This podcast is brought to you by SEW Eurodrive - Leaders in the field of drive technology.

Monday, December 7, 2009.

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I'm Shannon de Ryhove.

Making headlines today:

South Africa's State-owned freight logistics utility Transnet has confirmed that GE Transportation has been selected as the preferred bidder to supply 100 diesel locomotives to Transnet Freight Rail. The contract should be finalised soon, but no contract value has been announced.

The group issued an urgent tender in late 2008 after being forced to withdraw an earlier tender for 212 diesel locomotives, following confirmation of tender irregularities.

The irregularities eventually led to the high-profile suspension of TFR CEO Siyabonga Gama, whose disciplinary hearing will now take place in January, after Gama's legal attempts to overturn the suspension and the disciplinary process failed.

It is understood that Transnet will be seeking to ensure that a material portion of the value of the locomotive contract is placed with South African industrial suppliers.

South African petrochemicals group Sasol and the government of Indonesia have agreed to undertake a screening study into the viability of constructing a proposed 80 000 barrel a day coal-to-liquids project in the Asian country using Sasol's technology.

Sasol Synfuels International MD Ernst Oberholster and the chairperson of the Republic of Indonesia's Investment Coordination Board, Gita Wirjawan, have signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on the project.

Wirjawan said last week that the investment for the project would exceed 2-billion-dollars.

Based on the outcome of the screening study, Sasol's proprietary technology could be used to produce about 80 000 barrels a day of clean, high-quality transportation fuels from Indonesia's domestic lignite coal reserves.

Also making headlines:

Two weeks of intense climate change negotiations begin in Copenhagen.
South Africa's MeerKAT Precursor Array radio telescope achieves an important milestone two weeks ahead of schedule.
Black economic empowered investment firm the Mineworkers Investment Company eyes investments in telecommunications, property, and pharmaceutical businesses in 2010.
And, Kenya international airports to received a 26,7-million-dollar technology upgrade.

That's a round up of news making headlines today. For more on these and other stories please visit engineeringnews.co.za.