Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) will release a request for proposals (RFP) on April 1 for the sale of slots to private operators on the key container corridor linking Gauteng and Durban, as well as parts of the Cape corridor. The State-owned utility tells Engineering News that it is in the process of finalising the number of slots to be made available during the first phase of the initiative, which is designed to arrest what has been a steady decline over several years, but which worsened considerably during the Covid lockdowns.

Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe says he expects Eskom to make an application soon for a Section 34 determination to facilitate gas-to-power generation at some of the coal power stations that the utility aims to repower and repurpose as part of its unfolding just energy transition strategy. Speaking during an energy dialogue hosted by the Central Energy Fund (CEF) and the Financial Mail, Mantashe indicated that the determination would be “in addition” to the 3 000 MW allocation for gas-to-power in the Integrated Resource Plan of 2019 (IRP 2019), which outlines the new electricity generation to be introduced to the system by 2030.

The Social Housing Regulatory Authority (SHRA) has said it is “encouraged” by government’s commitment to the development of social housing across South Africa, following Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s budget speech on February 23. The budget highlighted that human settlements projects included six Integrated residential development programmes, ten social housing projects and two high-impact privately led developments.

A focus on labour-intensive practices, increased partnership between the public and private sectors and rechannelled funding methods for infrastructure roll-out in South Africa are required to help reduce unemployment, build the economy and improve local skills, according to a panel of experts who spoke during the Infrastructure for Economic Reconstruction and Recovery webinar. Hosted for the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) by Creamer Media Contract Publishing on February 4, the webinar featured insights from Transnet CEO Portia Derby; Construction Alliance South Africa chairperson John Matthews, who was the moderator; Rand Merchant Bank infrastructure finance cohead Judy Kobus; DBSA chief economist Zeph Nhleko; and DBSA infrastructure finance head Khetha Rantao.

South Africa’s biggest construction firm Wilson Bayly Holmes – Ovcon (WBHO) said it is pulling out of Australia, saying the country’s “hardline” Covid-19 response had impacted its property market and created business uncertainty. The move amounts to one of Australia’s most visible corporate casualties linked to the pandemic and undercuts government claims that stimulus programs through two years of stop-start lockdowns saved businesses and jobs.