Transport Minister Barbara Creecy reaffirmed the government’s commitment to revitalizing the logistics industry as a key driver of economic growth. This is Part 2 of a two-part series.
The department is also seeking input from potential investors through Requests for Information concerning opportunities in the rail and port sectors.
“This serves to share information with the public regarding possible PSP projects, but also to allow the department, and by extension Transnet, to gather information on projects with the potential for third-party involvement,” she explained.
Creecy emphasised that while collaboration with private sector stakeholders is crucial, ownership of rail and port infrastructure will remain with the government. She added that engagement with organized labor is ongoing to ensure alignment with the broader freight logistics roadmap.
“We cannot continue with the status quo, where derailments and port blockages cost our economy billions of rands, and thousands of jobs in all sectors of our economy are at risk.”
Despite these challenges, Transnet’s recovery strategy, which includes infrastructure upgrades and industry partnerships, has already led to measurable efficiency gains.
“The establishment of war rooms for specific corridors and commodities has allowed Transnet and the private sector to collaborate and share expertise and address challenges such as derailments and unplanned maintenance,” Creecy noted.
“This has resulted in improvements we are seeing in our ports which have cut down on ship waiting times and queuing times for trucks.”
She further stated that these ongoing interventions would help the sector return to pre-pandemic performance levels.
“Transnet and the department have set the goal of 250 million tonnes of freight per year moving on the Transnet network by 2030. Transnet achieved 150 million tonnes of freight per year during the 2023/ 2024 financial year. At our ports, the target is to improve gross crane moves per hour from the 2024 average of 16 to 30 by 2030,” she said.
However, she acknowledged that achieving these “ambitious targets” would require significant investment from both the public and private sectors in infrastructure, rolling stock, and digital systems.
“This can only be achieved through a partnership between government and the private sector, where technical knowledge, experience, [the] world’s best practice and funding can be shared.”
Source: SAnews.gov.za