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Johannesburg - Water seeping into one of the Gautrain tunnels will be pumped into the Sandspruit River at a rate of six million litres a day, the Gautrain Management Agency (GMA) said on Thursday.
The decision was made in talks between the Bombela Concession Company (BCC) and Transport MEC Ismail Vadi in Johannesburg.
Until now, only small amounts of the water have been pumped into the river.
An attempt would be made to fix the water seepage problem by drilling holes into the tunnel floor and injecting low viscosity grout into the rock, said Vadi.
He could not say how long it would take for results to be seen, but was confident the section could be opened by the end of the year.
"It must be stated clearly that although the water ingress in the Rosebank to Park Station section is not within the contract specifications, the entire system... is safe," he said.
"The delayed opening will enable Bombela to address the problem in the shortest possible time with the least impact on the rest of the system."
BCC chief executive Jerome Govender said the cost of the remedial work had not yet been finalised.
"We will only be able to give a figure once all the work has been done. There will be penalties, but they will be small and will be faced by BCC sub-contractors," he said.
GMA chief executive Jack van der Merwe said the province would not be held liable for the cost of the repairs.
"The water seepage was a surprise, but it should not impact our initial R25.2bn budget," he said.
Phase two of the Gautrain, from Johannesburg to Tshwane, opens on August 2.
Phase one, between Sandton and OR Tambo International Airport opened in June 2010.
The decision was made in talks between the Bombela Concession Company (BCC) and Transport MEC Ismail Vadi in Johannesburg.
Until now, only small amounts of the water have been pumped into the river.
An attempt would be made to fix the water seepage problem by drilling holes into the tunnel floor and injecting low viscosity grout into the rock, said Vadi.
He could not say how long it would take for results to be seen, but was confident the section could be opened by the end of the year.
"It must be stated clearly that although the water ingress in the Rosebank to Park Station section is not within the contract specifications, the entire system... is safe," he said.
"The delayed opening will enable Bombela to address the problem in the shortest possible time with the least impact on the rest of the system."
BCC chief executive Jerome Govender said the cost of the remedial work had not yet been finalised.
"We will only be able to give a figure once all the work has been done. There will be penalties, but they will be small and will be faced by BCC sub-contractors," he said.
GMA chief executive Jack van der Merwe said the province would not be held liable for the cost of the repairs.
"The water seepage was a surprise, but it should not impact our initial R25.2bn budget," he said.
Phase two of the Gautrain, from Johannesburg to Tshwane, opens on August 2.
Phase one, between Sandton and OR Tambo International Airport opened in June 2010.
