Top three construction trends for 2025

Key shifts within the infrastructure development landscape mean positive tailwinds for South Africa’s construction industry, with more than a quarter billion rand planned for public infrastructure projects in 2025 alone.

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According to Roelof van den Berg, CEO of the Gap Infrastructure Corporation (GIC), the positive outlook for South Africa’s construction industry is driven by R322.2 billion planned for public infrastructure projects this year. This growth is underpinned by technological advancements and evolving market dynamics that are fostering important innovations. Additionally, new streamlined regulations for public-private partnerships (PPP) are reducing project approval times, while the government’s renewed focus on transforming South Africa into a “construction site” further accelerates the industry's expansion.

“These changes mark the start of what the late and former Finance Minister Tito Mboweni is said to have called the ‘infrastructure years’ – a period that could reshape the country’s built environment more dramatically than at any other time in the past decade,” he says.

“The benefit of this for communities could be exponential. Not only does it mean expanded service delivery, but the construction industry, as a major employer and economic contributor, will also thrive. A rapid influx of new projects supported and driven by public-private partnerships could act as the lever needed to accelerate economic growth.”

Looking to the year ahead, Van den Berg points to three trends likely to shape and influence the industry:

Increased government investment and regulatory changes

Building on the reported 82 strategic integrated projects (SIPs) valued at R437 billion currently under construction, the industry anticipates substantial increases in public infrastructure spending, with significant implications for job creation and socioeconomic development.