Durban is once again set to establish another pioneering first for Africa - by building a multimillion-rand transportation system, a safe and efficient "people mover" that promises to give the city's tourist image a welcome boost.
The city's latest flagship project will follow the success enjoyed by other council initiatives such as uShaka Marine World and the Durban International Convention Centre (ICC).
The announcement about building a people mover to link Durban tourist attractions, made at the city's executive committee meeting last week, has brought renewed hope that the long-awaited project is not just more "pie in the sky".
The idea of a people mover has received overwhelming support from all political parties represented on the council and hotels on the beachfront have promised to subsidise the
facility.
The council is also considering inviting the private sector to become part of the project.
Initial estimates suggested that the total cost of the project would be about R220-million and Suncoast Casino has already pledged R70-million towards its construction.
The city recently announced the introduction of 50 buses to operate as an Interim People Mover (IPM) for Durban.
The IPM will operate for three years while the city's eThekwini Transport Authority investigates the financial feasibility of the permanent people mover.
While the city is still applying its mind to the form the final people mover would take, most councillors support the concept of a monorail train.
During a detailed presentation to Exco yesterday, City Manager Mike Sutcliffe said the results of a local survey had shown that 51 percent of people interviewed preferred a monorail system, while nine percent were calling for a "road train".
He said different modes of people movers, such as coaches, monorails, trams and road trains had been successfully implemented in other parts of the world.
A monorail, Sutcliffe said, would be a major tourist attraction, with a good safety record, and would not compete for space. But he said one of the major disadvantages of this system was that it had a fixed route with high financial and investment risks.
A road train, another option the city is considering, had a flexible route with low infrastructure requirements. The disadvantage of the road train is its high exhaust emissions and its effect on traffic congestion.
Sutcliffe said 958 000 people a year, including residents and domestic and international tourists, were expected to use the people mover by 2008.
"International ratios indicate that the number could double to two million passengers per annum," he said.
Out of 860 hotel guests that were interviewed, 62 percent said they "would ride a must-see leisure transportation system".
But Sutcliffe did warn the committee that the monorail would have serious cost implications. The latest monorail constructed in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia had cost about R250-million a kilometre of track, while the cheapest recent construction was in England - at R28-million a kilometre.
For Durban it was estimated that the monorail would cost R23-million a kilometre of track, he said.
Sutcliffe argued that a suitable model which would include other modes of transportation should be investigated.
Mayor Obed Mlaba said any transportation system of international standard would put the city in a good stead to host high-profile World Cup matches in 2010.
"While the system is expected to start operating along the beachfront, we need to look beyond these borders to places like Umhlanga and uMgababa for the benefit of foreign tourists," said Mlaba.
Mlaba also pointed out that a monorail would give Durban an opportunity to start offering services that catered for affluent people.