Share

Austrian firm cashes in on Gauteng tolls

Johannesburg - An Austrian company that won the bid to build and operate Gauteng's e-tolling system made R1.2bn in one year from its South African operations, The Star reported on Tuesday.

According to Kapsch Traffic-Com's 2010/11 annual report, released in March last year, it made R1.2bn in South Africa from traffic and parking fines and sales of e-tags. This year's report has not yet been released.

The company initially won the tender to operate the e-tolling project in a consortium with Cape Town company TMT Services and Supplies. A few months after the tender was awarded, Kapsch bought the majority shares in TMT for R75m. TMT was involved in traffic law enforcement.

The contract to run the tolls runs for eight years.

"TMT Services and Supplies engages in projects for traffic monitoring... including speed monitoring in Gauteng and the Mpumalanga province," the newspaper reported.

Congress of SA Trade Unions spokesperson Patrick Craven told the newspaper the organisation was opposed to the privatisation of public roads.

"They should not be there for a private company like Kapsch to make money at the expense of the people of Gauteng."

Automobile Association spokesperson Gary Ronald said the high revenue was "scary", considering the number of vehicles compared to other countries Kapsch operated in.

"There are only 10 million vehicles in South Africa, four million in Gauteng. Is this the amount of money they can make from just 185km of road?" he asked.

Tolling of major roads in Gauteng was scheduled to start on April 30.

 
We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.98
-0.4%
Rand - Pound
23.99
-0.4%
Rand - Euro
20.52
-0.3%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.36
-0.1%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.4%
Platinum
900.15
+0.4%
Palladium
1,000.00
-0.2%
Gold
2,213.05
+0.8%
Silver
24.68
+0.2%
Brent Crude
86.09
-0.2%
Top 40
68,324
+1.0%
All Share
74,499
+0.8%
Resource 10
57,210
+2.8%
Industrial 25
103,820
+0.5%
Financial 15
16,514
-0.1%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders