JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s government and state-owned logistics group Transnet are looking at new ways to attract private investment in the country’s ailing freight rail network, the Transport Minister said on Sunday.
Transnet has struggled to provide adequate freight rail and port services because of equipment shortages and maintenance backlogs after years of under-investment, with rampant cable theft and vandalism also damaging the network.
“The limited availability of state resources to fund infrastructure development and address backlogs has intensified these challenges, severely restricting the ability of state-owned entities to fulfil their critical mandates,” Transport Minister Barbara Creecy said in a televised speech, adding that an online request for information (RFI) to private sector investors has been launched.
The RFI focuses on, amongst others, the Northern-Cape to Saldanha Bulk Minerals Corridor primarily for iron ore and manganese exports, and the Northern-Cape to Nelson Mandela Bay Corridor, primarily for manganese exports, she said.
The focus will also be the Limpopo and Mpumalanga to Richards Bay Bulk Minerals Corridor project for coal and chrome exports, including provision for magnetite exports in port.
“Together with Transnet, Government has received numerous unsolicited proposals from the private sector offering investment, skills, and expertise to support the rehabilitation and reform of our struggling rail and port systems,” Creecy said.
After the request for information process, the government and Transnet will issue requests for proposals in August, she added
(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla, Editing by Louise Heavens)
