SA continues to underspend on infrastructure despite setting itself a target of at least 30% of GDP by 2030, resulting in the country lagging other faster-growing economies when it comes to infrastructure spend.
The consequence of this underspend is being felt in the economy with inadequate investment in critical infrastructure such as energy, rail, road and ports.
Chris Campbell, CEO of Consulting Engineers South Africa (Cesa), says the publication of Infrastructure SA’s book of projects is an encouraging sign that government plans to ramp up infrastructure delivery.
The problem, he says, is that though many of the projects included in Infrastructure SA’s Construction Book look encouraging, if history is any indication, very few of them will materialise.
While government tends to falter when it comes to implementation, that’s where the private sector excels, says Campbell, which is why public-private partnerships need to be facilitated.
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