The Civil Engineering Contractor January 2019 | Page 13

CONTRACTORS ON SITE
The R130-million Go!Durban C9 Corridor, work package
2B: Ward 49 – Phoenix Highway upgrade from Lenham
Drive to Hannaford Drive, in Phoenix, Durban (KwaZulu-
Natal), is at the tender stage. This comes after residents,
ratepayers, and business owners of wards 49 and 50 in Phoenix
attended a public meeting to discuss the implementation and
construction of Go!Durban.
Go!Durban is the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality’s
Integrated Rapid Public Transport Network (IRPTN) aimed
at creating a safer, more efficient, and affordable commuter
experience for all citizens of eThekwini. The city hopes to
ensure that 85% of all residents will have access to safe,
affordable, and quality scheduled public transport. It hopes
to provide opportunities for densification, mixed-use, and
transit-orientated development, to reduce the need for
Swaziland to Mpumalanga,
SA’s new rail link
Durban aims to develop a more efficient public transport
system.
travel, promote the emergence of a world-class city, and
to inspire a wave of architectural renewal, which will
result in urban rejuvenation and revitalisation of run-down
areas. Through the large-scale nature of the project and the
timelines, it will also create jobs and assist in the alleviation
of poverty in the province. nn
The bulk of the funds will go towards infrastructure and
construction. Progress has been made, as the purchasing of
the 506ha of land required on the South African side for
this project has been approved. Negotiations with the land
owners are being finalised to purchase the impacted land.
Authorities in South Africa and Swaziland have granted
both teams with the necessary environmental permits.
Additionally, authorities in South Africa and Swaziland
have granted the water use licenses, while the feasibility
studies of the existing lines that need to be upgraded are in
progress. The lines are Ermelo to Lothair as well as Golela
to Nsese. Plans to resettle the affected households are also
in progress.
By relieving the corridor of almost all its general freight,
Transnet would align the rail network with the coal-
handling capacity that exists at Richards Bay, in a bid
to facilitate an increase in exports, initially from the
country’s Mpumalanga coal mines, but progressively from
the Waterberg, in Limpopo, and eventually also from
neighbouring Botswana. nn
Transnet plans to build a 146km railway line from Sidvokodvo
in Swaziland to Lothair in Mpumalanga. Work was currently
under way to package the project for presentation to private
investors. The feasibility phase has been completed and the
project is ready to be packaged to take to the market to look
at public-private partnerships (PPP). Transnet and Swaziland
Railways have agreed to package the project as a PPP and may
release an international tender for a 20–25-year concession.
The project, estimated to cost R17-billion, is the biggest
collaborative infrastructure development between the two
countries. The new line will create an additional capacity
of 15-million tonnes of coal. It is also aligned to the
larger North-South Corridor proposal to link the regional
economies of southern Africa and further complement the
existing coal feeder system and other bulk mineral corridors.
Go!Durban: Phoenix
Highway upgrade
Linking Swazi coal to the world.
www.civilsonline.co.za
CEC January 2019 | 11