SA needs to commit trillions

SOUTH Africa needs to commit $464-billion (R6-trillion) by 2040 in the water and electricity sectors to meet its infrastructure investment gap and to address economic population growth from now until 2040.

During this time, the country’s gross domestic product is predicted to increase by 40% as its population increases by only 16%.

The figures are stated in a G20 global infrastructure hub (GI Hub) report released on Tuesday, covering infrastructure investment needs globally and individually for 50 countries and seven sectors.

The study, titled Global Infrastructure Outlook, which reveals that the cost of providing infrastructure to support global economic growth would be $97-trillion and points out that $18-trillion – almost 19% – will be unfunded if current spending trends continue.

This is not only a major challenge for emerging countries that need to create new infrastructure, but also for advanced countries that have ageing systems that need to be replaced, the report says.

GI Hub chief executive Chris Heathcote said: “Outlook is a comprehensive and detailed analysis of infrastructure investment need.

“It gives the new country and sector spending data that governments and funding organisations have been calling for.

“It tells us three key things, how much each country needs to spend on infrastructure to 2040, where that need is for each infrastructure sector, and what their gap is, based on their current spending trends.”

Already, meeting the United Nation’s sustainable development goals (SDGs) for electricity and clean water provision globally, which is part of the infrastructure needs, will require $3.5-trillion more than is currently needed to close the gaps.

The report is released as South Africa is going through a tough economic climate. Last October, then finance minister Pravin Gordan in his mid-term budget media statement cited infrastructure as one of the areas holding the country back.

The ultimate achievement of the SDGs is reliant on the provision of quality infrastructure, the study notes. On the current trends, investment will fall substantially short of meeting SDGs for water and electricity by 2030.