Gibela Rail Transport Consortium said on Tuesday that it has restarted construction work at the R1bn train manufacturing facility at Dunnottar in Ekurhuleni, after a week of community unrest came to an end. Residents of Duduza in Ekurhuleni had protested over jobs since the middle of February. The company said the protests appeared to have been fuelled by misinformation over hiring practices. Residents blocked roads and burnt tyres last week, halting construction of the facility due to safety concerns. The Gibela consortium — whose majority shareholder is Alstom — has a contract with the Passenger Rail Authority of SA (Prasa) to build 600 commuter trains. The contract runs until 2023. Gibela said in a statement that meetings with the community, led by Doctor Xhakaza, the member of the mayoral committee for finance and economic development, had helped to clarify recruitment processes and skills development within the project. Gibela CEO Marc Granger said the primary focus in the shor...
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