Lesufi unveils R120bn Gautrain expansion project

The expansion will extend the rail network to Soweto, Mamelodi, Atteridgeville, Lanseria, and Springs.

On Thursday, Lesufi made this announcement at his State of the Provincial Address in Katlehong, southeast of Johannesburg.

He believes the project would significantly contribute to job creation during the five-year construction period.

The bidding process for the construction of these lines will close at the end of October this year.

In addition to the Gautrain expansion, the provincial government is allocating R2.3 billion to boost its investment in ICT infrastructure.

"We are broadening access to ICT by providing Wi-Fi connectivity to hospitals, schools, and the 26 proclaimed townships," said Lesufi.

"Public-private partnerships remain a cornerstone of the province's policy, driving joint development projects that fuel economic growth.

Lesufi underscored the importance of re-skilling the unemployed to take full advantage of these opportunities.

"In this context, we have signed a groundbreaking agreement with the National Skills Fund valued at R1.1 billion, and with the UIF, an additional R8 billion has been allocated to re-skill almost 500,000 unemployed Gauteng residents,” he announced.

“Training programs will resume next month.”

At the same time, Lesufi revealed that the Limpopo to Gauteng high-speed train project has entered the feasibility study phase.

"This is expected to create over 180,00 jobs during the construction period,” the premier said.

“In reality, slowly but surely, Gauteng and Limpopo provinces are coming to each other. Therefore it should be easy to move from Gauteng to Limpopo and from Limpopo to Gauteng.”

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