Irma Venter
Irma Venter is a Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor for Engineering News and Mining Weekly.
No timeline, costs finalised for Gautrain water ingress fix
12th January 2015 As yet, no specific methodology, timeline or costs have been finalised to remedy the water ingress, excessive to contractual specifications, into... →
R400m upgrade planned for N3 between Cedara and Tweedie
11th December 2014 A stretch of the N3 highway between Durban and Johannesburg will be upgraded, starting in the middle of 2015, in a contract valued at around... →
Sub-Saharan infrastructure spend to reach $180bn by 2025 – PwC
2nd December 2014 Infrastructure spend in sub-Saharan Africa would grow from $70-billion in 2013 to $180-billion by 2025, said PwC capital projects and... →
Rhino ambulance, set to assist poaching survivors, unveiled at Tuks
26th November 2014 Rhino conservation initiative Saving the Survivors has received more than R3-million from Dubai-based air services provider dnata – part of the... →
Lions, elephants in need of database similar to rhino project, urges DNA pioneer
28th October 2014 There is a need to develop a database for every threatened species in the world – not just rhinos, says Dr Cindy Harper from the University of... →
Competition Commission starts probe into auto industry
13th October 2014 The Competition Commission on Monday announced that it had launched an “investigation into price fixing, market division and collusive tendering in... →
Roads backlog jumps by R50bn from 2010
6th October 2014 The backlog on South Africa’s road network has reached R197-billion, up from R149-billion in 2010, says South African National Roads Agency Limited... →
Govt will pull plug on e-tolls, believes Outa
19th August 2014 Any user-pays project where less than half the users pay, is a failure, said Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance (Outa) chairperson Wayne Duvenage... →
Even in the supposedly precise world of engineering, miscalculations arise
15th August 2014 Misfortune often finds its roots in the smallest of things. Such as a centimetre or two. Or is that in inch? Perhaps a foot? Swedish or Dutch? The... →
Business market continues decline as economy stumbles
7th August 2014 South Africa’s new vehicle business market declined by 14.5% for the first seven months of the year compared with the same period last year, says... →
CSIR develops durable, labour-intensive ultrathin concrete road pavement
5th August 2014 The Built Environment unit at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has developed a cost-competitive ultrathin concrete... →
Three main challenges for Gibela as it readies for R51bn PRASA contract
30th July 2014 Gibela has three main challenges in executing the R51-billion contract to supply the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) with 600 new... →
Metrorail refurb to run for 15 years, CTLE rail theft being resolved
23rd July 2014 The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) will continue refurbishing its existing Metrorail fleet for another 15 years, despite the... →
Rea Vaya battles low numbers, new-look Phase 1C to be rolled out
11th July 2014 Phase 1A of Johannesburg’s Rea Vaya bus rapid transit (BRT) system should carry around 42 000 people a day, while it had been expected that Phase... →
Gautrain, Metrorail subsidies a necessity, says PRASA boss
8th July 2014 The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa’s (PRASA’s) Metrorail service would remain a subsidised service following its current multibillion-rand... →
Peters aims for 2015 approval in round 2 for transport master plan
7th July 2014 Transport Minister Dipuo Peters said on Monday that she “would love to” present the National Transport Master Plan (Natmap) to Cabinet for approval... →
NDP quality product, but funding a challenge, says KPMG
30th June 2014 As far as infrastructure plans go, government’s National Development Plan (NDP) is “right up there” with the best in the world, says KPMG global... →
821 duplicate plates, 74 cloned cars found on e-toll system
24th June 2014 Seventy-four cloned vehicles, and 821 duplicate licence plates have, to date, been identified on Gauteng’s e-toll network, says Electronic Toll... →
Planning on four Gautrain expansion routes kicks off
6th June 2014 The request for proposals (RFP) for the preliminary design of four possible expansion routes to the 80 km Gautrain system closes today, says... →
Gautrain ups fares, changes structure to battle peak-period crowding
16th May 2014 Gautrain on Friday announced several revisions to its fare structure which will come into effect on Sunday, June 1. The Gautrain would introduce a... →
Economy needs change in leadership – Hart
5th May 2014 South Africa was slowly reaching the point of ‘maximum pessimism’, said Investment Solutions chief strategist Chris Hart at a media breakfast on... →
First new coaches to arrive in 2015 as PRASA closes R51bn deal
29th April 2014 The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) and Gibela Rail Transportation announced on Tuesday that the entities had achieved commercial... →
Enough water for now, but beware institutional troubles, says planning commission’s Muller
16th April 2014 There is enough water in South Africa to supply communities and the economy, even if some activities may be constrained, such as agriculture in the... →
Sanral firm on seeking redress following breach of trust, says Alli
10th April 2014 South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) CEO Nazir Alli this week confirmed that Sanral remained firm in its intent to seek restitution... →
SA labour a concern as Ford mulls growing production in Africa, Middle East
9th April 2014 Labour stability in South Africa was not a Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa (FMCSA) issue, or even an automotive industry issue, but a... →
Cosatu destroyed 1m jobs over last 5 years – economist
8th April 2014 Trade union Cosatu had had a direct and indirect role in the destruction of an estimated one-million jobs in the South African economy over the... →
R17.5-billion Lesotho project set to deliver water in 2022
8th April 2014 Phase two of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) should supply South Africa with water by 2022, said Lesotho Highlands Development Authority... →
Feasibility studies on 200 km of Gautrain extensions to start by end-June
6th March 2014 The Gautrain Management Agency (GMA) would start feasibility studies on the 200 km of proposed extensions to the Gautrain route, as approved by the... →
SA-developed thin-film solar technology debuts at Stellenbosch plant
3rd February 2014 A demonstration plant to showcase locally developed thin-film solar module technology, used for converting sunlight into electricity, officially... →
DNA Act passed, mandatory DNA collection for serious crimes on the cards
30th January 2014 The path has been cleared for South Africa to have its own extensive DNA database for use by the South African Police Service (SAPS) in the... →
Big year ahead for Durban’s public transport project
27th January 2014 The GO!Durban project has started its roll-out, with a number of major milestones to be reached in the first quarter of 2014, said the eThekwini... →
Regional cohesion, energy security to aid Africa’s struggling manufacturing sector
7th January 2014 Africa is blessed with natural resources – key inputs to the manufacturing process. However, as is well known, the majority of these natural... →
E-tolls add significant costs, admin for fleet operators - IFM
10th December 2013 The roll-out of e-tolling on Gauteng’s highways has resulted in a “lot of work” for fleet administrators, says Imperial Fleet Management (IFM) CEO... →
Creamer Media journalist reflects on life-changing meeting with Mandela
6th December 2013 Thousands of people had met Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela before his death on December 5. They had shaken his hand and posed for a photo with him,... →
$223bn in megaprojects under way in Africa – Deloitte report
27th November 2013 The infrastructure boom in Africa had seen investment in 322 megaprojects reach $222.7-billion, said professional services firm Deloitte on... →
SA needs labour deals linked to productivity, not inflation – Hart
4th November 2013 South Africa needed to pursue productivity-linked labour deals, and not inflation-linked settlements, said Investment Solutions chief strategist... →
Nigeria, Ghana Africa’s rising stars, says PwC report
30th October 2013 A PwC report on ten African countries on Wednesday named Nigeria and Ghana as Africa’s rising stars in terms of their future prospects for the... →
SA needs to overcome political 'holy cows' to implement NDP
23rd October 2013 The key to achieving sustained gross domestic product (GDP) growth of around 6%, as stated in the National Development Plan (NDP), was enhanced... →
Davies announces competitiveness initiative
18th October 2013 It was important for the South African automotive industry to move forward following the recent “unprecedented lengthy strike” this economic sector... →
SA needs new freight railway line between Durban and Gauteng, says UJ’s Walters
4th October 2013 South Africa requires a new freight railway line between Durban and Gauteng, much more than it needs a high-speed passenger service, said... →
Gautrain agency mulls buying 40 new rail cars as ridership breaches 50 000
1st October 2013 The Gautrain Management Agency (GMA) was mulling the acquisition of 40 new Gautrain rail cars, said GMA CEO Jack van der Merwe on Tuesday. “We will... →
