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Dunnottar train manufacturing complex project, South Africa

24th February 2017

By: Sheila Barradas

Creamer Media Research Coordinator & Senior Deputy Editor

     

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Name of the Project
Dunnottar train manufacturing complex project.

Location
Gauteng, South Africa.

Client
Gibela Rail Transport Consortium, comprising Alstom (61%), Ubumbano Rail (30%) and New Africa Rail (9%).

Project Description
The project involves the construction of a 60 000 m2 factory at the Dunnottar industrial complex to manufacture trains for South African State-owned Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA). This forms part of a R51-billion contract to supply 600 new trains over ten years and provide technical support, as well as spare parts over an 18-year period, to the rail agency.

The train manufacturing complex has a geographical footprint of 78 ha, comprising:
• the total built area of the factory of 51 ha, of which only 33 ha will be developed. The remaining land comprises an environmentally sensitive wetland, the preservation of which has necessitated the construction of a dam as part of the design and layout of the plant.
• 27 ha that has been reserved for the uBumbano Rail Park, which will house suppliers of equipment and components required for the new trains.

The factory will produce 580 coaches.

The plant will also be equipped with several kilometres of rail network, including a 1.2 km dynamic test track for the testing of completed trains.

The first trains are being manufactured in Brazil, while the remaining 580 units will be assembled at Dunnottar. At its peak, the manufacturing facility will produce 62 trains a year, in line with Alstom’s X’Trapolis Mega commuter train design.

To ensure that the contract’s 65% local-content stipulation is met, the complex will also accommodate local components suppliers.

Jobs to be Created
Currently, about 528 workers are active on site – 322 of whom are from local communities – along with 35 plant vehicles and cranes.

At full capacity, the manufacturing facility will eventually employ about 1 500 people directly.

Value
R1-billion.

Duration
Not stated.

Latest Developments
Gibela Rail Transport Consortium has expressed concern about ongoing community unrest in Duduza, in Ekurhuleni, which is impacting on construction activities at its Dunnottar train manufacturing plant.

The company has said that the disruption to the time-sensitive construction work at the manufacturing facility is threatening the completion of buildings key to the start of manufacturing and the training of recruits.

“Major misconceptions, seemingly fostered by entities claiming to be representative of the Duduza community, are that Duduza takes precedence over other communities in terms of jobs and training and that Gibela and its contractors, in breach of Gibela’s contract with PRASA, are recruiting foreign-owned companies as suppliers, to the exclusion of historically disadvantaged South African-owned companies,” Gibela has said in a statement. 

Gibela has denied these allegations, noting that it has recently engaged with community representatives at meetings facilitated by representatives of the Ekurhuleni municipality.

Meanwhile, the Gibela Rail Transport Consortium has started recruiting operators and artisans for its new manufacturing facility, as well as trainees for its new training centre at Dunnottar, prioritising historically disadvantaged residents of Ekurhuleni east.

The consortium wants to hire about 145 qualified and experienced operators and artisans to staff its car body shell workshop and the fitting workshop.

This will also set in motion the start of manufacturing the first of 580 South African-built trains during the first quarter of 2017.

Gibela’s training centre at Dunnottar is rapidly nearing completion, with applications now also open for the first intake of 70 qualifying trainees.

Learnerships are available in welding, boilermaking or vehicle building, electrical, electrical fitting and turning or machining, painting, gluing and blasting, and supply chain. A matric with maths and science is required and applicants must be in the National Certificate stream, with engineering subjects.

Applicants must be willing to be based at Dunnottar and/or Wolmerton and be available to start on March 1.

About 18 000 trainees are expected to pass through the training centre over the next ten years of operation, to take up careers not only at Gibela but in the broader South African railway sector.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Aecom (engineering, procurement and construction management contractor); Trencon Construction (site clearance, bulk earthworks and civil infrastructure) and Trencon Construction and Black Jills Engineering (main site buildings, including the training centre).

On Budget and on Time?
The project is on schedule, following delays in initially securing the site.

Contact Details for Project Information
Gibela communications director Pamella Radebe, email pamella.radebe@gibela-rail.com.

 
 
 

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

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