CAPE TOWN, Western Cape — President Cyril Ramaphosa has highlighted a critical South Africa infrastructure investment spending shortfall, warning that the country’s current expenditure remains far below the thresholds required to achieve faster and more sustainable economic growth. Speaking at the Sustainable Infrastructure Development Symposium, the President emphasized the urgent need to accelerate reforms and move critical projects from conception to implementation.
Delivering the keynote address on the closing day of the three-day event, President Ramaphosa revealed that South Africa’s gross fixed capital formation—which measures investment in productive assets such as infrastructure, machinery, equipment, and productive capacity—stood at approximately 12% of GDP in 2025. This figure represents less than half of the 30% investment level envisaged in the National Development Plan (NDP) for 2030.
Although South Africa has pledged a trillion rand over the next three years toward infrastructure development, the President noted that this commitment, while significant, is still not enough to bridge the national economic gap. He stressed that the current level of investment remains inadequate for the nation’s long-term developmental objectives.
However, the President assured attendees that the outlook is not entirely bleak. Infrastructure expenditure has been steadily growing, bolstered by targeted initiatives such as the “adopt a municipality” pilot program. Furthermore, Infrastructure South Africa is actively preparing and packaging projects to unlock R7 billion in new investments.
To further stimulate investor confidence and streamline development, the third edition of the 2026/2027 Construction Book was officially launched at the symposium. Serving as a go-to resource for investors assessing the country’s infrastructure development pipeline, this latest edition showcases projects worth more than R350 billion. These funded and investment-ready projects span critical sectors, including water and sanitation, transport and logistics, energy and electricity, and municipal infrastructure.
The newly released Construction Book provides the market with a transparent, clear view of projects expected to enter the procurement phase over the next 12 to 18 months. Concluding his address, President Ramaphosa cautioned that infrastructure planning must not be fragmented, explicitly warning against the “dumping of money” into projects that are not yet practically ready for implementation.