The South African Government has set aside R3.8 billion for public transport infrastructure for the 2010 Soccer World Cup, said Transport Minister Jeff Radebe.

"The eyes of the world are on us as we accelerate our preparations for the 2010 Fifa World Cup," said Mr Radebe, addressing the Transport Indaba in Soweto today.

He said a 2010 Transport Action Agenda had already been developed and the World Cup Public Transport Infrastructure and Systems Fund had allocated the first round of funding to municipalities.

"The success of this event is dependent mainly on our ability to provide world-class infrastructure and systems that will be enjoyed by all South Africans well beyond 2010," he said.

However, he added that an additional R 5 billion expenditure per annum was required to address current decline in service levels and to implement their strategy over the next 10-15 years.

"Our transport plan will ensure efficient and safe transportation for all visitors but most importantly it will ensure sufficient air, road and rail transport operators and infrastructure to accommodate the event," he said.

In addition the department is currently engaged in detailing the World Cup development programme and some of the key thrusts of the programme include calling for project proposals from host municipalities in order to allocate funds for 2007/08 onwards.

The programme will also oversee the overall programme management and interdepartmental coordination on World Cup development and allow structured communication and coordination with all stakeholders in transport sector to ensure overall coordination for transport readiness and delivering a legacy of improvement.

The department has already started implementing some of the transport projects.

The R 241 million has already been allocated to the host municipalities and a further R 700 million will be allocated during the current financial year.

"The success of our initiatives depends solely on your fully support. We must do more to embed this at the heart of our discussions," he told delegates.

This transport indaba is expected to consolidate these initiatives and take forward decisively a successful Public Transport Plan which truly complements the country's economy.

Minister Radebe said the department's public transport strategy would enable the achievement of a sustainable mass rapid public transport system.

"We are going to ensure the promotion of a growing public transport sector that is able to meet the needs of current and new users and is able to deliver functioning intermodal systems.

"It is our firm belief that the emphasis needs to be placed on transforming the semi-formal operators into an integrated system that is planned and well managed by the public sector while being operated by the existing private operators," he said.

The department's strategic aim is to work with the existing operators and existing road and rail infrastructure, in order to reorganise and upgrade operations into a high quality integrated network.

This will allow existing operators and their workforce to have a guaranteed stake in a new mass rapid transit network and will ensure improved revenues for operators and service delivery for users and government, said the minister. - BuaNews