South Africa is key to Bombardier’s Afria growth vision

Bombardier Transportation South Africa intends to participate closely in connecting sub-Saharan Africa with rail links and infrastructure, according to chief country representative Aubrey Lekwane, working from a firm base it is establishing in South Africa. The company, which manufactures planes, trains and everything related to these, has established itself firmly in South Africa, from where it intends to springboard into the rest of the continent. However, sub-Saharan Africa is big, and Bombardier envisions having hubs in two more locations when the time is ripe. “We will need to service, in my opinion, the eastern seaboard of Africa from a place like Kenya, while in West Africa we would have to have another base, perhaps in Nigeria. We are looking at a number of opportunities,” Lekwane said. However, South Africa remains pivotal to the company’s Africa strategy. CAPTION Aubrey Lekwane, Bombardier Transportation South Africa’s chief country representative; UK Secretary of State Dr Vince Cable; and British High Commissioner to South Africa, Dame Nicola Brewer, in front of a Bombardier Electrostar rail vehicle at the Gautrain depot in Midrand, Johannesburg. As part of his first visit to South Africa, Cable was invited by Bombardier Transportation South Africa to tour the Gautrain Rapid Rail depot in Midrand.