Bombardier to pay Transnet R468m to settle dispute over State capture locomotive deal
Bombardier Transportation SA (BTSA) has agreed to pay Transnet a total of R468-million to settle a long-running legal dispute over a locomotive supply contract.
Transnet, in turn, will release withheld penalties worth R92.4-million in favour of Bombardier, a subsidiary of French train giant Alstom.
The two parties are planning to file a joint affidavit motivating for the agreement to be accepted by a high court.
The settlement will cover how costs for the locomotives were calculated, advance payments, and manufacturing relocation costs.
The legal dispute relates to Transnet's scandal-plagued decision to upgrade its ageing locomotive fleet a decade ago.
The locomotive supply contract featured prominently in the Zondo Inquiry into State Capture, which investigated how costs ballooned from R38.6-billion to R54.5-billion.
Bombardier was one of four locomotive manufacturers that shared a multibillion-rand contract to supply the State-owned enterprise with 1 064 new engines. It won a tender to deliver 240 locomotives. Of these, 149 are still outstanding.
The other three groups that shared the contract were China North Rail, China South Rail and General Electric. The two Chinese companies have since merged into CRRC E-Loco, while WABTEC South Africa Technologies has taken over General Electric's order.
CRRC E-Loco still has to deliver 309 locomotives, while WABTEC has supplied all of its 233 engines.
Transnet is still trying to strike a deal with the Chinese rail giant, which suspended deliveries in 2019. Earlier this week, Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan said SA may be "very close to concluding the matter".
Comments
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation