Minister Sihle Zikalala briefed the media on the big plans by the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI).
He updated South Africans on the response by the Department to the national imperatives of the Economic Reconstruction and recovery plan.
Zikalala briefed media at Hatfield in Tshwane on Sunday, 20 August.
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He said as part of accelerating the sector contribution to the country's Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan, the MinMec meeting endorsed the transformative Construction Industry Recovery Plan (CIRP), which provides a focused approach for the inclusive development of the construction industry.
"The CIRP enables a focus on the entire infrastructure delivery and maintenance value chain. Furthermore reviving the construction sector, a significant infrastructure push will support local manufacturing and other related sectors across the value chain.
"As a custodian of state properties, we have heightened the need to urgently acquire property for the expansion of the Eskom transmission infrastructure," he said.
He said the department is committed to speeding up the work of infrastructural development and releasing available state-owned land for all national programmes.
Zikalala said since the gazetting of the projects in 2020, some headways can be reported with a number of projects completed to the value of almost R4,63 billion.
He said between January and July 2023, the total value of projects reported under the SIP Programme are R164 billion worth of projects in procurement as reported by the various project sponsors and owners.
And R245 billion worth of projects are in construction phase.
Zikalala said all delayed projects and their challenges have been identified and intervention measures with start and finish dates are in place.
He said since law enforcement agencies are fighting crime, there is hope to win the war against those involved in extortion, hijacking and disruption of contruction sites.
"We have resolved to stem the tide on rampat corruption by unscrupulous contractors that are fleecing government through shoddy workmanship and deceitful liquidations," he said.
Zikalala said the department is intensifying its efforts to bring back its lost assets. He said the department is vigorously implementing a campaign which they call Operation Bring Back.
In job creation interventions, the department plans to insource some of the services by reviving workshops and training centres.
"We are repackaging our mass employment opportunity programme, the Expanded Public Works Programme to be more impactful," he concluded.
