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Johannesburg - The government has agreed to fund R137bn of investment in modern rail infrastructure, Business Day newspaper reported on Wednesday.
Such a large commitment would place more strain on an already tight government budget.
The paper quoted Passenger Rail Agency (Prasa) chief executive Lucky Montana as saying Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan could announce the first tranche of the finance package in his 2012 budget in February.
“There will be no private funding at all. It will all be from the fiscus because the cost of private funding will be huge and unaffordable,” Montana said.
The National Treasury could not immediately comment on the possible funding.
The majority of South African commuters use privately operated minibus taxis, which are more expensive but more reliable than passenger rail services.
Such a large commitment would place more strain on an already tight government budget.
The paper quoted Passenger Rail Agency (Prasa) chief executive Lucky Montana as saying Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan could announce the first tranche of the finance package in his 2012 budget in February.
“There will be no private funding at all. It will all be from the fiscus because the cost of private funding will be huge and unaffordable,” Montana said.
The National Treasury could not immediately comment on the possible funding.
The majority of South African commuters use privately operated minibus taxis, which are more expensive but more reliable than passenger rail services.
