New private university and R18 billion city coming to South Africa
The Nedbank Capital Expenditure Project Listing shows that fixed investment plans have seen a massive increase, with 34 mega-projects worth over R1 billion announced last year.
Nedbank said that the increase in fixed investment plans in 2024 was the sharpest increase since 2021.
The projects reflect a myriad of issues addressing infrastructure backlogs, particularly in road and water systems.
The value of new projects announced amounted to roughly R445 billion in 2024. This was far higher than the R210 billion announced in 2023.
Nedbank also noted that the composition of new projects changed noticeably in 2024, with the government replacing the private sector as the major driver, with plans totalling close to R200 billion.
This reflects a 161% jump and accounts for about 45% of all new projects announced.
Public corporations also announced projects worth R150 billion, accounting for about 33% of the total. This was well up from the R35 billion announced in the previous year.
Public corporations announced massive energy projects and water resource developments, as well as refurbishments of health facilities, airport infrastructure, road rehabilitation, and water and sanitation.
The private sector announced plans amounted to R95 billion, a decline of 4.3% compared with 2023.
This sluggishness is unsurprising amidst the country’s weak economic growth.
Moreover, the private sector opted for a wait-and-see approach to see how the May general elections would evolve and whether structural reforms would improve underlying operating conditions.
There are, however, several major developments planned by the private sector,
The largest of which is the R18 billion Bankenveld District City development in Johannesburg.
The ‘city’ is an ambitious mixed-use development comprising residential, commercial, retail, industrial, educational, and healthcare components.
Roughly R43 billion of the announced private sector projects are energy-related, with the Risk Mitigation
Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (RMIPPPP) accounts for 57% of this total.
Other interesting investments include the expansion of the R7 billion expansion of the Cape Winelands airport and the R4 billion upgrade at Volkswagen’s Kariega manufacturing plant.
“Given the lag between project announcements and implementation, the pickup in investment plans bodes well for gross fixed capital formation in 2025,” said Nedbank.
“Even so, the risks to the outlook remain tilted to the downside, dependent on the public sector’s ability to follow through on its plans and move decisively towards lifting the long-standing infrastructure constraints on faster economic growth and job creation.”
The 34 mega-projects worth over R1 billion can be found below:
| Project Name | Company name | Estimated completion date | Estimated value (R million) |
| Structural reform infrastructure (Public housing project) | Department of Human Settlement and Infrastructure | Dec-28 | R43 700 |
| Eskom Tubatse pumped hydro storage project | Eskom | Dec-28 | R35 800 |
| Rooiwal Phase 2 wastewater project in Tshwane | City of Tshwane | Dec-28 | R35 800 |
| Private sector catalytic project | Housing Development Agency | Dec-28 | R34 000 |
| Eskom Mossel Bay gas project | PetroSA | Dec-28 | R30 000 |
| Southern Farms Human Settlement Project | City of Johannesburg | Dec-28 | R27 000 |
| Phase 2 Olifants River water resources development project | TCTA | Dec-27 | R25 000 |
| City of Johannesburg capital expenditure budget | City of Johannesburg | May-25 | R22 000 |
| Bankenveld District City development | Calgro M3 & Eris Property Group | Dec-26 | R18 000 |
| Project to refurbish health facilities | Human Settlements and Infrastructure Development | Dec-28 | R16 000 |
| Umoyilanga Energy project | EDF Renewables and Perpetua Holdings | Mar-25 | R14 600 |
| ACWA Power Project DAO | ACWA Power | Jun-26 | R14 480 |
| ACSA infrastructure investment plan | Airports Company South Africa | Dec-28 | R12 220 |
| Mulilo Total Hydra storage project | Total Energies, Hydra Storage Holdings & Reatile | Jan-25 | R10 000 |
| Impofu wind power farms cluster | Enel Green Power South Africa | Jan-26 | R 9 000 |
| First Land Mixed Use and Agri-hub | City of Tshwane | Dec-28 | R8 500 |
| Schools project in Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal | Department of Basic Education | Dec-28 | R8 500 |
| Nkhomazi Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Mpumalanga | Department of Trade and Industry | Dec-28 | R8 400 |
| Mponeng extension project | Harmony Gold | Dec-27 | R7 900 |
| Bengwenyama Platinum Group metals | Southern Palladium | Jul-26 | R7 385 |
| Cape Winelands Airport | RSA. Aero | Dec-27 | R7 000 |
| Volkswagen Kariega manufacturing plant Upgrade | Volkswagen Group South Africa | Dec-27 | R4 000 |
| Witberg wind energy project | Red Rocket | Dec-25 | R3 400 |
| Akademia Campus Development | Akademia | Jan-28 | R3 000 |
| Namakwa Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in the Northern Cape | Department of Trade and Industry | Dec-28 | R2 900 |
| Springbok solar photovoltaic plant (PV) | SOLA Group | Jul-25 | R2 800 |
| Berth A100 liquid bulk project in the Eastern Cape | Department of Water and Sanitation | Dec-28 | R2 200 |
| Teraco solar photovaltaic plant | Teraco | Sep-25 | R2 000 |
| Construction of the Cwabeni off-channel Storage Dam | Department of Water and Sanitation | Dec-30 | R1 800 |
| N2 Garden Route | SANRAL | May-26 | R1 500 |
| OptiPower Solar PV renewable-energy project. | OptiPower and Coxabengo | Oct-25 | R1 200 |
| Muizenberg, Table View and Sea Point Beachfront Upgrade | City of Cape Town | Dec-26 | R1 200 |
| Components manufacturing facility | Toyota SA and Ogihara Thailand Corporation Limited | Jun-25 | R1 100 |
| Cape Corridor | Transnet | Dec-28 | R1 000 |
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