“TRANSNET’S AIM TO BE WORLD’S 5TH LARGEST”

[John Ashworth]

“TRANSNET’S AIM TO BE WORLD’S 5TH LARGEST”

Railway Gazette On April 18, 2012 In South Africa

Briefing journalists on 11 April, Transnet CEO Brian Molefe said he aims to make South Africa’s freight railway the fifth largest in the world. Investment of R205 billion in rail infrastructure will increase freight volumes “from about 200 million tons per annum to 350 million tons by 2019”, at the same time increasing market share of container traffic “from around 79% to 92%”. Transnet’s total planned investment of R300 billion is set to create more than 500,000 new jobs, Molefe says. These endeavours will lead to a “significant modal shift from road to rail”, which will “address costs, congestion and reduce carbon emissions.”

To develop skills, R7.7 billion to be spent by 2019 on training, including R4.7 billion on bursaries and grants. Operating cash flow is to fund R213.6 billion of the required outlay, with the rest raised on debt capital markets.

These measures would reduce the cost of doing business in South Africa, Transnet claims, citing internal studies showing that rail in the country is on average 75% cheaper than road transport.