Premier Lazarus Mokgosi has placed Infrastructure South Africa (ISA) at the forefront of North West’s infrastructure drive, outlining a number of road, aviation, and catalytic development projects that he says are progressing from planning to execution.
Mokgosi stated that the revitalisation of Pilanesberg International Airport would be carried out in cooperation with ISA to boost tourism and business activities, when delivering his State of the Province Address in Mahikeng on Thursday.
According to him, this will strengthen the province’s tourist initiatives and revitalise business ventures in the Pilanesberg and Sun City resorts.
The intervention forms part of a broader tourism-linked infrastructure package that includes a R150-million road project.
“Moreover, the R150-million upgrade of the Majakaneng to Sun City road will be strategically positioned to sustain this economy and support the economic drive,” Mokgosi said.
He added that a similar approach was being considered for Mahikeng.
“A similar approach has been touted for Infrastructure South Africa to avail their expertise in commercialising Dirk George Montshioa Airport as a cargo airport in
Mahikeng.”
On road infrastructure more broadly, Mokgosi announced that significant funding has been allocated to projects across the province.
The provincial government was preparing to formalise cooperation with the Central University of Technology on a province-wide pothole repair initiative.
“We are looking forward to signing a memorandum of understanding with the Central University of Technology on the filling of pothole projects across all the municipalities in the province, targeting 7 000 unemployed youth.”
On catalytic infrastructure, Mokgosi said municipalities had taken formal steps to support the Mahikeng Student City project.
“The municipalities have passed council resolutions and made land available in support of this programme.”
He confirmed that funding and technical preparations were complete.
“Private sector funding for the Mahikeng Student City has been secured, positioning the project to break ground as soon as the final matters are concluded.”
“All major technical work, including engineering designs, has been completed in ensuring that the project is construction-ready,” Mokgosi explained.
He said the project is expected to have a significant employment impact.
“The Mahikeng student city alone is projected to unload over 350 000 jobs, creating meaningful economic opportunities for SMMEs, young women, and persons living with disabilities.”
In the transport sector, Mokgosi confirmed intervention in the North West Transport Investment (NTI) to address issues of nonpayment of salaries.
“When it comes to NTI, we have intervened in mitigating the challenges of non-payment of salaries in the Northwest transport investment as a temporary measure.
“Plans to recapitalise the entity through an equity partner are underway to preserve jobs and ensure the business sustainability of the entity; we expect this process to be concluded in the next three months.”
He also addressed the future of the commuter contract serving rural villages.
“The current commuter contract ends in March 2026, and we have subsequently appointed a transactional advisor to support the finalisation of all processes that will ensure a single transition to the next phase of the contract,” he said.
