SPOORNET IS planning to spread its wings worldwide. The acquisition of a 20% share of Brazilian-owned transport consortium Interferrea, announced this week, is seen as the kickstart to major international ventures.
Sub-Saharan Africa is well to the fore in their schedules, while exploratory trips have been made to Asian destinations where further ventures are a possibility.
Spoornet executive director Mafika Mkhwanazi revealed this when announcing the Brazilian deal for an undisclosed sum. He said Interferrea now controls the Malha Centro-Leste and Malha Sul rail networks totalling 14 200km in Brazil, and that Spoornet had been offered a 20% share in the consortium.
As a result Spoornet had set up a company named Spoornet Brazil with initial capital of $10m (R44m) in voting shares and a further $20m (R88m) in preferential shares represented by assets such as locomotives.
Spoornet Brazil would aim to hold equity positions in Brazilian companies to exploit operations in railways. It would renovate some excess rolling stock, export it to Brazil and lease it to the network's operating company.
Dealing with ventures into Sub-Saharah Africa, Mkhwanazi said Spoornet was hoping to bid for the upgrading of three railway lines as well as the port in Maputo. Preliminary talks have been held with a Swedish concern on a joint rail operation in Zambia as well as with Uganda on a possible feasibility study on operating a line between Uganda and Tanzania.
Caution is being observed at this stage on ventures into the Far East as Spoornet was handling government assets he said, but trips had been taken in this respect to Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines, while other countries under the microscope include Argentina, Chile, China and Pakistan.
BY LEONARD NEILL
