The Department of Transport is ready to present its high-speed rail project, planned for the Durban—Johannesburg route, to Cabinet for approval, it said in a statement on Tuesday.

Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele announced the project in September last year, as part of his National Transport Master Plan 2010-2050.

His plan of action included high-speed rail links for the Johannesburg—Durban, and Johannesburg—Musina routes, as well as the Moloto corridor between Tshwane and the former KwaNdebele, in Mpumalanga.

Ndebele said that the time had now arrived “for these projects to be rolled out”.

Should Cabinet approve the Durban—Johannesburg link, it would kick-start a process that would include a feasibility study on the viability of the rail link.

Ndebele said that the plan for South Africa’s first long-distance high-speed rail-link had triggered “major local and international interest”.

“Since our announcement last September we have received interest from France, Germany, China, the United States of America, Japan, Canada and South Korea, among others. This indicates that there is a huge appetite for rail projects around the world.

“The project is part of the Department’s plans to revitalise the rail industry in South Africa.”

Despite recent reports that Duduzane Zuma, the son of President Jacob Zuma, Lazarus Zim, the Gupta Brothers, together with their Chinese partners, were in line to win the rights to construct the project, Ndebele emphasised that his department would only call for expressions of interest on the project in July.

“In June 2011, we are also hosting an International Investors’ Conference in Cape Town to consolidate the interests in our infrastructure projects, including the Durban to Johannesburg high-speed rail project. Once received, all expressions of interest will be subject to a strict evaluation process, and the preferred and winning bidders will be announced only following an inclusive and transparent process,” noted Ndebele.

Figures bandied about by various industry players last year had roughly estimated the project to cost between R250-billion and R600-billion.