'Who will pay for intermodal connections?'

I understand that notices were published for about a week about partnership in Coega, but it definitely did not appear to be an open bidding process as one would expect. Does the Government really get the best deal by not making the process as transparent as it might have been? The shipping industry in general was pretty much taken by surprise at the news that P&O Nedlloyd was the preferred bidder. Had the bidding process been more open there is no doubt we as a group would have looked at the Coega container terminal in greater detail than we have so far. I am obviously not privy to P&O's figures (on Coega) but assuming those are correct I still think the present South African ports such as Durban and Port Elizabeth have development potential in terms of both efficiency and expansion. With regard to Coega, if one looks at the major trade routes I am not so sure they will in the long-term future necessarily pass by the Cape. The well-entrenched Asia-Europe route via the Suez Canal may be expensive but it does save time, and vessel-time and turnaround is really what counts. Secondly, South Africa is mainly a hub for ports in East- and West Africa and South America, linking those up with Asia. The question is therefore whether cargo flows via Coega will be anywhere comparable even 30 years from now with what we see in the Trans-Pacific and Asia-Europe trades. Even if the P&O Nedlloyd contract were signed - and I understand it's not - there is still no anchor tenant and nor do adequate intermodal connections exist. There may be a road network from Coega via Port Elizabeth to Gauteng, but I understand there is no rail line connecting Coega to Port Elizabeth at this point nor a line from Coega to Gauteng. That infrastructure would have to be improved and I am not sure who would want to pay for the cost. P&O Nedlloyd surely would look to the Government for that and the Government would look to business so the question to be answered is: who is going to provide the infrastructure, at what cost and who is going to pay for it? Eventually it will be the customers who will be called on to pay and another question then arises: will they be prepared to do so and what will it do to the cost of the landed goods or ex-works product that South Africa tries to export? I do see the point Government is making by trying to develop economic activity in the Eastern Cape which badly needs it, but I wonder whether there are not more pressing short-term priorities - skills development and employment equity for example - than spending the money on Coega in the medium term?