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Transport News

PRASA administrator appoints technical advisory team

By: Irma Venter 5th February 2020 Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) administrator Bongisizwe Mpondo has appointed a panel of technical advisors to assist him during his 12-month tenure. The rail entity says the technical advisory team will provide PRASA with much-needed technical expertise, while also supporting... →

Development Bank says R3.5bn SAA loan may have saved airline from liquidation

By: News24Wire 4th February 2020 The Development Bank of Southern Africa says it’s R3.5-billion loan to South African Airways was necessary to ensure that the business rescue of the national carrier continues and to avoid the airline's liquidation. The bank's leadership is briefing Parliament's oversight committee on finance.... →

South African, Botswana coal producers outline prospects for the industry

By: Kim Cloete 3rd February 2020 Coal producers and market players have outlined risks and opportunities for the year ahead as more short-term contracts have been signed with Eskom, junior miners try to carve out a viable way forward and some of the major coal players disinvest from coal assets. While business with Eskom has... →

Transnet appoints Portia Derby as new Group CEO

By: African News Agency 1st February 2020 Portia Derby has been appointed group chief executive of Transnet, the department of public enterprises said on Friday night. The appointment was made following "an extensive and rigorous search", the department said via an emailed statement. →

Jungheinrich seeks to offer the best of both worlds in new counterbalance truck

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 31st January 2020 Intralogistics solutions provider Jungheinrich this week gave the media and clients a preview of the future of sustainable logistics, with attendees at the company’s Innovations & Highlights seminar, in Hamburg, Germany, given a sneak peek of a pioneer counterbalance truck, the P30i. Jungheinrich... →

The Jungheinrich P30i

Gibela to focus on quality, suppliers as it ramps up to full production

By: Irma Venter 31st January 2020 The Gibela consortium will spend the next three years ramping up to full production of 62 trains a year, says CEO Hector Danisa. It may prove to be a challenging period, he adds, as Gibela will need to address some quality issues, as well as build capacity within its supply chain. →

Hector Danisa

Regional airline Airlink changes its relationship with SAA

By: Rebecca Campbell 31st January 2020 South African private-sector airline Airlink, which, has had a franchise agreement with State-owned flag-carrier South African Airways (SAA) since 1997 – which is currently under business rescue – recently announced that the two airlines had replaced that franchise agreement with a new commercial... →

Further postponement announced in Boeing 737 MAX return to service

By: Rebecca Campbell 31st January 2020 US aerospace giant Boeing has reported that its 737 MAX single-aisle airliner would remain grounded for longer than the company had hoped. The grounding of the aircraft was imposed after two fatal crashes, in late 2018 and early 2019, which killed a total of 346 people. A system fitted to the 737... →

More demand for lower costs and efficient designs

By: Mamaili Mamaila 31st January 2020 There has been growing demand in the conveyor market for more compact and efficient designs at lower costs, says industrial equipment supplier BMG. →

SO, SO VERSATILE BMG’s cam clutches can also be used for belt conveyors, metals, timber, pulp and wood chip, as well as bucket elevators for cement and grain

Eskom considering modifications to failure-prone Medupi conveyor system

By: Darren Parker 31st January 2020 Following three conveyor belt failures at the new Medupi power station, which contributed to load-shedding in December and January, State-owned electricity utility Eskom says several modifications to the conveyor system are being considered in an effort to ensure greater stability in future.... →

MODIFICATION ROLLOUT Modifications to the Medupi conveyor systems will also be applied at Kusile

Company increases footprint in Africa through distributorship

31st January 2020 Electro-mechanical power transmission supplier Vert Energy’s Leroy-Somer LSK direct current (DC) motors provide cost-effective solutions for variable speed applications. →

EXCLUSIVE PICKS Vert Energy is the exclusive distributor for Leroy-Somer in Southern Africa

Successful installation creates further opportunities

By: Halima Frost 31st January 2020 Subsequent to the successful installation of an automated control solution at a confectionary manufacturer, in KwaZulu-Natal, engineering solutions provider Hybrid Automation has seen an uptick in demand for control systems in the fast-moving consumer goods sector. “The need for the upgrade was... →

PERFECT PANEL The installation included control panels, which offered a new human-machine interface

IMF says South Africa has no fiscal space, must push reforms

By: , Bloomberg 30th January 2020 South Africa has no fiscal space left and must implement strong budget consolidation and state-owned company reforms to ensure its debt sustainability, the International Monetary Fund said. The October medium-term budget policy statement showed gross government debt would surge to 80.9% of gross... →

SAA to cancel more flights as part of cost-cutting initiatives

By: Rebecca Campbell 30th January 2020 The Business Rescue Practitioners (BRPs) for State-owned airline South African Airways (SAA) are continuing their efforts to develop a business rescue plan for the company, while cutting its costs and achieving further operational efficiencies. The assurance was given in a media release issued on... →

SAA cancels dozens of local and international flights in cost-cutting drive

By: News24Wire 30th January 2020 Embattled state airline South African Airways has cancelled dozen of local and international flights for February as it seeks to cut costs and conserve cash. The announcement comes two days after the flag carrier's business rescue practitioners confirmed that the Development Bank of Southern... →

Gautrain tenders for acquisition, refurbishment of pre-owned trains open

By: Irma Venter 30th January 2020 Gautrain concessionaire Bombela has issued two tenders related to the procurement of between five and seven pre-owned trains from the UK, for use on the Gautrain system. The first offers are expected to arrive at the end of February, says Gautrain Management Agency CEO William Dachs. The GMA... →

New Gautrain boss to plan for capacity increase, end of concession

By: Irma Venter 30th January 2020 Newly appointed Gautrain Management Agency CEO William Dachs’s first goal is ensure the Gautrain rail system remains an “excellent, safe and reliable mode of public transport”. It is also important to retain the GMA’s pristine governance record. The GMA manages the Gautrain system on behalf of... →

New Gautrain Management Agency CEO William Dachs

Long haul ahead for SAA after funding lifeline

By: , Bloomberg 30th January 2020 South African Airways (SAA) finally secured the funding it needs to keep flying for at least a few more months, yet there’s still a long way to go before the state carrier can claim to be stable. The loss-making airline was put into a local form of bankruptcy protection late last year and its... →

Consortium of three companies to build Egypt's first dry port – minister

By: Reuters 30th January 2020 A consortium of three companies has been awarded a contract for a $176-million project to build Egypt's first dry port, the first of eight ports the government plans to set up, the transportation minister said on Wednesday. The companies are Egypt's El Sewedy Electric and 3a International and... →

Joburg International Transport Interchange construction 85% complete

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 29th January 2020 Construction of the high-tech Johannesburg International Transport Interchange (JITI) – a 50 000 m² international long-distance and cross-border transport and shopping hub – is 85% complete. The Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA) has been implementing the JITI on behalf of the City of... →

Joburg International Transport Interchange construction

SA Express demands revenues held by SAA

By: Rebecca Campbell 29th January 2020 South African State-owned regional airline SA Express on Wednesday charged State-owned national flag carrier South African Airways (SAA) with unlawfully retaining monies that belong to the regional operator. “Now that SAA has received funds, the regional airline trusts that finally paying these... →

Photo by SA Express
A Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet airliner of SA Express

Transnet sets new reefer loading record

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 29th January 2020 Transnet Port Terminals has broken an all-time record by loading 1 665 reefers of South African grapes, blueberries and plums destined for Europe, aboard the Santa Clara, owned by logistics company Maersk. A Cape Town Container Terminal team achieved the new record over the past week, surpassing... →

Dachs takes over as Gautrain boss as Van der Merwe retires

By: Irma Venter 29th January 2020 Jack van der Merwe, who led the planning and rollout of the Gautrain rapid rail project for two decades, will retire as Gautrain Management Agency (GMA) CEO on February 29. His successor will be long-time COO, William Dachs, announced Gauteng MEC for Public Transport and Roads Infrastructure... →

William Dachs

Train arson: Residents urged to have say in Western Cape police ombudsman's probe

By: News24Wire 29th January 2020 Western Cape residents have until Thursday to have their say on how effectively the South African Police Service is dealing with train arson. The provincial police ombudsman Major General Johan Brand was leading the investigation into the alleged inability of the police in the Cape Peninsula to... →

Proposed inland port to change the Gauteng logistics landscape, says developer

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 28th January 2020 Investor and developer NT55 Investments believes the Distribution Junxion development – a proposed inland port and railway park in Gauteng – will transform the country’s rail and transport logistics landscape through its efficient supply chain performance and the considerable cost savings it will... →

Distribution Junxion Map

SAA gets R3.5bn in emergency funding from DBSA

By: Reuters 28th January 2020 Cash-strapped state carrier South African Airways (SAA) will receive R3.5-billion of emergency funding from the government-owned Development Bank of Southern Africa, the airline's business rescue practitioners said on Tuesday. SAA is fighting for its survival after it entered a form of bankruptcy... →

Airbus reports agreement with authorities regarding various charges against it

By: Rebecca Campbell 28th January 2020 Europe-based major aerospace group Airbus issued a brief press release on Tuesday, concerning its negotiations with regulators and law enforcement agencies in three countries. The release stated in full: “Airbus confirms that it has reached agreement in principle with the French Parquet National... →

Fastjet flags going concern doubt again as restructuring plan in jeopardy

By: Reuters 27th January 2020 Fastjet on Monday warned again that it would not be able to continue as a going concern if the South African low-cost carrier could not carry out its restructuring proposal by the end of March due to a shortage of funds. The company, which lost its turnaround specialist CEO Nico Bezuidenhout last... →

Dube TradePort facilitating growth in KwaZulu-Natal

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 24th January 2020 The King Shaka International Airport in KwaZulu-Natal continued to experience steady growth in passenger volumes over the December festive season, with international passenger volumes up by 9% and domestic passenger volumes up by 12%, DubeTrade Port Corporation reported this week. Dube TradePort... →

Relief as SAA is able to pay workers their January salaries

By: News24Wire 24th January 2020 Following concerns over whether South African Airways would have been able to pay employees' salaries this month, it has now been confirmed that the embattled State-owned airline has the money available to do so – at least for January. SAA informed employees on Friday that it will pay salaries on... →

Road freight emissions can be cut by up to 46%, suggests new framework

By: Irma Venter 24th January 2020 As the primary method for freight transportation in South Africa, road freight, excluding passenger freight, emits about 16.8-million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) a year, making it the second largest contributor to carbon emissions, after electricity. One way to reduce these carbon emissions is... →

Dr Lee-Anne Terblanche

Dubai Airports single-use plastics ban in effect

24th January 2020 In a bid to manage its environmental impact, international airports authority Dubai Airports Company reports that its self-imposed ban on single-use plastics at both of Dubai’s airports has been put into effect from the beginning of this month. →

TERMINAL PLASTIC USE Dubai Airports will be terminating all single-use plastic from its airport effective January 1, 2020

South African aviation sector scores well in punctuality ranking

By: Rebecca Campbell 24th January 2020 Two State-owned aviation sector companies have recently and separately been ranked highly in terms of on-time performance (OTP) for last year, in international surveys. They are South African Airways (SAA) and Airports Company South Africa (Acsa). →

Airport upgrades to be completed within the next few years.

By: Halima Frost 24th January 2020 Upgrades to Lanseria International Airport over the next five years valued at about R2-billion have begun, says Lanseria International Airport CEO Rampa Rammopo. The upgrades include an expansion to the current pier in the main terminal building and the development of a new fuel depot. Further... →

GROWING ON UP The Lanseria International Airport continues to add to its upgrades to increase its appeal to travelers in South Africa

First phase of airport expansion on track

By: Halima Frost 24th January 2020 The first phase of State-owned Airports Company South Africa’s (ACSA’s) Western Precinct development project at OR Tambo International Airport is on track for completion in February 2021, says OR Tambo International Airport GM Bongiwe Pitya-Vokwana. →

Bailout delay leaves SAA on brink of collapse

By: , Bloomberg 23rd January 2020 South African Airways said “time is of the essence” for the government to provide a pledged cash injection if the loss-making national carrier is to continue flying. The National Treasury agreed last month to give the airline R2-billion as part of the terms of its bankruptcy protection, but has... →

Cable ship en route to fix damaged undersea cables

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 23rd January 2020 Cable ship Leon Thevenin departed Cape Town Harbour on Wednesday night and will sail to offshore Angola where the first steps of the physical repair on damaged undersea cables – South Atlantic 3/West Africa Submarine Cable (SAT3/WASC) and the West African Cable System (WACS) – will begin. The... →

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