Online Reporter
South Africa has taken its biggest step yet to invite the private sector to help it fix dilapidated freight-rail lines and ports that are stymieing exports from companies including Glencore, Anglo American Plc and BMW AG.
On Sunday, Transport Minister Barbara Creecy asked for information on how companies could invest in crucial rail lines and ports through which key exports such as iron ore, coal, manganese, chrome and cars move. In August, her department will ask for more formal proposals.
Coal railings have dropped to the lowest in almost 30 years and the amount of iron ore moved to the west coast port of Saldanha is close to a decade low. Carmakers based around the capital of Pretoria have to send much of their production to ports by road while those located near the coast have to do the same to get their vehicles to the industrial hub of Gauteng, the country’s biggest car market.
“South Africa’s rail and port infrastructure faces substantial challenges, including declining performance,” Creecy said in a statement. “The limited availability of state resources to fund infrastructure development and address backlogs has intensified these challenges.”
The government plans to retain ownership of infrastructure including rail lines and ports, meaning private-sector participation would need to involve running private trains on the tracks, offering skills and expertise, leasing rail-and port-operations and investing in export terminals. — Bloomberg.
