MEC for transport Bheki Nkosi stated categorically on 24 November that Gauteng government will not ask the national treasury for extra money to finish the Sandton-airport section of the Gautrain route in time for the Soccer World Cup kick-off in June 2010: “We cannot and will not approach Treasury for additional funding.” The concession agreement signed between Bombela and the Gautrain Management Agency on 28 September 2006 stipulates a 27 June completion date.

“In the eventuality that the link between OR Tambo and Sandton is indeed operational in time for the FIFA 2010 World Cup, it will be a great bonus for the Gauteng Province and all South Africans, but government will not pay extra to accelerate the construction,” Nkosi was quoted saying.

Dr Barbara Jensen, speaking for Gautrain, said Bombela had requested R1.3 billion to bring forward the completion date by one month. “We simply cannot afford an extra R1.3bn to have it ready. It was never a Soccer World Cup project. We started planning it four years before the Soccer World Cup was allocated,” she explains.

Deputy transport minister Jeremy Cronin told Moneyweb, “Government can’t afford the extra. Completion of the airport link was always going to be nice to have but it was never part of the contract, either from our side or theirs.

[ Only a week ago, Engineering News reported that the airport line will indeed be ready in time for the opening ceremony of the World Cup, and without government having to spend more money. It was said previously that another R1.3 billion would have to be found if the programme of work was to be accelerated. “The Bombela Concession Company, responsible for building the R25.4 billion Gautrain rapid-rail link, has proposed a new, less expensive plan to enable the commissioning of a modified phase-one rail service between the OR Tambo International Airport and Sandton, in time for the opening ceremony of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.” - editor ]

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