Cape Town – The collapse of seven pylons on the N4 in Pretoria reportedly resulted in the shutdown of a Ford plant, causing a daily output loss of 720 vehicles, a report said.
Parts of Pretoria were left in the dark after power lines connecting the Njala substation to Waltloo collapsed on the N4 highway on Sunday night.
According to News24, the collapse shut down the Ford plant, causing an output loss of 720 vehicles a day.
The report said that the plant will still be without power on Wednesday and it remained unclear when power would be restored.
President of Ford Motor Company Africa said the loss of power is a “big blow” to the company which recently invested almost R16 billion in the plant to ramp up production to 200 000 units a year.
The plant is one of only three around the world to produce the next-generation Ford Ranger, and it also manufactures the Amarok model under contract for Volkswagen, the report said.
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According to City of Tshwane Mayor Cilliers Brink, at least three of the fallen pylons had been vandalised, or there was an attempt to strip metal off them, reported EWN.
“It would seem as a preliminary indication that as one or two or three of them collapsed and the momentum created by that led to the collapse of other pylons which of course obstructed the N4 as well as Solomon Mahlangu,” the report quoted Brink as saying.
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Compiled by Olwethu Mpeshe
