Gauteng Finance MEC Lebogang Maile has announced that the Gautrain will officially be handed over to the Gauteng Provincial Government
Image: Supplied
Gauteng Finance MEC Lebogang Maile has announced that the Gautrain will officially be handed over to the Gauteng Provincial Government on 28 March 2026.
This comes as the provincial government has finalised all outstanding financial obligations tied to the public-private partnership agreement, effectively concluding the 19.5-year Bombela concession and securing the rail system as a fully paid provincial asset.
The Gautrain was built at a cost of about R26 billion, and it was managed jointly by the province and the Bombela Consortium. The system has helped reduce traffic congestion and is now valued at an estimated R45 billion to R50 billion.
Maile said during a recent media briefing that the province has now “finished paying for Gautrain adding that the process to select a new operator for the Gautrain was unfolding.
"On the 28th of March this year, Gautrain will officially be handed over to the Gauteng government as its asset, meaning we have finished paying for Gautrain," Maile said.
"When we built Gautrain, we spent R26 billion. Today, as we speak to you, and by the end of March when we receive the asset, it’s worth anything between 45 and 50 billion rand. That’s the asset of the Gauteng government. So that’s the power of the PPP,” said Maile.
Maile added that the Gautrain’s success shows the value of public-private partnerships, suggesting the model could be applied to other provincial services, such as scholar transport, to achieve similar results.
The Gautrain was built at a cost of about R26 billion
Image: Chris Collingridge / Independent Media
“We are happy that Gautrain is one of the PPPs that have been successful. It demonstrates that if we look at programmes such as scholar transport and implement them using that model, we can achieve a great deal,” Maile said.
“We have a budget, but it will never be enough, because every year more children are coming to Gauteng. We need to build more than 100 schools in the province".
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