Limpopo seeks multilateral investments for vital infrastructure development at IATF 2025

Limpopo’s provincial government has put its best foot forward to attract investment from multilateral financial institutions for critical infrastructure development projects that could yield economic growth and create jobs, including the protracted intra-provincial high-speed railway project. 

This comes as Premier of Limpopo, Dr Phophi Ramathuba, participated in the ongoing Intra-African Trade Fair 2025 (IATF2025) in Algeria this week where she made a business case for the province to prospective investors. 

Business Report witnessed a closed-door meeting on Saturday Ramathuba had with Denys Denya the executive vice president of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), which organises the IATF.

In an interview, Ramathuba confirmed that the IATF2025 allowed the provincial government the opportunity to engage with the bank and gave some details about what they engaged on.

“We had a one-on-one session with their Executive Vice-President to show areas where we would need the bank to assist like in the development of the cargo terminal at the Gateway International Airport, the investment in feasibility study of the high-speed rail link between Limpopo and Gauteng and investment in our Special Economic Zones in Fetakgomo-Tubatse and Musina-Makhado,” Ramathuba said.

“This has opened room for further engagements with the bank, thereby opening opportunities to fund infrastructure development.” 

The planned Gauteng-Limpopo high-speed rail project, also known as the "bullet train," aims to connect Pretoria with Polokwane and eventually further north to Musina, with the goal of drastically reducing travel times from over five hours by car to about 90 minutes. 

Feasibility studies and environmental impact assessments are currently underway, with construction slated to begin in late 2026 and an operational launch targeted for 2030. The project is designed to foster economic development and improve connectivity between South Africa's economic hub and its neighbouring province

Ramathuba said the decision to participate in the IATF2025 was based on recognising Limpopo’s investment portfolio and on strengthening its relations with like-minded regions in the continent.

She said Africa also needed to strengthen its relationship with the BRICS countries in light of the current trade impasse.

“For example, since we have an abundance of avocadoes, when demand is higher than we as the province can supply, then twinning with another province in West Africa that has similar products, for example, would give us an added advantage to strengthen trade,” Ramathuba said.

“Another important element has been the need to expose our businesses to environments beyond their comfort zones, allowing their enterprises to expand beyond the borders of our country.”

Ramathuba was leading the Limpopo delegation to the IATF2025 comprising the MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development, Nakedi Kekana, and senior officials of the Limpopo Economic Development Environment and Tourism (LEDET) and Limpopo Economic Development Agency (LEDA).

The provincial government brought along 14 business representatives from the province in the field of tourism, furniture manufacturing, visual arts, film production, cosmetics, infrastructure enablers like bitumen traders, and organic salt producers.

This was carefully curated to showcase the diversity of products that the province can offer for potential investors and traders. 

Ramathuba said the strategy is to strengthen the industrialisation agenda wherein mining, agriculture and tourism are foremost in the call to increase output in the areas and create jobs. 

“Equally important is that we should find ways of increasing manufacturing through willing businesses that would want to invest in Limpopo,” she said. 

“We also believe that investment in infrastructure development would allow further jobs to be created as that would create a conducive environment for the economy to grow.”  

BUSINESS REPORT