Building industry as the draught horse for the national economy

The tremendous price development in the past years in the field of private property comes finally back to a normal level. However, the building industry faces great challenges and will experience capacity constraints in the near future. Not only since the decision has been made that South Africa will host the 2010 Football World Cup, the building industry is expected to be the draught horse of the national economy until 2010, contributing with about 10% to the GDP. The lack of resources in materials and also partly in know-how will be compensated by imports. The already planed projects therefore open opportunities for suppliers of construction machinery, building materials and technical equipment. The construction of local production sites for building materials should also be considered as an investment opportunity for the near future.

Development of the infrastructure also after 2010

Estimates calculate with expenditures of about 400bn Rand until 2010 in the energy sector, the transport sector as well as logistics and water projects. The national railway network and port facilities need to be modernized. In Durban and Cape Town service terminals will be modernized and in Port Elisabeth an entirely new seaport will be build. Johannesburg and Pretoria will be linked with a new railway network, called Gautrain, in order to increase the public transport between the two cities. Investments in the infrastructure will continue after 2010 and will offer numerous investment opportunities for foreign companies.