Government has provisionally allocated an additional R19.2 billion over the medium term for the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa’s (PRASA) critical signalling upgrades.
Tabling the 2025 Budget Speech on Wednesday, Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana, said the agency was making steady progress towards rebuilding infrastructure to provide affordable commuter rail services.
“To sustain this progress, we have provisionally allocated an additional R19.2 billion over the medium term for critical signalling upgrades. This will enable commuters from areas like Mamelodi, Kwa-Mashu, Motherwell and Khayelitsha to catch a train every 10 minutes, to get to and from work and significantly reduce the money that low-income households spend on transport.
“The allocation will also allow PRASA to maximise the potential of the 241 new trains delivered through the rolling stock renewal programme,” the Minister said in Parliament.
Despite the progress made, Godongwana said PRASA’s procurement system needed strengthening.
“The management of the entity is already instituting measures to strengthen their procurement weaknesses. This includes getting support from the National Treasury to build capacity and mitigate risks and undertaking live audits for large procurement projects,” the Minister said. - SAnews.gov.za
