The figures, presented by Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson at SIDSSA 2026, highlight a persistent weakness in South Africa’s infrastructure drive: projects are being identified faster than they are being made investment-ready. Of the country’s 263 Strategic Integrated Projects, 82 projects valued at approximately R502.7 billion are currently under construction, while 37 projects worth R69 billion have been completed.

For Peter Barnard, Partner at Cox Yeats, the issue is not simply a question of whether South Africa has enough infrastructure projects — it is whether those projects have been sufficiently prepared to withstand the scrutiny of funders, investors, regulators and contractors.

“The uncomfortable reality is that a project being announced does not mean it is ready to be built. Bankability is created through the work that happens before the tender — resolving legal, regulatory, land, commercial and financing issues so that the project can move with certainty.”

The timing is significant. Infrastructure South Africa has opened its third Project Preparation Bid Window, backed by a R600 million commitment to project delivery support, specifically aimed at helping high-value public infrastructure projects become bankable and investment-ready. More than 24 projects with an estimated capital value of R148 billion are already receiving project preparation support. (South African Government)

Macpherson has himself identified inadequate preparation as one of the biggest reasons projects fail to reach construction, pointing to incomplete feasibility studies, unresolved land requirements, regulatory approvals, procurement routes and funding arrangements. (South African Government)

Barnard says this makes legal structuring an infrastructure delivery issue, rather than simply a legal compliance exercise.

“Legal structuring should not be brought in at the end of the process to review contracts. It needs to form part of project preparation from the outset. The structure of the project determines how risk is allocated, who is responsible for what, how obligations are enforced and, ultimately, whether financiers can get comfortable with the investment.”

This matters because infrastructure projects often involve multiple stakeholders, complex regulatory environments and significant long-term financial commitments. If these relationships and risks are not properly structured before procurement, projects can face delays, renegotiations and uncertainty once implementation begins.

Infrastructure South Africa’s project preparation model recognises this, incorporating financial and funding structuring, technical studies, legal support and institutional/governance arrangements into the preparation process

For South Africa’s construction and engineering industries, closing this preparation gap could have significant economic consequences.

A stronger pipeline of bankable projects means greater visibility for contractors, engineers, professional services firms and suppliers — while giving investors greater confidence that announced projects can translate into actual capital deployment.

“The construction industry cannot build what has not been properly prepared,” says Barnard. “If we want to see more cranes, contractors and engineers working on major projects, the pipeline has to be credible. That means projects must progress beyond announcements and feasibility studies to financial close, procurement and construction.”

The challenge now is to ensure that project preparation translates into delivery at scale.

With the government actively seeking to crowd in private and development finance — and recent infrastructure financing agreements reinforcing the role of external capital — the pressure is growing to produce projects that are not merely desirable, but financeable and executable.

For Barnard, that should become the new measure of South Africa’s infrastructure ambitions.

“We should stop measuring success by the size of the project pipeline and start measuring it by how many projects reach financial close and construction. South Africa does not need more announcements. It needs projects that are ready to build.”