President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Tuesday that SA needs an additional R1.6 trillion in public sector infrastructure investment and a further R3.2 trillion from the private sector by 2030 to achieve the country’s infrastructure goals.
Ramaphosa made these remarks at the Sustainable Infrastructure Development Symposium, South Africa (SIDSSA) 2024 event in Cape Town.
“Infrastructure is an enormous economic multiplier, providing dividends for an economy long after the infrastructure has been built. This Symposium is an important part of our effort to close the infrastructure spending gap in our country,” Ramaphosa said.
The president said that a number of initiatives are being implemented to deliver infrastructure at the required scale and pace.
“We are working on reforms to develop sustainable infrastructure, lift business confidence and encourage investment. These reforms include the amendment of the Division of Revenue Act to enable provincial governments to use their infrastructure grants and budget allocations to crowd-in private sector finance for large social infrastructure programmes,” Ramaphosa said.
“These programmes focus specifically on health and education. Among other things, this would enable government to diversify infrastructure financing through innovative solutions.”
The Public Private Partnership regulations
The president said that amendments to the Public Private Partnership regulations have recently been published for public comment.
The Infrastructure Fund has seen steady growth, and through this work, the infrastructure landscape has been transformed, the total value of the country’s Strategic Integrated Projects has grown from R340 billion in July 2020 to R540 billion, according to Ramaphosa.
“Eighteen projects, valued at around R10 billion, have been completed, covering human settlements, roads, water and sanitation. The value of projects currently in construction is over R230 billion. Projects worth nearly R170 billion are currently in procurement.
“In this calendar year, 11 such projects, with a total investment value of R45 billion, are expected to reach financial close. One of the areas that we have focused on is the unblocking of multiple government authorisations, permits, licences and exemptions,” he added.
The president added that to date, Infrastructure South Africa has unblocked a total of R25 billion worth of projects in the renewable energy space using the Infrastructure Development Act to fast-track government authorisations.
The energy portfolio
Ramaphosa said that the energy portfolio has the biggest project pipeline, covering transmission, gas, renewables and green hydrogen.
“The project pipeline comprises more than 100 projects amounting to R240 billion. South Africa is positioning itself to be a leader in green hydrogen, working towards a sustainable future driven by innovation,” he noted.
“The green hydrogen programme, estimated at R300 billion and comprised of 14 projects, is an important part of the country’s Just Transition”.
Ramaphosa also said that water infrastructure projects are under construction in several parts of the country. These major projects aim to help expand the capacity of SA’s dams and bulk water infrastructure.
IOL BUSINESS