Ramaphosa prepares for infrastructure development symposium
President Cyril Ramaphosa is set to host the inaugural Sustainable Infrastructure Development Symposium of South Africa (SIDSSA) in June.
The symposium, which is a direct response to the decline in infrastructure spend in recent years, will focus on six priority sectors including water, transport, energy and digital infrastructure, human settlements and agriculture.
In the lead up to the symposium, a market sounding exercise in the form of pitch sessions will be held on Thursday and Friday where project sponsors will engage national and international funding institutions, asset managers and commercial banks to present infrastructure projects that have been identified as potentially bankable and require project preparation funding.
President @CyrilRamaphosa will on 23 June 2020 host the inaugural Sustainable Infrastructure Development Symposium of South Africa (SIDSSA) to unveil an infrastructure pipeline from six priority sectors. https://t.co/cebSzTbbAJ
— Presidency | South Africa 🇿🇦 (@PresidencyZA) May 28, 2020
So far the Investment and Infrastructure Office in the Presidency headed by Dr. Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has succeeded in drawing in sector specialists that have considered 177 infrastructure projects across public and private sectors which will be unpacked during these pitch sessions.
In a statement the government said it recognises that infrastructure investment is a critical driver for the future growth of the South African economy and that the country requires a catalytic kind of infrastructure investment that will contribute to higher long-term growth, and address spatial disparities, transform the economy and create much needed jobs.
Currently infrastructure spend is 13%, this needs to grow to 30% by 2030 to achieve the National Development Plan (NDP) growth targets.
The COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated headwinds creating an opportunity for key role players in the infrastructure space to stimulate the economy through investment.
South Africa requires a catalytic kind of infrastructure investment that will contribute to higher long-term growth, and address spatial disparities, transform the economy and create much needed jobs.
#SIDSSA2020 #GrowSouthAfrica— SIDSSA (@sidssa) May 28, 2020
The #SIDSSA itself is a culmination of a meeting convened by President @CyrilRamaphosa in February this year, which brought together business associations, line ministries and financial institutions. #SIDSSA2020 #GrowSouthAfrica
— SIDSSA (@sidssa) May 28, 2020
The Investment and Infrastructure Office in the Presidency headed by Dr. @Kgosientsho_R has since established the #SIDSSA platform, drawing in sector specialists, technical and financial structuring experts and policy Departments… #SIDSSA2020 #GrowSouthAfrica
— SIDSSA (@sidssa) May 28, 2020
COVID-19 to hit Africa’s big economies hard:
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Source: SABC News (sabcnews.com)
