Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan has said that South Africa may be near to ending a four-year standoff with a Chinese locomotive producer that has caused scores of engines to stand idle.
Transnet has, since late 2019, struggled to get spare parts from rail giant CRRC E-Loco Supply, which is partly owned by the Chinese government. It is also awaiting the delivery of 90 locomotives it has already ordered.
“All the groundwork has been done,” Gordhan told Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts. “After a lot of very hard work, we might be very close to concluding the matter.”
Get 14 days free to read all our investigative and in-depth journalism. Thereafter you will be billed R75 per month. You can cancel anytime and if you cancel within 14 days you won’t be billed.