The government of South Africa, through the Transport Minister Dipuo Peters, announced last week that the Moloto Corridor rail project has reached the full value assessment and economic evaluation phase of its ongoing feasibility study.

The rail PPP project must be  subject to six analyses as part of the feasibility study. The valuation assessment is the fifth. It is expected that  the feasibility study will be completed by September this year.

Minister Peter commented:

As the Moloto Corridor Project is a registered public-private partnership (PPP), it must be conducted in accordance with Treasury regulations, which stipulate that six analyses must be concluded as part of the feasibility study. The penultimate of which is the valuation assessment, a study we are currently advancing.

According to local sources, the project had been delayed, among other things, by issues around the completion of the PPP's funding model.

Minister Peters is to launch a Moloto project implementation and management office (PIMO) at PRASA, the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa. PIMO will be responsible for the technical implementation of the project.

The new rail will link Gauteng and Mpumalanga. The new rail would use a wider-gauge railway line, similar to the Gautrain, enabling it to accommodate high-speed trains.

The total project investment is estimated at R9.7 billion (US$907 million).