The upcoming G20 Summit comes at a critical moment, as South Africa stands on the brink of its biggest construction boom in decades. With global attention on South Africa, government and its public-private partners (PPPs) have a unique opportunity to attract international investment, realise its national ‘construction site’ vision, and significantly progress the continent’s overall infrastructure development goals.
South Africa’s most immediate priority must be to position its construction and infrastructure drive as the foundation for inclusive growth across Africa. The Summit is the ideal occasion to showcase how current projects are already advancing sustainability, creating employment, and promoting economic equality, lining up perfectly with its G20 Presidency theme of “Solidarity, Equality, and Sustainability”, while revealing the immense potential for global investors.
By placing infrastructure at the centre of the G20 agenda, South Africa can ensure the continent’s priorities are reflected in every discussion on financing, climate action, and poverty reduction. This moment offers a chance to lead the global conversation on infrastructure as the foundation of all development goals, and to demonstrate a clear model for scaling international investment across Africa.
Ultimately, however, meeting South Africa’s construction goals at the 2025 G20 Summit will depend on delegates prioritising three key objectives:
1. Attracting sustainable global investment
The global need for investment is pressing, and especially so in Africa. Forecasts place the worldwide infrastructure investment gap at over $15 trillion by 2040, with Africa alone facing a yearly shortfall exceeding $170 billion. Without new financing, critical projects will remain stuck in the planning stages.
South Africa must use the G20 Summit to secure firm commitments for sustainable investment into Africa’s infrastructure pipeline, and position the continent as the world’s single greatest opportunity for construction-led growth.
By showcasing major projects such as the Port of Gauteng inland logistics hub, the Boegoebaai deep-water port and rail project, and the ongoing national transmission grid expansion, South Africa can demonstrate real progress, attract investor confidence, and prove that Africa is ready to deliver.
2. Mobilise institutional investors and pension funds
Infrastructure remains a neglected asset class for institutional investors. Globally, a fraction of pension fund assets are allocated to infrastructure, and most of this capital is concentrated in developed economies rather than emerging markets. For Africa, this leaves a vast pool of long-term funding untapped.
Pension funds and other institutional investors hold trillions of dollars in capital with long investment horizons that align perfectly with the lifespan of infrastructure projects. By mobilising this capital toward Africa, the G20 can unlock steady, long-term financing that ensures projects are delivered and maintained over decades.
3. Promote dialogue on better project implementation
Across Africa, more than 80% of infrastructure projects stall before they ever reach the construction phase. This wastes resources, frustrates investors, and slows down urgently needed delivery.
South Africa must use the G20 Summit to open a dialogue on why so many projects stall and how to change it. The Presidency offers a platform to bring governments, financiers, and developers together to identify bottlenecks and propose reforms that move projects from planning to execution. By directing the conversation toward solutions, South Africa can shift this challenge from being perceived as ‘inevitable’ to being addressed through coordinated global action.
Once the problem is openly discussed at the highest level, working groups and action plans can follow, backed by the technical support of G20 members. South Africa’s role is to ensure the summit lays the groundwork for these next steps, so that in future years more African projects are constructed and can deliver the growth the continent urgently needs.
South Africa has occupied a powerful position on the world’s stage this year – a standing that must not be wasted. With service delivery at the core of government’s mandate, the G20 Summit offers a pivotal opportunity to advance Africa’s medium- and long-term infrastructure goals.
By Olebogeng Manhe, Chairman of the Gap Infrastructure Corporation (GIC)
