RATP Dev, a global leader in operating and maintaining urban and intercity transport systems, has reaffirmed its commitment to South Africa and redefined its vision for local partnership, prioritising diversity, inclusion and expertise.
The company is today the lead shareholder in Bombela Operating Company, Gautrain’s operator and maintainer. The Bombela Operating Company is globally recognised for its efficient operations, with Gautrain’s availability record consistently over 96%. Its local leadership team is 70% female and fully committed to supporting the communities around the Gautrain network.
Last month Bombela Operating Company was awarded the Train Operator of the Year award at the inaugural Rail Industry Awards, hosted by the Railway Safety Regulator, recognising the quality of operations and maintenance of the Gautrain.
“As we move into the future, we want to align ourselves more actively with the country’s priorities in urban rail,” says Ms Nthabiseng Kubheka, CEO of Bombela Operating Company and Country Director of RATP Dev in South Africa.
“To achieve this, we decided to re-imagine our role as a strategic and value-adding partner to South Africa, acknowledging the value of bringing in fresh thinking and effective problem-solving. We have enlisted the participation of seasoned local investors as well as global partners who have been relentlessly investing in South Africa, all of them with a stellar track record of supporting socio-economic development across key sectors of the economy,” adds Kubheka.
“South Africa today is vastly different from 14 years ago, when we began operating the country’s first rapid rail. Today, the Gautrain is a best practice case study for public-private partnerships. Our new partners bring in a broad economic, unrivalled experience and in-depth understanding of both South Africa and the global landscape. Together, we want to maintain the current record of excellence of the Gautrain while delivering on new projects with an intent on impacting positively the community and thus enable more South Africans to be active contributors in growing the economy,” she concludes.
The new consortium has over 300 years of experience amongst its partners in delivering on mega investment projects across key sectors of the economy in Africa and globally.
This provides a strong foundation to build on for a future that positions South Africa amongst the best global leaders in delivering integrated urban public transport systems and delivering on SDG goals 8, 10 and 11, which relate to Decent work and Economic growth, Reduced inequalities and Making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
RATP Dev is a global leader in high-capacity and high-frequency urban rail and boasts more than 125 years of experience operating and maintaining public transport systems. RATP Dev leverages the unique and world-renowned expertise and experience of Paris-based RATP Group, serving over 700 cities worldwide with its over 70,000 employees. The company is present in 15 countries on five continents including France, Egypt, Morocco, and South Africa.
As a global Original Equipment Manufacturer, Alstom brings 175 years of manufacturing and service experience in rolling stock and rail systems, including design, innovation and project management in 70 countries.
Alstom is a long-term partner for rail transport solutions in South Africa and has a critical impact on the economy through the manufacturing and maintenance of components and trains for PRASA and Transnet, and maintenance of core Gautrain rail assets by Bombela Maintenance Company.
Local Engineering Projects leader GIBB-Crede has 68 years of experience leveraging its South African roots, deep local presence and understanding of Africa to deliver infrastructure planning and design on world-class mega projects, primarily in water, mining, power, property and of course transportation.
African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM) brings over 24 years of experience of investing in the African infrastructure sector with a track record extending across eight African infrastructure funds. AIIM’s team of 40+ investment professionals is based out of five locally staffed offices across the continent in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Nairobi, Lagos and Abidjan providing direct on-the-ground coverage of our key markets.
As part of this new consortium, AIIM will invest a significant allocation from its R25.8 billion IDEAS Fund into South Africa’s commuter rail sector, building on the fund’s well-established track record in the energy sector. Over the past two decades, the IDEAS Fund has successfully mobilised pension capital to power 14 wind farms and 18 solar facilities across the country.
AWCA Investment (AIH), comprises 51 Black women majority of whom are chartered accountants, captains of industry and spread across different sectors and provinces. This makes AIH a unique, professional women investment company with depth of financial skills, key to all businesses.
Women-lead Motseng Investment Holdings Group (Motseng) has over 26 years experience of driving diversified investments with ventures and operations in the industrial, infrastructure and property sectors, including strategic investments in a portfolio of unlisted companies. Motseng has a presence across Sub Saharan Africa including in South Africa, Mauritius, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
