Although it is considered one of the largest in Africa, the South African railway network does not have an equivalent level of growth. The State is now obliged to resort to private investors due to la deterioration and vandalism of infrastructure, as well as mismanagement attributed to Transnet.
A call for expressions of interest has been launched by Transnet to private operators to provide rail freight services via certain lines of the South African network. This phase, which has been completed, will lead to submissions of tenders starting on 31 May 2022.
The aim of this process is to allocate part of the operation of the country's railways, particularly freight transport, to private operators. For this first part, Transnet has opened 6 slots for corridors dedicated to container transport, as well as to car manufacturers' loads.
The opening of the railway sector to private companies, which has not happened for 160 years, is taking place in a context where the deterioration of infrastructure has become a major problem for the development of transport in the country.
Added to this is the fall in rail freight traffic caused, among other things, by the significant drop in mining production and the poor performance recorded by South African ports in recent years.
Transnet's 2021 activity report shows that rail freight volumes fell by almost 14%, from 212,3 million tonnes in 2020 to 183,29 million tonnes last year.
The country's authorities believe that upgrading the railways through the injection of private capital will boost competitive dynamics in the railway industry. It could also help spread service offerings to several districts.
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