21 February 2007

By Chris Khumalo

Pietermaritzburg – The KwaZulu-Natal government and eThekwini Metro Council have joined forces to develop transport infrastructure in preparation for the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup.

The eThekwini Metro has already requested R970 million from the national government and this request was supported by provincial transport authorities.

Briefing the KwaZulu Natal parliament on the province’s preparation for the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup, Transport MEC Bheki Cele expressed confidence that the city and the province would get the bulk of funds eThekwini Metro had requested from the Public Transport Infrastructure Fund.

"The granting of R970 million to the host city, which is supported by the Department of Transport will be announced in two weeks time," he said.

MEC Cele said at the moment all the funding proposals were with the Minister of Transport (Jeff Radebe) for signature.

"It is, however, safe to say we hope eThekwini and the provincial government will have their request granted," he added.

Reflecting on progress made to date, Mr Cele said the host city eThekwini Metro had already received an amount of R33 million from the Public Transportation Infrastructure Fund.

He said the funds requested would be used to prepare the city for 2010 tournament with a massive improvement to the road, rail network and beefing up the province’s public transport to cope with thousands of tourists and soccer fans, who are expected to flock to the province during and after the tournament.

Mr Cele said of R33 million already in the coffers of the city, R17 million would be used for intelligent transportation system, R11 million for a public transport call centre and R5 million for planning in respect of improving the road network around the Warwick Junction and in the central business district.

He said the most important factor in planning, which was emphasised by the 2010 Action Strategy, was the planning of a public transport system which left a lasting legacy.

"In order to achieve this goal, the public transport needs of users beyond 2010 must be considered. In a nutshell, the plan is to ensure an improved, seamless, safe public transport system for local as well as international soccer fans.

"We also have to plan public transport system in a manner that will ensure it leaves a lasting legacy for generations of public transport users", said Mr Cele.

He said in July last year, his department made funding proposals to the Public Transport Infrastructure Fund for integrated multi modal facilities, public transport corridor network and road signage.

The intention of these projects was to provide multi-modal facilities for long distance public transport services at major terminals of importance for the 2010 World Cup.

"These facilities will seek to integrate long distance and local public transport services by providing facilities that are a safe and secure environment for all citizens and tourist to be able to access public transport services."

"The idea is to improve comfort for passengers by improving protection from weather conditions and providing other passenger amenities such as toilets and seating and to provide "real-time" information to passengers on services available," he said.

Some of the work that would be done would be the building of multi-modal facilities at key terminal points for long distance transport movement between international airport in eThekwini, the World Cup game venue in Durban and other cities that will be hosting world cup teams or major tourist hubs.

"We as the host country have made a commitment to FIFA that we will stage a world class event in terms of their specifications. This event will not only put us on the map internationally but will also boost investor confidence in South Africa and Africa as a continent," he said.

Source: BuaNews