It will cost about R40 million to get the rail line in the Atlantis Special Economic Zone (SEZ) operational again.
Atlantis SEZ CEO Matthew Cullinan says this figure excludes the cost of relocation and re-housing of occupiers who invaded the rail reserve via the DuNoon settlement near Montague Gardens in 2018.
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The invasion resulted in the SEZ’s 43km-long rail link with the Port of Cape Town being severed, Cape Business News reports.
‘The present work done by the Atlanta SEZ to open the freight railway line between Atlantis, an already successful industrial node, and the Port of Cape Town will be a further boost in the quest of the Atlantis SEZ to become an export-based Greentech manufacturing hub,’ the group said in a 2022 report.
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The Atlantis SEZ is meant to be a manufacturing base for wind turbines, solar panels, insulation, biofuels, electric vehicles, energy storage, materials recovery and green building materials.
In addition, the rail service could create a transport hub within the SEZ.
‘Getting it operational would also create a huge opportunity for Atlantis to become an inland port/freight village of sorts,’ Cullinan adds.
However, complex negotiations between Transnet, the Western Cape Provincial Government, and the City of Cape Town will be needed to re-enter the service.
According to Cullinan, the issue is sensitive. ‘I am led to believe that there are moves to resolve this, but everyone involved is tight-lipped,’ he adds, noting that relocating people is a particularly sensitive issue and that preventing re-invasion also needs to be considered aside from procuring alternative accommodation.
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Picture: Prasa Group / Facebook