"This is the biggest single contract we have awarded since we started rolling out our R80,3bn capital investment programme," said Maria Ramos, Transnet's CE.
The New Multi Purpose Pipeline (NMPP), due to be commissioned in the third quarter of 2010, lies at the heart of Transnet's plans to address demand once the current capacity is utilised.
The contract is for the construction of the 544km 24-inch trunkline from Durban to Gauteng (Jameson Park) and the 160km 16-inch inland network sections from Kendal to Waltloo and Jameson Park to Langlaagte via Alrode.
The contractor is mobilising its forces immediately, and construction of the inland section, where environmental authorisation (environmental impact assessment approval) has been received, is due to commence in July 2008. The project is running according to schedule and the completion date of the project is the third quarter of 2010.
The NMPP project, the largest single project in Transnet's portfolio, encompasses the replacement and expansion in capacity of the Durban to Johannesburg Pipeline (DJP) which transports refined petroleum products (petrol, diesel and jet fuel) from the two refineries in Durban as well as imports of refined petroleum products from the storage facilities at Island
View, in the Port of Durban. The NMPP also addresses the capacity constraints in the Inland Network (IN) which services the Alrode, Tarlton, Rustenburg, Witbank, Pretoria, Kroonstad and Klerksdorp regions, resulting from the increased demand requirements in these regions.
Two weeks ago, Ramos unveiled new capital investment numbers for Transnet, showing a moderate rise to R80,3bn (2007: R78bn) over the next five years, and showed that the state-owned freight transport company had set a fresh record by spending almost R16bn in a single year.
Though Transnet is proceeding at full speed with the implementation of the NMPP to improve the security of supply, tariff issues relating to the project have yet to be clarified with the regulator. – I-Net Bridge
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