FROM EIR DAILY ALERT

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At Davos, South African Minister Calls Infrastructure Development a Key Driver for African Economies

Jan. 24, 2018 (EIRNS)—Infrastructure development is a key driver of South Africa’s growth prospects, with rail and water infrastructure being focal areas, Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel told the World Economic Forum in Davos, yesterday. “We are putting a lot of money into our infrastructure build program, it is averaging about R300 billion a year, and has seen us move out of an energy shortage into an energy surplus, but we still have very significant infrastructure investment we have to make, in rail, with the commuter story, freight logistics to move minerals more quickly, and water which is exacerbated by the drought.

“Water infrastructure is a key challenge we are going to have to deal with,” Patel said, pointing to Cape Town and Port Elizabeth as being among the key urban centers in South Africa “facing severe and imminent water shortages.”