Transport: South Africa
From www.entrepreneurstoolkit.org
South Africa has a modern and well developed transport infrastructure. The roads are world-class. The air and rail networks are the largest on the continent. And the country's ports provide a natural stopover for shipping to and from Europe, the Americas, Asia, Australasia and both coasts of Africa. The transport sector has been highlighted by the government as a key contributor to South Africa's competitiveness in global markets. It is increasingly being seen a crucial engine for economic growth and social development.
South Africa’s sophisticated road, rail and air transport infrastructure serves millions each day, keeping the wheels of business and industry turning to promote socio-economic development. The four bodies tasked with commercialising certain elements of the Government’s operational activities are the South African National Roads Agency Ltd, the South African Maritime Safety Authority, the Cross-Border Road Transport Agency and the Civil Aviation Authority. Transnet Limited Transnet is a public company wholly owned by the Government. It is a dominant player in southern Africa’s transport infrastructure. Transnet consists of 10 divisions: Spoornet, National Ports Authority (NPA), Port Operations, Freight Dynamics, Petronet, Metrorail, Propnet, Transtel, Transwerk, South African Airways (SAA). Transnet handles 176 million tons (Mt) of rail freight per year, 2.8 Mt of road freight and 194 Mt of freight through the harbours. It also flies 6.1 million passengers per year. Transnet is worth about R69 million in fixed assets and has 80,000 employees.
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Road transport
South Africa has the longest road network of any country in Africa. Its national road network currently covers 7,200 km. The roads include 1,400 km of dual carriageway freeway, 440 km of single carriageway freeway and 5 300 km of single carriage main road with unlimited access. 27 mainline toll plazas service approximately 1900 km of toll roads. In 2003/04 provincial budgets for infrastructure and road development rose by 7,5% to R5,1 billion. Construction of the N4 Maputo Corridor Toll-Road has been completed, one of the few privately financed cross-border toll-roads in the world.
Minibus taxis
Minibus taxis are responsible for 65% of the 2,5 billion annual passenger trips in urban areas, as well as a high percentage of rural and inter-city transport. A Taxi Recapitalisation Programme is set to replace the current ageing minibus taxi fleet with new, safer, purpose-built 18-seater and 35-seater vehicles which will be locally built.
Goods transport
Eighty percent of all freight carried in South Africa is done so by road. Nearly 7% of Gross National Product is spent on freight transport. About 69% of road-freight tonnage is carried by firms or operators transporting freight in the course of their business, and 29% by road haulage firms.
Rail transport
Spoornet is the largest division of Transnet, and specialises in freight transport and long-distance passenger services. It also operates the Blue Train, a luxury train service. Transnet has an annual turnover of R13,1 billion and utilises 30,400 km of track, 2,410 locomotives, 88,000 wagons, and 2,097 passenger coaches. With 80% of Africa’s rail infrastructure, Spoornet also connects with other networks in sub-Saharan Africa. Spoornet plans to invest R1 billion a year in rail transport over the next 15 years.
Other specialist Spoornet divisions
- Coal Line – Responsible for transporting export coal from Mpumalanga to the Richards Bay Coal Terminal.
- Ore Line – Which hauls iron ore over the 861 km track from Sishen in the Northern Cape to Saldanha Bay.
- Shosholoza Meyl – Which offers daily inter-city passenger services.
- Metrorail – Which provides commuter rail services in the Witwatersrand, Pretoria, Western Cape, Durban, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town. Metrorail transports two million commuters to and from work daily.
Civil aviation
South Africa’s international airports are: Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Bloemfontein, Port Elizabeth, Pilanesberg, Lanseria, Gateway (Polokwane), Nelspruit, Upington and Kruger Mpumalanga. The Airports Company of South Africa (ACSA) owns and operates the nine principal airports, including the three major international airports in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban. The others are domestic airports in Bloemfontein, Port Elizabeth, East London, George, Kimberley and Upington. ACSA’s flagship development, the new R750-million domestic terminal at Johannesburg International Airport, will increase its capacity to serve more than 18 million passengers annually. ACSA has committed R1 billion to the upgrading and development of Cape Town International Airport. A R10-million interim expansion project to extend the domestic terminal was completed in May 2003. SAA In addition to serving Africa, SAA operates services to Europe, Latin America and the Far East.
National Ports Authority (NPA)
The NPA controls seven of the 16 biggest ports in the region: Richards Bay, Durban, East London, Port Elizabeth, Mossel Bay, Cape Town and Saldanha. Some R4,3 billion has been budgeted by the NPA for infrastructural investment. Durban is the busiest port in southern Africa, handling 55 Mt of cargo through five cargo terminals annually.
2010 Fifa World Cup
South Africa plans to spend R9-billion on improving and extending the transport infrastructure in nine host cities to cope with the massive influx of visitors expected for the 2010 Fifa World Cup. Preparations cover major upgrades to the country's airports and improvements to the general transport system, including a taxi recapitalisation programme, the consolidation of passenger rail entities and the transformation of the bus industry.
