SPOORNET AND Moutons Transport have signed a unique deal combining their two transport systems to move dolomite to a new Saldanha Bay steel plant project.
In terms of the R12-million contract, Moutons Transport will move stone by road 19 km from the quarries to the nearest railhead at Malmesbury. This arrangement prevents Spoornet having to build a rail link to the quarries.
Once the stone has been loaded onto B-type wagons at the rail point, Spoornet will complete the transportation of the aggregate to PPC, the materials handling agent for Saldanha Steel Plant. Spoornet has ring-fenced this operation by providing dedicated rail wagons to improve efficiencies and turnaround time.
Under the terms of the five-year contract Moutons Transport has implemented an owner/driver scheme which is aimed at uplifting previously disadvantaged persons. An environmental impact study of the whole project has also been successfully conducted.
By Terry Hutson.
