Transnet Ltd., South Africa’s state-owned rail and port operator, plans to increase the amount of coal it rails to the nation’s users, including Eskom Holdings Ltd., by more than threefold over the next seven years.
The Johannesburg-based company aims to rail 70 million metric tons of coal a year to domestic users by 2016 compared with 22.5 million tons currently, Transnet Freight Rail Chief Executive Officer Siyabonga Gama said in an interview in Johannesburg today.
“We see an opportunity to increase coal volumes over the next seven years,” said Gama. “If we have better and efficient railways it can help boost GDP growth.”
Transnet has set aside 40 billion rand ($4.9 billion) for investments in coal rail over the next decade to boost shipments for both exports and domestic use. Eskom, which supplies almost all of South Africa’s electricity, is spending 385 billion rand over the next five years on expansion, mostly on coal-fired power plants.
Transnet plans to increase the amount of coal it rails to Eskom to 29 million tons of coal by 2016 from 5.5 million tons currently, Gama said.
Source: Bloomberg
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