Twelve major infrastructure projects have been launched with the aim of driving public and private sector-led development in South Africa.
The projects span transport, storage and communication; electricity, gas and water; community, social and personal services; mining and quarrying; and agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors, and fall under South Africa’s 2024/2025 infrastructure pipeline.
The launch of the projects – which will receive support from Infrastructure South Africa – was announced during the Sustainable Infrastructure Development Symposium South Africa (SIDSSA) 2024 in Cape Town on March 19.
“We will be able to enhance an integrated planning and proper procurement process important for infrastructure development in South Africa.”
President Ramaphosa
The 12 infrastructure priorities for project preparation include:
- LNG Import Terminal; KwaZulu-Natal
- Durban Container Terminal Pier 1; KwaZulu-Natal
- Berth A100 for Liquid Bulk; Eastern Cape
- Ukuvuselela; National
- Refurbishment of Health Facilities; National
- Schools Project; National and KwaZulu-Natal
- Eskom Mossel Bay Gas; Western Cape
- Eskom Tubatse Pumped Hydro Storage; Limpopo
- Rooiwal Phase 2 Waste Water; Gauteng
- Amathole Water Bulk Supply Augmentation; Eastern Cape
- Nkhomazi SEZ; Mpumalanga
- Namakwa SEZ; Northern Cape
First LNG import terminal
Representing a total investment value of R2.1 billion, the country’s first LNG import terminal at Richards Bay aims to import between 1 and 5 million tons of LNG per annum. The long-term concession for the project was awarded by the government to terminal operator Vopak last January.
The terminal is expected to generate around 4,500 jobs and R914 million of additional income to local households.
A capacity expansion initiative at the Durban Container Terminal Pier 1 will see the terminal’s capacity expand to 3.6 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) through the construction of 7 additional deep-water berths and storage space.
Meanwhile, a new berth (A100) for liquid bulk will be constructed to handle imported LNG at the Port of East London. Serving as the main liquid fuels supply hub of the Nelson Mandela Bay and surrounding areas, the project represents a R2.2 billion investment.
Project Ukuvuzelela is a transnational, high-capacity rail corridor for automotive volumes. The project involves upgrading the rail line from the provinces of Gauteng to the Eastern Cape and will serve to take pressure off the KwaZulu-Natal corridor and the Port of Durban as the sole port for imports and exports in the area.
The overarching target is to have bi-directional rail transportation of a minimum of 150,000 Fully Built Units per year by 2026.
In the community, social and personal services sector, the South African government will launch an infrastructure strategy aimed at refurbishing 104 health facilities throughout South Africa, valued at R16 billion.
Meanwhile, the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure has laid out plans to improve school building and education-related infrastructure in South Africa, charting a way towards increasing access to the internet and libraries for schoolchildren across the country.
In a bid to combat South Africa’s ongoing energy crisis, the country’s state-owned oil company, PetroSA, announced plans in March 2023 to build a network of gas-fired power plants in Mossel Bay.
Furthermore, the country’s parastatal electricity utility Eskom’s proposal to build a Tubatse Pumped Hydro Storage project with a generation capacity of 1.5 GW received the green light from the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy in 2022.
Phase 2 of the Rooiwal Waste Water Treatment Works will involve upgrading the plant’s treatment capacity by 80 million liters per day of wastewater, coupled with the desilting of sludge at the Leeukraal dam, which will enable the facility to function more efficiently while producing drinking water that meets national standards.
Meanwhile, the proposed Amathole Water Bulk Supply Augmentation Program targets the improvement of water resource availability and is set to gazette progress on the municipalities’ water scheme project and infrastructure upgrades.
Finally, multi-billion-dollar Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in the municipalities of Nkomazi and Namakwa are expected to significantly stimulate economic activity, industrial development, trade and job creation in the Mpumalanga and Northern Cape provinces, respectively.
The Nkomazi SEZ aims to stimulate primary agricultural production and agro-processing, while the Namakwa SEZ seeks to drive economic growth and job creation in one of South Africa’s most mineral-rich areas.
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