Mega-project to reduce unemployment

The City of Ekurhuleni is set to include a 72-hectare train manufacturing plant in Dunnottar, Nigel, which is envisaged to arrest the plight of unemployment within the region with over 2 000 permanent job opportunities to be created.

The groundbreaking initiative by PRASA-GIBELA, in partnership with the National Department of Transport and the City of Ekurhuleni, is officially underway following a sod-turning ceremony which took place in Dunnottar on Friday.

The project, which is part of the national passenger rail modernisation programme, is also in line with the City’s re-industrialisation agenda and is expected to benefit local emerging industrialists and artisans by empowering them with specialised industrial skills.

At the sod turning ceremony of the PRASA-GIBELA train manufacturing plant on Friday, Ekurhuleni’s executive mayor Clr Mondli Gungubele said he was pleased at the commencement of the mega-project.

“The establishment of this plant is a great milestone for the City. Zoning such a big space of land for such an initiative gives one a sense of relief, knowing that it is for the benefit of our people. The job opportunity projections and the economic boost that will be brought about by the existence of this plant in our City speaks volumes,” said Clr Gungubele.

The plant, valued at approximately R1-billion will enable PRASA to have new trains manufactured and maintained locally.

The manufacturing of components for the new trains will also take place at the facility, which has a capacity to produce a total of 580 trains or 3 480 coaches.

Several kilometres of rail network, including 1.2 kilometres of dynamic test track, have also been included in the plant design in order to test completed test train sets at speeds of up to 132 kilometres per hour, which is on par with international testing facilities.

“When PRASA issued a Request for Proposals for the manufacturing of our new trains to the market in 2012, we were clear from the outset that a minimum of 65 percent of the deal will have to be localised.

“This meant that any proposal under consideration by PRASA must prioritise and promote localisation as part of fulfilling our requirements for the deal,” said PRASA chairperson, Dr Popo Molefe.

Out of the 72 hectares of land set aside for the main plant, approximately 30 hectares have been reserved for a Supplier Park.

This will house all the suppliers to the main manufacturing plant, which are made up of SMMEs specialising in various areas of rail-related manufacturing.

Within the next 10 years, the Supplier Park will become a centre of excellence for train manufacturing.

“All the training at the plant will be undertaken by Gibela, which means that South Africans will benefit from world class skills within the rail industry.

“All those trained candidates will not only focus on Gibela to create job opportunities, but they themselves will drive technological innovations that will revolutionise the rail industry. This is how PRASA sees government’s vision as part of a bigger narrative on industrialising South Africa,” said Dr Molefe.