The eThekwini municipality is rezoning the land associated with the first phase of the R22-billion GO!Durban integrated rapid public transport network (IRPTN) and is actively courting private sector partnerships to develop commercial nodes around stations along the corridor.

“There is still a lot of work to be done but we believe this will turn the city around with your partnerships. It will take all of us working together to make this system sustainable, eThekwini Transport Authority head Thami Manyathi, told 40 potential private sector partners from the property, financial services, retail and manufacturing sectors during a tour of the first dedicated bus corridor on Thursday.

Known as C3 and valued at around R2.7-billion, the corridor stretches from Bridge City to the north of Durban to Pinetown. It is due to be completed in mid-2017 and will be operational by 2018, according to eThekwini Transport Authority deputy head of road systems management Carlos Esteves.

The overall IRPTN will see the development of nine main routes linked by various modes of transport including bus, rail and taxi.

The first phase, which includes the soon-to-be-completed C3 corridor; the C9 corridor linking Bridge City with Gateway, Umhlanga; and another linking Bridge City and the Durban central business district, accounts for 60 km of the total 190 km that will be covered by GO!Durban.

It will accommodate about 25% of the municipality’s total trunk public transport demand with a further 40% taken up by the rail network provided by the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA).

The first phase is set for completion in 2022.

Esteves said the municipality would be spending around R100-million a month on the project over the next 13 months.

The C3 corridor is running nine months behind schedule as a result of challenges such as ageing infrastructure, heavy rainfall and stoppages due to community and taxi industry protests. 

“It is one thing to build it, but another to keep it operational and sustainable,” he pointed out, noting that the current public transport system saw buses and trains running return routes empty.

He said eThekwini was in the process of developing a model that would look at densification of land use and commercial development that would limit travelling distances and transport costs. Both businesses and commuters stood to benefit from opportunities for densification, mixed-use and transit-oriented development. The eThekwini municipality was not only looking to rezoning areas surrounding stations but also to possible public–private partnerships that would free up large tracts of city-owned land for commercial use, he said.

Esteves said the prototype Regent Street station taking shape in New Germany was a good example.

This is due for completion in February 2017 and will be used to check new equipment.

Although there will be no commercial operations within the stations themselves, feeder facilities bringing people to stations will offer significant opportunities for property and commercial development and will ensure that this does not become “a sterile transport system”.

Esteves said that while it made obvious sense to develop commercial and retail nodes adjacent to stations, not all would be the same. The proposed Crossroads station in KwaMashu, for example, would include a furniture industry incubator, as well as a light industrial and commercial zone.

“We want to harness the innovation and creativity of the business sector,” Manyathi added, inviting businesses to approach the municipality with proposals.

He said the city was already working on partnerships with the private sector. These include potential technology partners Microsoft and Huawei and Tongaat Hulett Developments, which has already injected R100-million to help with the delivery of infrastructure ahead of time in the northern parts of the city.

Tongaat Hulett Developments CE Michael Deighton noted that although it might seem that Durban was “the late comer” to IRPTN in South Africa, this project was prudent and had been carefully thought through. The city stood to learn from others’ mistakes.

Bridge City, which is home to a mall that has been developed around the PRASA railway station that began operating in January 2016, as well as a GO!Durban station and wider commercial and industrial development, was “a testimony to collaboration and finding synergies”, he said.

Dreighton noted that although there was no silver bullet when it came to dispelling friction within the current urban transport system, an efficient public transport system would be a key driver for socioeconomic development and job creation.