Transportation

Transportation is integral to trade and socio-economic growth in Africa. Despite recent advances, only about one-tenth of trade is intra-regional. Improving the region’s cross-border transportation network to move goods, people and services more effectively is imperative for creating future prosperity. The value of this life-giving artery in industry, commerce, and societal well-being affirms the need for viable and reliable transportation and the importance of superior design for new developments and the continuous maintenance and refurbishment of existing systems and infrastructure.

At Bigen, our transportation footprint runs deep in countries across Africa where we have delivered transportation solutions successfully for more than 30 years. We combine our embedded expertise and a keen understanding of Africa’s transportation challenges in multidisciplinary teams that are expertly equipped to service a wide range of public and private sector clients. Our specialists develop new ports, terminals, roads, and railways and create innovative, cost-effective, and sustainable solutions for the upgrading, rehabilitation, and refurbishment of existing infrastructure. Wherever we work, our transportation services contribute significantly to social and economic development impact. We have pioneered emerging contractor development in road construction and maintenance and developed in-house procurement strategies for contractors to maximise small business development and localisation.

Bigen’s transportation markets include general freight and heavy haul shippers; passenger, light, and metro rail asset owners; medium speed rail: passenger and freight asset owners; depots, rail sidings, and loops infrastructure owners; intermodal solution operators and asset owners; and mining and minerals materials handling operators.

The difference

Our transportation services, delivered by Africans for Africans, are designed as relevant, integrated, and sustainable rail, terminals, and bulk materials handling solutions. Our differentiation lies in our proven ability to optimise benefit for our clients by applying our deep understanding of logistics and transportation systems and to develop long-term client relationships based on trust, respect, and a shared interest in value creation. Our best-practice and quality-assured project management processes deliver project outcomes safely, on time, within budget, and with a sustainable impact for our clients and the communities we operate in.

Recognised as a market leader in the transportation space, we appreciate that our clients need to go beyond mere service delivery and have fused our in-depth experience and knowledge of transportation solutions with a bespoke development impact and advisory service offering to maximise the effects such as job creation, SMME empowerment, skills training, and development. We furthermore realise that in this intensely competitive era of transportation infrastructure development, private and public enterprises alike need to partner with experienced and reliable service providers such as Bigen Transportation, who can offer synergistic benefits, joint value creation, and practical solutions.

Our Services

Bigen transportation services for rail, road, wet and dry ports, and terminals include:

  • Feasibility Studies
  • Detail Design
  • Construction Management: Our offering includes design development, development funding, structuring and arranging, project preparation, execution, and implementation.
  • Operational Readiness: Bigen meets customer requirements and budgets while ensuring that ports and terminals enjoy long term viability
  • Operational Performance
  • Logistics Optimisation
  • Siding and terminal management services
  • Port and terminal safety assessment, RSR applications, and safety system implementation
  • Terminal, siding, and rail upgrade projects

Our siding and terminal management services include:

  • Rail monitoring and train arrivals notifications for bulk materials export
  • Rail siding safety monitoring and Rail Safety Regulator(RSR) compliance management
  • Train allocation and demand balancing for new service-design requests from various mines
  • Cargo tracking, delays analysis, and future delay mitigation from mine gate to the siding
  • Stockpile level monitoring through integration with weighbridge technologies (including conducting routine forecast of stockpile shortages)
  • Identification and mitigation of logistics bottlenecks
  • Mine liaison and road transportation planning 
  • Tallying and load volume information services
  • Daily/Monthly Reporting of coal handling statistics (including record and maintain opening and closing stockpile volume data)
  • Administering, capturing, registering of the received stockpile tonnages by road and reporting such information

Terminal Engineering, Capacity Expansion, and Construction Management Services 

Our siding and terminal engineering services include:

  • Terminal expansion general arrangement design
  • Simulation, layout, and movement optimisation
  • Terminal safe operating procedure design
  • Terminal approvals with TFR
  • Terminal detail engineering design
  • Terminal expansion bill of quantities and specifications development
  • Development of design and construct and supply and install procurement packages
  • Review of RFI’s and RFP’s for construction packages
  • Appointment of construction contractors
  • Construction management
  • New siding permit applications with the Rail Safety Regulator

Rail Engineering, Capacity Expansion, and Construction Management Services

  • Project definition, preparation, and management
  • Technical and Commercial Feasibility studies of rail and bulk materials handling facilities 
  • Railway track work condition assessment, design, upgrade, and construction planning 
  • Maintenance and rehabilitation planning of port, terminal, and rail infrastructure
  • Design of Dry Ports, Intermodal Hubs, and associated 
  • infrastructure 
  • Rail and road bridges, access structures, and stormwater systems design
  • Contract monitoring, risk management, and construction management, and administration of large scale rail projects
  • Transportation planning, feasibility studies, and advisory services
  • Logistics optimisation and operational readiness
  • Transport Simulation and traffic studies for rail logistics improvement
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Our experts in Transportation

Henk Bester

MD: Transport