Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Patricia de Lille and Head of Infrastructure South Africa Kgosientsho Ramokgopa briefed media in Pretoria on Wednesday. 

The pair gave details of the comprehensive National Infrastructure Plan 2050 (NIP2050), which is set to improve infrastructure and drive socioeconomic transformation.

Cabinet approved the implementation of the plan earlier this month. It was gazetted soon after.

De Lille told the media that there is a pressing need for a shared long-term vision and a robust institutional platform to enable sustained and continuous improvement in public infrastructure delivery. 

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“The fundamental purpose of the NIP2050 is to develop a coherent plan for the development of the country's infrastructure networks and the interrelationship of these networks to achieve sustainability over the medium,” said De Lille.

The plan will focus on four key areas including foundational network infrastructure in energy, freight transport, water and digital communications. 

“The NIP's top priority is to ensure the foundations are in place to achieve the transformation needed for inclusive growth. Infrastructure investment addresses spatial integration, expansion of urban economies and rural development and revitalisation. 

“Its purpose is to promote dynamism in infrastructure delivery, address institutional blockages and weaknesses that hinder success over the longer term, and guide the way toward building more vital institutions that can deliver the NDP aspirations. 

“The NIP2050 guides the critical shift to dynamic infrastructure delivery mechanisms and capabilities that take advantage and respond to technological change and climate change,” De Lille added. 

ECR/Nokukhanya N Mntambo