Transport Minister Dipuo Peters said on Monday that she “would love to” present the National Transport Master Plan (Natmap) to Cabinet for approval by the end of March next year.

Speaking to Engineering News Online on the sidelines of the Southern African Transport Conference, held in Pretoria, she said this was, however, dependent on internal process within the Department of Transport (DoT), as well as a planned consultation process.

“I am currently unable to give an indication on the timeline for public engagement, but there will be public engagement.”

Peters said the DoT would need to talk to industries such as the mining and agriculture sectors to determine their transport needs.

The long-delayed Natmap, which would guide South Africa’s transport infrastructure development to 2050, was initiated in 2007, before Peters’ appointment as Transport Minister in 2013.

The DoT in 2010 presented Parliament with an early version of Natmap, which included linking Johannesburg to Durban and Polokwane via rapid train networks, expanding the Port of Cape Town, and forming partnerships  with the private sector to help fund projects and lower the burden on taxpayers, all with an estimated budget requirement of R750-billion.

Cabinet had indicated that Natmap must represent South Africa’s transport needs, and not those of the DoT, Peters said on Monday, explaining the project’s delay.

Cabinet insisted that the DoT looked at all modes of transport and the infrastructure that supported these modes in drawing up the master plan. Natmap should also respond to transport-related growth points in the economy, such as tourism.

“Cabinet then took the decision to refer Natmap back to the Presidential Infrastructure Coordinating Committee (PICC),” said Peters.

“At this stage we are ready to present Natmap to the PICC and to get the process started.”

Peters also on Monday acknowledged that the DoT had not yet been able to create significant private sector participation in the transport sector, as was envisaged for the 2009 to 2014 period.

She said private sector involvement could act as a catalyst for growth, adding that government did not have sufficient funds to create all of the transport infrastructure and services the South African economy required.