The South African government on Monday announced an injection of more than 5 billion rands (about 500 million U. S.dollars) into the transport development in the current fiscal year.

Deputy Minister of Transport Sindisiwe Chikunga unveiled the investment at the 32rd Southern African Transport Conference in Pretoria.

The conference opened on Monday with a theme of Transport and Sustainable Infrastructure explores how to promote employment and economic growth in the southern African region. "Transport is the heart of the economy," Chikunga told the meeting. "The projects of the road and rail construction on the Durban-Free State-Gauteng Industrial Corridor will benefit," the official added.

The corridor lies in the rich eastern part of South Africa, being viewed as a new vital stimulator for the regional growth in the future. The construction costs an estimated 500 billion rands.

Gauteng is the smallest among all nine provinces across South Africa, but it is the richest one, accounting for one third of the country's GDP.

Last week, the Gauteng provincial government said the new road project will benefit agriculture and industry.

The four-day conference will deal with the alleviation of congestion, environmental sustainability in transportation, corridor development and transportation, as well as coastal engineering, port infrastructure and maritime transportation. Endi

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)