With the current world economic crisis, output for engineering work is relatively low. The scarcity of projects in the engineering sector, in general and the transportation engineering field, in particular, has created enormous competition in the industry, says GIBB’s Traffic and Transportation Sector Technical Executive, Kollan Pillay.

However, government’s current focus on public transportation is anticipated to drive demand for GIBB’s Traffic and Transportation Sector Services going forward. “There are also 17 strategic integrated projects (SIP) – some of which are related to traffic and transportation. In addition, there is a National Transport Master Plan, in which rail is identified as a critical mode of transportation for goods and passengers. All of this bodes well for our sector,” says Pillay.

Pillay is of the view that municipalities hold the key to unlocking more engineering projects. “In addition to the SIPs, municipalities can also generate engineering projects if they plan projects and budgets in advance. From the roads perspective, for instance, municipalities could plan and motivate for the upgrading or maintenance of their roads, upgrading of road signs and paint markings, as well as upgrading of traffic signals. Such initiatives would not only create work in the industry but would also address road safety.”

He adds, “A lot can be achieved if proper project and budget planning as well as aggressive implementation programmes are put in place.”

Some of the services offered by GIBB’s Traffic and Transportation Sector include strategic transport planning, public transport operations design, infrastructure design, transport economics, freight logistics, and construction monitoring. “These are some of the areas in which our strengths as a transportation engineering team lie,” says Pillay.

Projects in progress

Some of the projects that GIBB’s Traffic and Transportation Sector planning team is involved in, include the Gauteng 25-Year Integrated Transport Master Plan, which is scheduled for completion in 2013. “We have also conducted planning, design and construction monitoring work for the City of Johannesburg’s Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) on Pat Mbatha and Soweto Highway, planning and design for the City of Tshwane’s BRT system, strategic planning for the Gauteng Freight Transport Implementation Plan, and various other strategic projects,” concludes Pillay.