The Gauteng province is in for a radical transformation as the government implements its 15-year Infrastructure Master Plan worth R1.3 trillion.

Speaking at the State of the Province Address on Monday, Gauteng Premier David Makhura highlighted that the province had already spent R80 billion on infrastructure developments at schools, clinics, hospitals, libraries, roads, public transport, broadband and industrial parks which has had a massive impact on the people and economy of the province.

Through the Gauteng Infrastructure Funding Agency, Makhura said the province has also developed bankable infrastructure projects worth $6.8 billion from the commitments made by private sector companies at the Africa Investment Conference last year.

Transport and road infrastructure

Turning to transport and road infrastructure Makhura pointed out that the construction of the Gautrain and Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems in metros was part of the Infrastructure Master Plan.

“The full integration of the Gautrain, BRTs and metro rail into a modern, efficient, reliable, affordable and integrated single mass transit system is what we must now focus on.

“We will have a single transport authority by the second half of 2019, which will be charged with the responsibility to drive our vision,” the Premier said.

Makhura went on to report that the province upgraded and rehabilitated more than 5000 kilometres of road network that have no e-tolls.

While the user-pay principle remains in place, Makhura said there was a general consensus that urban tolling is neither viable nor sustainable.

“What is being finalised with national government is how to settle the debt incurred during the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Plan as well as how to fund new roads. There is no going back to the e-tolls.”

Housing infrastructure

Despite the province’s track record of delivering 1.2 million houses the housing backlog remains high at just over 1 million due to rapid urbanisation and the high rate of in-migration.

In response to this challenge, Makhura said 31 mega human settlements were planned for the next five years. Ten are already under construction, 11 are in detailed planning and the remaining ten are at the conceptual stage.

“Gauteng residents have experienced continuous significant improvement in the quality of life and their level of satisfaction with basic services and infrastructure is above the national average,” Makhura said.

“Our province is a zone of opportunity that offers better living standards to millions of people. Hence, the high rate of in-migration,” Makhura said, adding that all sectors need to consolidate their efforts to make further impact.