Approaches to Transition into Transport Infrastructure Provision and Management

Abstract

South Africa has been engaging in multibillion rand transport infrastructure planning and construction projects that have the potential to spur the economy into generating significant growth. These mega-projects were conceptualized by government and private sector with the intent of unlocking economic opportunities within the transport infrastructure mainstream. Such initiatives lead to accelerated investments in large infrastructure projects such as for example the Gautrain rapid rail link and other mega projects. The future success of South Africa’s transport economy depends on how the country thinks about unlocking opportunities. This thinking need to consider the manner in which procurement processes are done, and how the delivering of infrastructure takes place in order to create opportunities for funding leveraging existing capacity and resources for such projects. A paradigm shift in thinking about how South Africa invests in large infrastructure projects can create a stable and credible environment in the transport sector that can generate and stimulate local job creation in the future. This paper considers the provision and management of transport infrastructure projects in the long-term and explores the relationships needed between various critical stakeholders for large infrastructure projects to flourish. It is critical that decision-makers embark on clearly crafted plans that outline long-term management of projects that are able to provide a conducive and enabling environment for successfully rolling out transport infrastructure projects.