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Cape Town - South Africa's ageing rail, road and maritime
infrastructure requires massive investment for the country to successfully
compete in international markets, Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele said on
Monday.
Speaking in Cape Town at the opening of an international
investors' conference, he told delegates his department had identified 11
"key strategic" investment areas, with a total estimated capital cost
of almost R200bn.
"We understand that the country's fiscus cannot be in a
position to fund the entire needs of the transport sector.
"It is important to find a new impetus in investments
into our sector in order to completely modernise our transport system so that
our economy is able to be internationally competitive.
"In order to address this challenge, it is necessary to attract new investments into our sector," Ndebele said.
The 11 investment areas focus mainly on rail and road
infrastructure, including plans by the Passenger Rail Agency of SA to acquire
new commuter coaches at an estimated capital cost of R86bn.
More toll roads in pipeline
The list also includes five projects by the SA National
Roads Agency - including work on various national route toll roads and the
upgrading of other roads around the country - at a total cost of about R85bn.
Ndebele said historical underinvestment, coupled with poor
maintenance, outdated systems and a lack of integration, had impacted
negatively on the country's transport network.
He said the conference, hosted by his department, was aimed
at showcasing various transport projects.
"Of critical importance is that these projects will
attract potential investors that will play a key role alongside government.
"This conference must ultimately become a platform for
investors to come into the transport space in South Africa," he said.
About 700 investors and delegates are attending the
conference, being held over two days in the Mother City.
Speaking at the event, Public Enterprises Minister Malusi
Gigaba said new ways had to be found "if South Africa is to achieve the
levels of investment in infrastructure we hope to achieve".
He said partnerships between state-owned enterprises and the
private sector were essential to unlock the level of investment required.
"It is therefore important that we engage with you in
forums such as these in order to explore possibilities to unlock the balance
sheets, in particular, of the mining, financial and industrial sectors."
Gigaba said it needed to be made clear that whatever
investment partnerships were entered into between government and the private
sector, "state control of strategic assets must be maintained".
He said state-owned enterprises needed to carefully examine
any proposals would-be suppliers placed before them "so that we are able
to decide whether here we are being taken for a ride, and check which are going
to be beneficial for our country".
"The fact of the matter is we need to be clear what we want; we need to have long-term planning; and we need to play hardball, because ultimately this is our money," he said.
According to a department of transport magazine handed to
delegates at the conference, demand for road and rail transport in South Africa
"far outstrips the capacity of government to fund these needs".
It says the major transport challenge facing the country is that the bulk of its rail infrastructure had reached the end of its economic life.
"Continuing with a refurbishment programme alone has
become counter-productive," it states.
