South Africa has propelled efforts to promote private sector participation (PSP) in its flagging port, rail, and logistics infrastructure with an online request for information (RFI).
Launched yesterday and accepting submissions from today, the RFI will help “develop an enabling environment” for private sector investment.
“As you are all aware, South Africa’s rail and port infrastructure faces substantial challenges , including declining performance, theft, and vandalism, under-investment, and operational inefficiencies. All of these hinder trade and economic growth,” said transport minister Barbara Creecy.
South Africa’s rail and port infrastructure are run by state-owned Transnet, which has limited resources to fund infrastructure development and address backlogs, which Ms Creecy said had “intensified the challenges, severely restricting the ability of state-owned entities to fulfil their critical mandates”.
She added that, together with Transnet, the government had received “numerous unsolicited proposals from the private sector” offering investment and consultancy to rehabilitate and reform South Africa’s “struggling rail and port systems”.
“This overwhelming interest has made it clear that the DoT and Transnet must engage in broad and inclusive market engagement before issuing requests for proposals (RFPs) in August this year,” Ms Creecy explained.
Jacob van Rensburg, head of research and development at the South African Association of Freight Forwarders (SAAFF), said: “We are highly encouraged by this RFI process. It represents a necessary and long-overdue evolution in how South Africa approaches infrastructure development in the freight logistics space.
“This initiative is a strong signal that the government is serious about crowding-in private sector investment and expertise to revitalise logistics performance, enhance reliability, and ultimately support broader economic growth.”
One focus of the RFI is an ‘Intermodal Supply Chain PSP Project’, centred on the container and automotive sectors. This includes port, container and automotive port terminals, back-of-port arrangements, and railway and inland terminals for the corridors of Gauteng-Durban port (KZN), Gauteng-Eastern Cape (East London, Port Elizabeth, Ngqura), and Gauteng-Western Cape (Cape Town).
Mr van Rensburg said: “Focusing on key corridors and back-of-port infrastructure is strategically sound, particularly given the persistent inefficiencies and underinvestment that have impacted our export competitiveness.”
The RFI also raises the potential designation of the South African container port system as a regional transhipment hub for major shipping lines, as well as the improvement of bulk shipping corridors he added.
“Ultimately, a port’s success as a transhipment hub depends on its ability to streamline operations, minimise turnaround times, and integrate regionally into global logistics networks,” says the RFI.
Durban’s transhipment volumes declined from 23% of total in 2016, to 13% last year.
The DoT has established a dedicated PSP unit to enhance state capacity and provide support to Transnet and passenger rail agency PRASA in the procurement of potential PSP projects. The DoT has appointed the Development Bank of Southern Africa as the hosting institution for the unit.
Despite the PSP, the DoT emphasised that South Africa’s rail-network and port infrastructure would remain state owned.
The deadline for submissions under the RFI is 6pm on 9 May.
“I encourage all interested and affected parties to actively engage in this RFI process,” said Ms Creecy.
