PRESIDENT CYRIL RAMAPHOSA TO OPEN SIDSSA 24

SIDSSA 2024 will bring new energy projects to the market for investment and infrastructure-led socioeconomic growth.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will open the Sustainable Infrastructure Development Symposium (SIDSSA) 2024, taking place on March 17-19 at the Century City Conference Center in Cape Town. With the aim of driving public and private sector-led infrastructure development, the event will serve as the launchpad for major energy projects in South Africa’s 2024/2025 pipeline.

South Africa’s long-term plan for achieving inclusive growth, prosperity and improvements in the quality of life for the country’s citizens will take center stage during SIDSSA 2024, reaffirming the President’s stated goal of attaining 5.5% year-on-year economic growth, a 6% unemployment rate and 30% gross fixed capital formation to GDP.­­­

Poised to facilitate synergy between the objectives of South Africa’s Sustainable Development Goals and National Development Plan, the event will feature an impressive roster of speakers from the South African Cabinet as well as asset owners, private investors and fund managers, showcasing ground-breaking projects and investment opportunities.

The SIDSSA infrastructure pipeline is poised to contribute significantly to industrialization, local content creation and socioeconomic development in South Africa. In alignment with the event’s promise to build a resilient economy by accelerating the delivery of infrastructure, a number of key infrastructure initiatives will be unpacked.

In addition to new international partnerships within Africa, a pipeline of 12 projects due to start development in 2024/2025 – with support from the Infrastructure South Africa service provider initiative – will be announced. With the participation of private investors, fund managers, project developers and key advisors, progress updates to strategic projects launched during the first two editions of SIDSSA in 2020 and 2022 will also be showcased during this year’s event.

Additionally, some of South Africa’s largest infrastructure projects will be explored during SIDSSA 2024. These include the R640 million Musina Ring Road – a transportation project launched to facilitate greater economic activity between South Africa and neighboring countries – and the transformation of the N3 highway into a Smart Freight Corridor – aimed at positioning the country as a freight and logistics hub for Africa. The Musina Ring Road was completed in 2022, connecting the country to the rest of the Southern African Development Community, while development for the N3 is progressing steadily.

Meanwhile, the development of water infrastructure projects is also seeing progress. The second phase of the Lesotho Highlands Water project is underway, with construction of the Polihali Dam starting in November 2022. The R39 billion highlands project will alleviate South Africa’s water constraints. Additional projects include the raising of the Hazelmere Dam wall – located in KwaZulu-Natal. By raising the wall from 85.98 meters to 93 meters, the country is boosting dam capacity from 23.9 million cubic meters to 43.6 million cubic meters, enhancing water supply for domestic, industrial and agricultural use in the surrounding region.

Additionally, insight will be provided into the $3.9 billion Green Hydrogen Plant at the Coega Special Economic Zone, which will give the country a competitive advantage to produce and export green hydrogen energy. Under the joint leadership of fuel supplier Hive Hydrogen South Africa and Japanese corporation Itochu, the giga-scale project is the biggest investment of its kind in the world.

The 5^th and 6^th round of South Africa’s Renewable Independent Power Producer Program (REIPPP), valued at $1.8 billion and $631 million, respectively, have paved the way for additional new generation capacity to come online from early-2025. As such, SIDSSA 2024 is poised to showcase updates on South Africa’s fast-changing renewable energy landscape while addressing the country’s energy crisis.

In addition to the country’s energy sector, SIDSSA will also explore infrastructure developments in South Africa’s mining industry. Updates to the 155 MW Seriti Coal Mine wind farm project, which will start production in June this year, are poised to bolster investor confidence in South Africa’s ability to fuel its most important industrial sectors with renewable power. With a price tag of USD626 million, the project received financing and development support from South African commercial banking corporations Standard Bank and RMB.

This year, attendees can expect announcements on new international partnerships and joint ventures in South Africa as well as the launch of all infrastructure projects going into procurement in 2024/2025. President Ramaphosa’s participation is guaranteed to highlight and gazette opportunities for investing in infrastructure to benefit all stakeholders.

SIDSSA is organised by the Investment and Infrastructure Office under The Presidency, in collaboration with the Association of African Exhibition Organisers. The National African Federation for the Building Industry joins as an association partner, while the Development Bank of Southern Africa is the official sponsor of the event.