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Infrastructure
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Infrastructure Overview
While most of the world's national
economies are temporarily 'on hold',
South Africa's policy is to spend, spend, and
spend again on rebuilding its infrastructure.
The only limit are - not funds - but the
capacity to manage projects properly - and
provide electrical power.
Despite these limitations, the rate of public
spending on infrastructure is expected
to increase all through 2008 and 2009 to
an average of nearly R20 billion a month.
Expenditure used to be measured in mere
millions per annum.
The public splurge was mirrored, until early
in 2008, in unprecedented plans for private
investment in South Africa. However, the
'shock' caused by lack of electricity - a critical
shortage suddenly revealed by the parastatal
Eskom - threatens temporary and partial
paralysis in the growth of heavy industry
Energy
Electrical power
Until quite recently, Eskom, the nation's
electricity supply parastatal, boasted not only
the world's cheapest supply of electricity, but
also sufficient surplus power to feed the rest of
the sub-continent.
Other refineries
Growing demand has increased petrol imports
till they now make up 15 percent of national
consumption. There has been insufficient
investment in local oil refineries by the
multinational oil companies operating here,
and there has been insufficient development
of oil pipelines
[For more information purchase South Africa at a Glance]
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