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SA’s rail revitalisation ambitions lauded as more opportunities arise

SA’s rail revitalisation ambitions lauded as more opportunities arise

SA’s rail revitalisation ambitions lauded as more opportunities arise. Video & Editing: Darlene Creamer. Recorded 23.6.2015

Photo by Duane Daws

23rd June 2015

By: Natasha Odendaal

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

  

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US Secretary for Transportation Anthony Foxx has lauded South Africa’s rail revitalisation efforts as State-owned Transnet and US-based General Electric (GE) developed one of the “best localisation case studies”.

Speaking at a US State delegation tour of Transnet’s Koedoespoort locomotive facility, east of Pretoria, on Tuesday, GE Transportation president and CEO Russell Stokes said the partnership, which started over seven years ago, had delivered on key priorities of South Africa’s National Development Plan and would continue to do so as the duo entered the next phase of its partnership.

Transnet and GE in 2009 signed an agreement for the supply of 100 diesel-electric locomotives to Transnet. This was followed, in 2012, by a further order for 43 locomotives that would be used on the Phalaborwa–Richards Bay corridor, the Sishen–Saldanha iron-ore corridor, the Witbank–Nelspruit–Komatipoort line and to transport coal to Eskom power stations.

To date, over 150 000 hours of locomotive assembly-related technical and nontechnical skills training had been undertaken by both GE and Transnet employees, with 82 Transnet Engineering (TE) employees having received training from GE and with 382 new jobs created.

Significant localisation had also been achieved, with the programme benefiting from a GE injection of more than R1.8-billion as part of the South African government’s competitive supplier development programme, while 20 local black economic empowerment-rated suppliers had partnered with the two companies to help deliver the planned locomotives over the past five years.

Since embarking on the South Africa–US partnership in 2009, Transnet and GE had delivered over 140 locomotives on time and within budget – and with over 35% local content – with the final 60 to be unveiled before the end of July, TE CEO Thami Jiyane added.

This year, as GE worked towards delivering 233 evolution series diesel electric locomotives to Transnet as part of the freight logistics group’s 1 064 locomotives programme, local content would rise to over 55%, with GE committed to continuing its contribution to skills and small and medium-sized enterprise development, Stokes added.

This project, Jiyane noted, was on track, with the production and assembly line ready and all the required project materials on site for an official July 9 start.

Around 95 employees were currently being trained for this programme.

Meanwhile, the partnership had produced extensive exports with Africa ripe for rail infrastructure development and locomotive deliveries, as GE’s export alliance with Transnet gained traction.

To date, ten locomotives had been shipped to Caminhos de Ferro Moçambique, 16 locomotives had been leased to Thelo Rolling Stock for use by Vale Mozambique and six had been sent to Anglo American.

Foxx said the partnership showed the potential of transformation and collaboration that could see jobs “double, triple or even quadruple”.

“This is why I am here. This is a relationship that we can grow,” he said.

Foxx was currently leading a delegation of 14 companies across sub-Saharan Africa to strengthen trade ties on the continent.

Edited by Chanel de Bruyn
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor Online

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