Megaprojects - KPMG

SPOTLIGHT
Cape Town, one of the world’s top tourist
destinations, officials are in the midst of an
aggressive infrastructure renewal program that
includes a completed major airport upgrade,
significant road works, a new waste program
and a city-wide broadband initiative.
The eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality,
which includes the port city of Durban, recently
developed a new international airport and is
currently undertaking a significant deep-sea
port development. Durban’s new Waste to
Energy project was recently cited as one of
the world’s top urban infrastructure projects
in the Infrastructure 100, which called the
initiative a “model for the continent” based
on its ability to provide renewable power to
up to 6,000 low-income households per day.
A massive opportunity for
foreign players
South Africa’s ability to undertake and
deliver such a wide scope of infrastructure
projects may – in some ways – be a double
edged sword. From funding through
to operations, the nation has become
somewhat insulated and, more often
than not, is getting on with the task at
hand without the assistance or support of
foreign investors or developers. This may
prove to be a moderating factor on the
nation’s ability to incrementally increase
activity in some of the sectors where
South African experience is somewhat
lacking, particularly in the education and
health sectors.
That being said, this will likely not be
a challenge for long. Most infrastructure
players around the world have woken up to
the potential that South Africa presents, both
as a national market and as a spring-board
into the rest of the continent. At KPMG,
we’ve already seen the number of inquiries
from foreign infrastructure players rise
exponentially over the past few years, many
of which have led to significant investments
into the market.
For everyone else, our advice is simple:
come see for yourself why South Africa
is rapidly becoming a top destination for
infrastructure. You won’t be disappointed.
Megaprojects | INSIGHT | 23