R7bn infrastructure boost for Gauteng

Johannesburg, 02 Dec 2008

It's boom time for infrastructure development in Gauteng with the creation of a new fund. The Gauteng Fund - an initiative of the Gauteng provincial government - will be tasked with funding public infrastructure projects.

Currently, the government has put up R500 million for the fund, with the other R6.5 billion expected to come from private investors. The provincial government is on a local roadshow to attract private sector investment.

This follows an international roadshow, which Percy Mthimkhulu, spokesman for the Department of Economic Development, says had “overwhelming interest” from private companies. Mthimkhulu explains the amount raised and the first project to be funded will only be announced once the local roadshow has ended.

Mthimkhulu declined to give details of which private investors were approached, saying: “We are in the process of holding discussions with a number of investors. We have approached financing institutions such as banks and development finance organisations.”

The fund will finance projects in a wide range of industry sectors - such as health, telecommunications and transport - and across all levels of government, from municipal to provincial.

“A project such as broadband capacity will benefit from the fund. Gauteng's G-link, which is aimed at improving broadband capacity infrastructure development in the province, will be something that the fund will look at,” Mthimkhulu says.

He explains that projects will be selected by the board of the Gauteng Fund Management - which will be made up of both public and private representatives. Once a project is identified, the project office will consider its commercial viability and then present it to the fund for possible funding. Once approved, the tender process for the specified services will begin, he notes.