City launches R400-m transport facility in Kazerne

08 July 2016

 

The Executive Mayor of Johannesburg, Councillor Parks Tau, and several Members of the Mayoral Committee, turned the sod in Newtown on Thursday July 7 to officially kick-start the construction of a multimillion-rand intermodal transport facility.

R400-million state-of-the-art Kazerne transport facility will be used by long-distance and cross-border taxis and buses travelling to and from Johannesburg from other parts of South Africa and other SADC countries.

Members of the Long Distance Taxi Liaising Committee also took part in the sod-turning ceremony.

The facility, described by Mayor Tau as “world class", is aimed at creating a variety of economic opportunities through retail developments and providing social amenities for inner city consumers and residents.

The facility, which is scheduled to be completed by February 2018, will provide both holding and ranking facilities for long distance taxis and buses and is a key project of the Inner City Roadmap development.

The facility will consist of 3 100sm of retail space, including 160 stalls. It will also have holding space for 648 taxis and ranking space for 158 taxis and 20 buses.

Executive Mayor Tau said the facility would further provide an opportunity to create stronger ties, both socially and economically, with other SADC countries, such as Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Zambia, Lesotho, Botswana and Swaziland.

He added that the facility would give people the dignity “they so much deserve”.

“We need to ensure that there is adequate management to look after this world-class facility because if we don’t maintain it, in the next five years it will start deteriorating.

“This facility will have underground tunnels to access different parts of the city. When we decided to develop Kazerne, we thought of the taxi industry and buses because these are businesses that transport people to different directions for long hours.

"We also thought of the commuters who have to be safe and comfortable in both summer and winter and at the same time have easy access to the city. We felt it was very important to have a better facility for all commuters,” he said.

MMC for Development Planning Cllr Roslyn Greeff said the Kazerne development would make a significant contribution to the achievement of the goals of the Joburg 2040 Growth Development Strategy.

She said over the past few years the City had managed to attract private sector investment back into the CBD.

“As a City we needed to respond to the new challenges and opportunities to support and retain this investment in the inner city through key interventions that benefit all residents and users of this dynamic area,” she said.

“As we prepare to break ground on what will be the biggest integrated multimodal transport facility developed by the City, it’s important to note that the City in its planning and implementation of infrastructure commits itself to making walking, cycling and public transport the mode of choice.”