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Harare mulls aerial commuting

28 Sep, 2018 - 00:09 0 Views

eBusiness Weekly

Enacy Mapakame
According to the Transport Research Centre, traffic congestion is a physical phenomenon relating to the manner in which vehicles impede each other’s progression as demand for limited road space approaches full capacity.

It involves queuing,  slower  speeds  and  increased  travel  times,  which  impose  costs  on the  economy  and  generate  multiple  impacts  on  urban  areas and  their  inhabitants with a range of  indirect  impacts  including  safety risk even on  non-vehicular road-spaces like sidewalks.

The phenomena is rampant in both the First World and developing countries. In countries or locations where populations and city economies are growing it is likely to continue to increase. Zimbabwe is not spared from this especially in the capital Harare’s central business district (CBD).

The challenge is a nightmare to commuters during rush hour and worse still during the rainy season.

Gladly, there is a solution on the way, cable car service, an area that the region as a whole has potential to leapfrog.

Imagine being able to get transport after every 30 seconds, using a mode of transport without traffic jam, delays from traffic lights or pollution as well as sailing above other traffic while enjoying an aerial view the city.

Kuva City Air, is an aerial state-of-the-art cable car that will transform commuting in Harare by tackling traffic congestion, especially in and around the CBD.

The $28 million investment seeks to provide fast and reliable transportation in and outside the Harare CBD bringing back the efficiency that has been eroded by volumes of traffic to and from the CBD.

The project should take at least a year and a half to complete and will connect commuters from the Harare Exhibition Park (Showgrounds) and Simon Muzenda Street (former Fourth street) via the city centre.

Chief executive officer, James Saruchera said this came after three years of ground work and stakeholder engagements, followed by a comprehensive feasibility study to establish economic and technical feasibility.

On completion, the Kuva City Air should have capacity to move 20 to 30 million passengers a year.

“Sometimes when you are behind, it is an opportunity to leapfrog technologically,” Saruchera told Business Weekly by email.

Exploring underground rail in an already built-up city and expansion of road network system may be costly coupled with the maintenance costs involved in the long run such as tackling potholes.

“This leaves one layer of transport that has no potholes, no pollution and no congestion, the air.   This is Kuva City Air.  A state of the art aerial cable car that will connect key points in the CBD with capacity to move 20-30 million passengers a year.

Kuva City Air will be built in collaboration with Doppelmayr AG an Austrian Swiss global sustainable transport leader with a 100-year history in the business.

Saruchera said, the company will ride on technical expertise garnered from its partners as well as its staff in some of the world’s most developed cities — London, New York, Colombo, Kharkhiv, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Christchurch and Bogota.

“Today, following decades of study into sustainable transportation best practice, cable cars have been implemented in urban areas to transport commuters in a number of countries including Brazil, Columbia and Bolivia  as a smart, safe, environmentally friendly and cost effective means to transport commuters with minimal disruption to existing infrastructure.

“The feasibility study looked at how the cable car can complement other modes of transport, helping to feed passengers and support the City of Harare’s transport master plan,” said Saruchera.

In neighbouring South Africa, tourists use cable cars to get to the Table Mountain top where they can also have a better view of Cape Town City. It takes only five minutes or less to the mountain summit. It is also listed as one of the major tourist activities in Cape Town.

But for Zimbabwe, cable car service will be for everyone, public transport to and from the CBD, becoming one of the few African countries using the service.

In Kenya, the country indicated plans to start work on its cable car service valued at $57 million that will connect the Mombasa Island and the South Coast. The project is expected to begin any time from now with all regulatory approvals already in place.

In some countries aerial cable car service is for tourism purposes while others use it to tackle traffic congestion in cities. In Nigeria, cable cars in Obudu Mountain Resort were developed for tourism purposes.

In Lagos, its proposed first commercial cable car transportation system is yet to take-off but indications are that the developers are closing in on financials for construction work, which should commence before year-end. In other areas cable cars are the only mode of transport that can be used especially in mountains and rain forests. Uganda is also considering building one.

Studies show that cable car service is environmentally friendly, quick to build- an estimated two years or less and both capital investment and operational costs relatively low.

A study by the European Institute for Sustainable Transport (EURIST) also notes that cable car service should be affordable and Kuva City Air is targeting a journey price of 50 cents.

The EURIST also notes that there should be a short implementation time and that there should be a low construction cost. At $28 million, Kuva City Air’s project fares well against other transport systems where the cost is hundreds of millions of dollars.

An independent feasibility study conducted by CCS, one of the world’s leading cable car consultancies determined that the service will be viable both technically and economically.

Saruchera said, his project will not only bring convenience to commuters but will also bring in revenue to Government. The company will use its digital payment platform “Kuvacash” which uses advanced technology and digital currency to ensure secure storage of value, protection against inflation, currency volatility and enables payments at low cost.

The iconic project is expected to enhance city tourism in Harare.

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