South Africa Ready To Unleash Infrastructure Boom

My message is simple, Dean Macpherson, South Africas newly-appointed minister of public works and infrastructure, Tweeted shortly after his appointment to the cabinet in July. I want to turn our country into a massive construction site that drives growth which creates jobs. We want to see building cranes in every town and city.

While Macphersons enthusiasm for a nation resembling an enormous Lego set might not be to everyones tastes, there is little doubt that South Africa is poised to indulge the ministers construction fetish.

From transport and logistics to ICT and water, the country has for decades put up with infrastructure that fails to match the aspirations and often the basic needs of its people.

While great strides were initially made in the post-apartheid era in addressing racial imbalances via ambitious construction projects, progress has slowed in recent years as economic growth stalled and political crises chipped away at the delivery record of successive ANC administrations.

The gross value added of the construction sector declined from R150bn 8.5bn in 2017 to just over R110bn 6.2bn in 2023, due to what government agency Infrastructure South Africa said was external shocks as well as internal challenges in the country including policy uncertainties, governance challenges and structural challenges within the industry. The construction industry, worth 4 of GDP in 2016, was worth just 2.6 in 2023.