Name and Location
Majuba rail project, Mpumalanga, South Africa.

Client
Eskom.

Project Description
The 68 km corridor is the first large greenfield freight-rail infrastructure project to be carried out in South Africa since 1986 and will be operated by State-owned Transnet Freight Rail (TFR).

The overall objective is to ensure the security of coal supply through logistics solutions at Majuba, Tutuka, Camden, Grootvlei, Kendal and Hendrina power stations to cater for a throughput potential of 32-million tons a year of coal by rail. The coal will be unloaded at the terminal by the upgraded coal tippler system.

The line begins about 8 km west of Ermelo, in Mpumalanga, with the takeoff accessible from both directions of TFR’s existing coal corridor to Richards Bay. It is situated in the Gert Sibande district municipality and traverses two local municipalities, Msukaligwa and Pixley Ka Seme.

Eskom says the project will yield lower life-cycle transportation costs, improve coal-delivery turnaround times and enable Majuba to access more coal sources than is currently the case.

Value
R5.2-billion, which will be partly funded from finance secured from the World Bank in 2010. About R3.9-billion in funding from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development has been allocated to the Majuba rail project.

Duration
The project is expected to take three years to complete, from May 2013 to May 2016.

Latest Developments
Aveng Grinaker-LTA, the civil and earthworks contractor for the Majuba project, is proceeding with construction activities on the Majuba rail servitude. Site establishment has been completed on the northern and southern side of the Vaal river.

The structures that will be constructed include 96 culverts, 9 cattle creeps, 32 agricultural underpasses and overpasses, 18 bridges, one service duct and 40 cattle grids. Construction on some of these structures has started. The construction of a 300 m incremental launch bridge over the Vaal river is well under way. This bridge is the most complex concrete structure to be built in the civil works package. It is estimated that about 4 100 m3 of concrete will be used to build the bridge.

Major activities for the next quarter include the start of the formation layer works on the whole servitude and construction of the piers on the bridges.

The project continues to contribute to the Gert Sibande district by focusing on development of small suppliers, localisation to maximise participation of local suppliers and skills development.

Currently 47 candidates from the two local municipalities of Msukaligwa and Dr Pixley ka Isaka Seme are in skills development programmes. Employment of local candidates has also been prioritised for skilled and unskilled positions, with 514 locals having been employed during various packages of the Majuba project. Skills shortages in the local areas have, however, been identified as the main challenge, which has led to the principal contractors committing to develop more than the contractual skills development targets.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Aveng Grinaker-LTA (main civil construction and earthworks).

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Eskom media desk, tel +27 800 3304, fax +27 86 664 7699 or email mediadesk@eskom.co.za.
Eskom national call centre, tel 0860 037 566.
Aveng Grinaker-LTA, tel +27 11 578 6000, fax +27 11 578 6161 or email communications@grinaker-lta.co.za.