Name of the Project
Dunnottar train manufacturing complex project.
Location
Gauteng, South Africa.
Client
Gibela Rail Transport Consortium, comprising Alstom (61%), Ubumbano Rail (30%) and New Africa Rail (9%).
Project Description
The project involves the construction of a 60 000 m2 factory at the Dunnottar industrial complex to manufacture trains for South African State-owned Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA). This forms part of a R51-billion contract to supply 600 state-of-the-art X’trapolis Mega commuter trains over ten years and provide technical support, as well as spare parts, over a 19-year period, for the rail agency.
The train manufacturing complex has a geographical footprint of 78 ha, comprising:
• the total built area of the factory of 51 ha, of which only 33 ha will be developed. The remaining land comprises an environmentally sensitive wetland, the preservation of which has necessitated the construction of a dam as part of the design and layout of the plant.
• 27 ha that have been reserved for the Ubumbano Rail Park, which will house suppliers of materials and components required for the new trains. The manufacturing contract has a minimum of 65% local-content stipulation.
The factory will produce 580 trains comprising 3 480 cars.
The plant will be equipped with several kilometres of rail network, including a 1.25 km dynamic test track for the testing of completed trains.
The first 20 trains were manufactured in Brazil, with the last of these arriving in South Africa in June 2017. The remaining 580 will be built at Dunnottar. At its peak, the manufacturing facility will produce 62 trains a year.
Potential Job Creation
About 1 500 workers have been employed during the facility’s construction, which started in January 2016.
The staff complement is 90% black and 49% female. At its peak, the facility will employ 1 200 workers.
To meet its local-content commitment of at least 65% of contract value, Gibela has so far on-boarded 71 South African suppliers for materials, parts and services. More than 4 700 South African jobs are being supported by the company’s activities.
Value
R1-billion.
Duration
The project took 22 months to complete.
Latest Developments
Gibela has reported that it is confident it can meet the terms of its R51-billion contract to deliver 600 newly built train sets to PRASA by 2029, despite the impact of Covid-19. The plant was closed for more than a month earlier this year owing to Covid-19 lockdown restrictions.
Gibela CEO Hector Danisa has said that the company’s operations at its manufacturing plant in Dunnottar will “soon get back on track”.
“Our target for 2020/21 is 25 trains and we have so far produced and delivered 13.
“We are set to achieve this target, as we are now able to produce three train sets per month, up from the two train sets per month before May.”
Gibela has already provided 43 new passenger trains for PRASA.
However, local and international supply chains continue to pose “a major challenge”, as suppliers battle to overcome delays caused by measures taken to curb the spread of Covid-19, Danisa has lamented.
Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Aecom (engineering, procurement and construction management contractor); Trencon Construction (site clearance, bulk earthworks and civil infrastructure); Trencon Construction and Black Jills Engineering (main site buildings, including the training centre); and Saflog Consulting Services (rail infrastructure).
Contact Details for Project Information
Gibela communications director Pamella Radebe, email pamella.radebe@gibela-rail.com