On 23 March 2025, Transnet and the Department of Transport launched a request for information (RFI) to interested and affected parties in potential private sector participation (PSP) in rail and port freight logistics projects.
According to the ‘Roadmap for the Freight Logistics System in South Africa’, the RFI is a step towards garnering PSP to improve rail and port infrastructure and operations. Over the recent years, the logistics system has faced significant challenges that have decreased its efficiency and hampered job creation, exports and subsequently economic expansion in the sector.
It is hoped that the outcome of the RFI will inform a conducive environment for private sector participation, promote the introduction of private sector investment. This collaboration is predicted to bolster overall investment in the logistics system, increase efficiency of the system and enhance rail and infrastructure in line with global standards.
A series of requests for qualification and requests for proposals on various identified strategic projects in the rail and logistics sector are expected to follow, their content based largely on information gleaned from the RFI.
The RFI has focused on the following transport corridors and commodities:
- Northern-Cape to Saldanha Bulk Minerals Corridor (iron ore and manganese exports)
- Northern-Cape to Nelson Mandela Bay Corridor (manganese exports)
- Limpopo and Mpumalanga to Richards Bay Bulk Minerals Corridor (coal, chrome and magnetite exports)
- Intermodal Supply Chain (Gauteng – KwaZulu-Natal/ Eastern Cape / Western Cape for the container and automotive intermodal supply chain)
We see this as an exciting and major step in the right direction presenting the possibility of medium-term upgrades to the rail and port network. Private operators are also likely to drive efficiencies reduce and prices in the sector. Coupled with a new proposed Single Transport Economic Regulator (expected to be operational later this year), this appears to herald the beginning of a new logistics dispensation.
Submissions may be made through the online response form, which can be found here, from 24 March 2025 until 9 May 2025.
For an update, see our article of 17 June 2025 here.
