National treasury said on Wednesday that the government was transforming its approach to private sector participation in public infrastructure projects.

“Over the medium term, government is transforming its approach to public sector infrastructure by creating the conditions to attract private sector participation,” national treasury’s mid-term budget review said.

Treasury also said government was developing a blended finance risk-sharing platform to build on its independent power producer programme.

The platform will include a credit guarantee vehicle, expected to be operational by the end of 2025, to help de-risk public sector projects for private developers and lenders.

This vehicle will be rolled out on independent transmission projects first, with the option to include other sectors over the medium term. Treasury did not say how much private sector investment it hoped to attract.

“There is no specific number, but we are institutionalising their (the private sector’s) involvement in our infrastructure agenda,” director-general Duncan Pieterse told reporters.

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About 70% of infrastructure investment is done by the private sector while the government is responsible for the remaining 30%, Pieterse said. — Tannur Anders, Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo, Kopano Gumbi and Wendell Roelf, (c) 2024 Reuters

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