24 October 2007
The national Minister of Transport, Jeff Radebe, Premier of Mpumalanga,
Thabang Makwetla and MEC David Mabuza will be engaging private sector in
dealing with the badly damaged coal haulage road network at the conference to
be held in Secunda on 26 and 27 October 2007.
The two day conference is aimed at engaging all the relevant, key
stakeholders such as Eskom, mining houses and companies that are active in the
mineral rich areas in the Mpumalanga province on the role they can play in
ensuring the provision and maintenance of road infrastructure.
The conference is further aimed at coming up with proposals on the strategic
road network grid to support present and future mining in Mpumalanga.
Furthermore, the conference will identify and agree on the most relevant
funding options for the coal haulage road network encompassing all the role
players.
The conference is one of the highlights of the Transport Month activities
and will include the launch of a R550 million pledge by Eskom to rebuild
sections of the critical coal import routed to power stations on the evening of
26 October 2007.
Recent cost estimates indicate that between R3 billion and R4 billion will
be required within the next three to five years to upgrade the coal haulage
network in the province.
The national Minister will officially launch the Kinross Weighbridge on the
morning of 26 October 2007.
The media is therefore invited to the conference to be held as follows:
Day one: 26 October 2007
09h00: Official opening of the Weighbridge
10h00: Coal Haulage Conference starts
18h00: Galla function (Eskom PLPEDGES R550 million)
Venue: Sasol Recreational Club, Secunda, eMbalenhle
Day two: 27 October 2007
08h15: Coal Haulage Conference starts
Venue: Govern Mbeki Municipality, Secunda
For additional information, kindly contact:
David Nkambule
Cell: 079 684 6401
Sam Monareng
Cell: 083 326 1521
Issued by: Department of Transport
24 October 2007
