The 2037 Consortium's first task is to look at the province's existing transport planning and infrastructure, and to consider current land-use, says transport plan task team leader and Gautrain Management Agency CEO Jack van der Merwe. Land use generates points of departure as well as destinations - such as home and work - creating transport corridors. "We have more than 200 000 people migrating to Gauteng from other parts of the country each year, and that we have a large number of people coming here from the rest of Africa," Van der Merwe notes.
The consortium would then have to consider a master plan that integrates its findings with plans that the Gauteng and national governments have in the planning pipeline for the next few years. "[The task team] would also have to consider how this 25-year plan can be implemented, as well as how it can be funded," Van der Merwe says. "Naturally, consultation with all stakeholders, private and public, is pivotal when drawing up this plan." The 2037 Consortium was selected from a list of five bidders and its task team has to deliver the 25-year transport plan in March next year, which, Van der Merwe tells Engineering News Online, "is a rather tight deadline".
Read the full article on www.engineeringnews.co.za.
