President Cyril Ramaphosa says regulatory reforms are being introduced to reduce approval times for infrastructure public-private partnerships (PPPs) below R2 billion to accelerate project delivery across sectors, including electricity.
Addressing the fourth Sustainable Infrastructure Development Symposium South Africa in Cape Town this week, Ramaphosa said government is working to shift from planning to execution.
“Some of the reforms we are focusing on will make it easier for public-private partnerships under the value of R2 billion to gain approval. This will significantly reduce the procedural complexity of implementing public-private projects,” he said.
The symposium follows the release of the second edition of the Construction Book listing more than 250 fully funded infrastructure projects with a combined value exceeding R238 billion. According to Infrastructure South Africa, the Construction Book includes projects that are procurement-ready and financially secured, including electricity generation, transmission and distribution initiatives.
The president reiterated that government will not be able to fund the infrastructure drive alone and will continue mobilising domestic and international capital to reach the R1 trillion target set by National Treasury. “This requires that our projects have the credibility that is necessary for stakeholders to invest in our projects,” Ramaphosa said.
“Infrastructure serves as the backbone of economic growth and social progress. Projects create jobs not only in construction and maintenance but in a number of related industries as well.”
