South Africa Wants to Build Railway Border

The first step is to build a railway linking South Africa to Swaziland and Mozambique, according to plans unveiled at the Global Forum on Strategic Growth organized by Ernst & Young in Cape Town.

Another railway linking South Africa to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), said Brian Molefe, director of Transnet, public transport company in South Africa. Transet has also initiated discussions on the development of North-South Corridor in Africa, informed Mr. Molefe at the forum. " In the future, more ambitious projects should emanate from Transnet, " he said.

These projects are part of infrastructure plans estimated at 300 million rand (about 40 billion U.S. dollars) spent the next seven years, said Mr Molefe. He called for greater efforts to boost investment in infrastructure on the continent through regional integration.

Mr Molefe said it was difficult to persuade people to invest private money in the long-term (15-20 years), and the governments and companies affiliated to governments will be at the forefront of investment in the infrastructure sector.

"The problem is that the role of infrastructure in the world is in the hands of governments. I'm afraid that Africa should follow a similar path. We can not rely on private funds. We must turn capital flows to the continent, pension funds and use them , "he said.