From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, this is the Real Economy Report. The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa has signed a R51-billion order for 600 new trains. However, all of these trains will not be delivered at once, which means Prasa’s refurbishment programme will have to run another 15 years. Irma Venter visited CTLE, where some of the coaches are being refurbished.

Irma Venter:
PRASA has spent R2.1-billion on the refurbishment of 570 coaches since 2010.The 100% black-owned Commuter Transport & Locomotives  Engineering will refurbish 100 Metrorail coaches for PRASA this financial year, at its facility in Nigel. CTLE acquired the Union Carriage & Wagon assets from the Murray & Roberts group in 2013.

CTLE operations executive Craig Holden explains the process of refurbishing a Metrorail coach.

CTLE operations executive Craig Holden

Shannon de Ryhove:
Other news making headlines this week: New AMSA CEO Paul O’Flaherty outlines a ‘production first’ strategy for the steel group; The right Eskom price will trigger a R10-billion Waterberg coal investment; and economist Raymond Parsons says fiscal policies are unlikely to prompt economic growth.

Newly appointed ArcelorMittal South Africa CEO Paul O’Flaherty delivered an unambiguous ‘production first’ message in his inaugural interaction with the investment community, saying his management team was committed to “fill the mills, produce to capacity, reduce costs and sell aggressively”.

ArcelorMittal South Africa CEO Paul O’Flaherty

A successful bulk sample burn test at Majuba power station has opened the way for Waterberg coal to be used at Majuba power station in Mpumalanga.

Waterberg Coal Company CEO Stephen Miller

North West University Business School Professor Raymond Parsons has argued that as South Africa had largely exhausted the use of traditional mechanisms to stimulate the fiscus, government now needed to swing its focus to dealing with the internal structural issues that have so far prevented the country from unlocking its true economic value.

North West University Business School Professor Raymond Parsons

That’s Creamer Media’s Real Economy Report. Join us again next week for more news and insight into South Africa’s real economy.