By Lucille Davie
THE successful bidder for the Gautrain is likely to be announced at the end of June.
So says Barbara Jensen, public relations consultant for the Gautrain Rapid Rail Link. She adds that the announcement is likely to be made by Jeff Radebe, the minister of transport, who said last week that a lot of the planning for the City's 2030 economic strategy centres on the Gautrain and its impact.
The national government will now be playing a more active role in the decision-making process, Jensen says. This will ensure the integration of the broader infrastructure developments. She stresses that despite the many delays in the project, it "will happen". Construction is expected to start in November.
The successful bidder was originally expected to be announced in April, then at the end of May, and now - finally - at the end of June.
"Given the enormity of the project, we would rather spend more time now getting all our ducks in a row, and make the right decision," Jensen explains.
The 80km, high-speed Gautrain will link Johannesburg, Tshwane and Johannesburg International Airport (JIA). It is expected to ease the congestion caused by more than 300 000 cars travelling each day between the province's two principal cities.
The two bidders, Bombela Consortium and Gauliwe Consortium, have given an undertaking that they will complete the Johannesburg-JIA link in four years, and the Johannesburg-Tshwane link in four-and-a-half years.
Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa, who first announced the Gautrain in 2000, has indicated that a condition of the successful bid is that the Gautrain be completed in time for the Soccer World Cup in 2010.
Criteria for the final selection will be price of construction (originally set at R7-billion), technical solutions (rolling stock, tunnels, safety and security, and so forth), and socio-economic development spin-offs.
The route starts at Park Station in the Joburg CBD and runs through Rosebank, Sandton and Marlboro, from where a line goes east to the airport. It then moves north to Midrand, Centurion and, finally, Tshwane Station, from where it will link to other rail services.
Underground stations will be in Rosebank and Sandton (about 11 storeys below ground), at the JIA and probably in Pretoria.
It is anticipated that 57 000 jobs will be created during construction, with 1 200 permanent jobs created for the operation of the train. About 40 000 jobs will be created within the urban/station precincts along the Gautrain's route, Jensen says.
Radebe emphasised last week, in a speech on the importance of a new JIA interchange, that the airport "represents a huge economic asset for the Gauteng province and the country as a whole. It has direct spin-offs for the people of Ekurhuleni, Johannesburg and Tshwane."
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