adding it went against the Cabinet-approved national rail plan.
After Friday’s meeting, he said proposals for a monorail or any other public transport solution have to take into account approved plans to enhance the efficiency of the existing rail, bus and taxi operations within the public transport system.
Gauteng will have to review and develop a sound business case for the monorail proposal, which will then have to be more broadly consulted on with national, provincial and local government before being submitted to Radebe for his consideration.
It was agreed that all inquiries about the monorail be directed to Radebe.
Also present at Friday’s meeting were Johannesburg mayor Amos Masondo, mayoral committee transport representative Rehana Moosajee, Transport Director General Mpumi Mpofu and South African Rail Commuter Corporation CEO Lucky Montana.
”The discussions were both constructive and cordial,” said Msibi. ”The meeting noted the public debate on the monorail and acknowledged that the process dealing with the monorail proposal should be open, transparent and in the interest of all.”
He said that while the meeting highlighted the need for the government to evaluate private-sector proposals, particularly unsolicited bids, and subject them to a ”proper government process”, it will continue to encourage foreign direct investment, particularly in infrastructure development. — Sapa