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South Africa’s only high-speed rail network is crafting a billion-rand plan to expand outside Johannesburg and Pretoria, joining a potential bonanza of infrastructure projects that the government says are key to reviving the economy.
A proposal for the company is awaiting approval from the National Treasury, said William Dachs, CEO of the Gautrain company, in an interview.
The investment and loans will come from a combination of private investors and state institutions such as the Southern African Development Bank, he said.
“Cities that don’t plan around public transportation suffer huge financial and economic consequences,” Dachs said.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has placed infrastructure at the center of his plan to revive an economy ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic, underinvestment and corruption.
He sees that the government will spend R100 billion ($ 6.2 billion) on various projects, aiming to attract 10 times more private investment in four years.
His plans include the privatization of some older rail systems and routes, which have struggled with years of mismanagement, vandalism and theft.
Gautrain’s expansion would add another 150 kilometers (93 miles) of roads to the existing 80-kilometer network, connecting more remote destinations such as Soweto, which has a population of about 2 million people.
The municipality separated from Johannesburg during the apartheid era, when the white minority government created settlements for blacks away from major cities and workplaces, without providing adequate public transportation.
Ramaphosa’s infrastructure initiatives, including the expansion of Gautrain, would help alleviate South Africa’s chronic unemployment problem. The number of people in employment in South Africa fell to the lowest level in nine years in the second quarter, while more than 20 million people are classified as economically inactive.
The Gautrain, whose operator has shareholders, including the French railway group RATP Dev, was built as part of South Africa’s preparations to host the 2010 Soccer World Cup.
The transportation system has an excellent track record for punctuality and minimal security incidents, according to Dachs. Every rand the government has invested in the group has had a return of at least double, he said.
The railway company is named after the province of Gauteng and the name translates to “golden train”, a reference to Johannesburg’s origins in the 19th century as a gold mining city.
Read: Taxpayers will disburse Gautrain expansion
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