South Africa Transport

Facing a slowdown in both international and domestic demand, combined with rising oil prices and airport fees and tariffs, carriers in South Africa are feeling the squeeze. With economies booming elsewhere in Africa, there is some optimism that new profitable routes could be established, but governments throughout the continent will need to further liberalise their skies to make this happen.

A much-needed, multi-billion rand investment programme – spearheaded by Transnet’s capital upgrades and targeting South Africa’s transport bottlenecks – looks set to transform the country’s rail and port services, although historical issues over project delivery and pressure on the government fiscus have made its implementation a more complicated prospect.

The announcement in December that direct flights will soon link Beijing and Johannesburg was a fitting end to a year that has seen South Africa-China trade ties rise past expectations.

The launch of the Gautrain – South Africa’s new high-speed train service – may be grabbing headlines, but the $3.8bn project could soon be overshadowed by even larger developments aimed at upgrading and expanding the country’s less prestigious but vital freight network.