Call for private sector investment in transport infrastructure

TRANSPORT Minister Barbara Creecy has said the limited availability of state resources to fund infrastructure development made private sector investment critical.

- MAYIBONGWE MAQHINA

Delivering her budget speech in the National Assembly this week, Creecy said the department had concluded a Request for Information process to guide private sector investment in five priority rail and port corridors.

“Transnet will issue Requests for Proposals from the end of August 2025, and so begin the formal procurement process,’ she said.

Creecy also said they have to enhance the involvement of additional operators as a way of extending freight logistics capabilities of the country and region, beyond what the public sector alone would have been able to accomplish.

“It is important to point out that as an economy, we need freight logistics operators that can compete, but that can also complement each other when the need arises, for the benefit of our country and region”

The minister explained that the Cabinet approved a Private Sector Participation (PSP) framework in 2023 to guide private sector involvement across the logistics sector value chain.