An arbitration tribunal has made an award in the tunnel water ingress dispute between the Gauteng provincial government and the Bombela Concession Company, ordering Bombela to undertake immediate remedial work on the Gautrain tunnel section between Johannesburg Park Station and Emergency Shaft 2 (E2), in Johannesburg, to halt the inflow of water into the tunnel.

Emphasising that the functionality and safe operation of the rail system was not threatened by the inflow of water into the tunnel, the tribunal also found that the tunnel section between Johannesburg Park Station and E2, as well as the section between the Rosebank Station and the Marlboro portal, was not in accordance with the contract specifications, as detailed in the concession agreement.

It further ruled that, in certain parts of the Gautrain tunnel, the noncompliance with specifications could be settled through financial compensation.

Any additional works would be carried out by the Bombela Civil joint venture, of which construction group Murray & Roberts had a 45% shareholding.

Water ingress into the tunnel connecting Park Station and the Rosebank Station had been a contentious issue since the outset of development, delaying the opening of this route by some four months in 2011.

In the same year, a dispute-resolution board directed Bombela, which was charged with designing, operating and maintaining the system, to remedy the situation and meet the specification for tunnel water inflow as set out in the contract signed between the Gauteng government and the group.

However, the issue remained unresolved.

The Gautrain Management Agency, which oversees the Gautrain operations on behalf of the provincial government, said in a statement on Wednesday that details of the remedial work would be developed by Bombela and made public at a later stage.

All Gautrain services would continue to operate normally, pending decisions regarding the extent and nature of possible additional work, as well as other commercial arrangements to be agreed between Bombela and the province.