South Africa Freight Rail Sector Improvement Program (NDB-SAFREIGHTRAIL)

Regions
  • Africa
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Countries
  • South Africa
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Financial Institutions
  • New Development Bank (NDB)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Approved
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
B
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Jan 3, 2025
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
Transnet SOC Ltd.
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Industry and Trade
  • Infrastructure
  • Transport
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Loan
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 988.67 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Currency conversion note:
Bank reported 18500
Converted using 2025-01-03 exchange rate.
Loan Amount (USD)
$ 988.67 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Currency conversion note:
Bank reported 18500
Converted using 2025-01-03 exchange rate.
Bank Documents
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ NDB website

Updated in EWS Feb 27, 2025

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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

As stated by the NDB, the Program represents the capital expenditure plan of Transnet aimed at restoring its capacity to meet the traffic demand of South Africa. The activities under the Program include amongst others rail network infrastructure renewal and rehabilitation, locomotives overhaul, wagon fleet renewal, etc.

The Program is expected to result in restoring the freight rail volumes in South Africa. The Program will play a catalytic role in stimulating economic activity, job creation, and productivity gains by reducing overall transportation costs for the country and enhancing its competitiveness in the global trade. The Program will aid modal shift from road to rail and contribute to reducing carbon emissions and other costs associated with road transport.

Transnet, a wholly state-owned entity of the Government of the Republic of South Africa, will be the Program Entity responsible for all aspects of implementation including planning, execution, and supervision of activities to be undertaken under the Program. The Program is planned to be implemented over a period of five years.

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.
Private Actors Description
A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

As stated by Bloomberg, Transnet SOC Ltd operates as an integrated freight transport company. The Company offers rail transportation, rolling stock maintenance, and port and cargo terminal operation services. Transnet SOC serves customers in South Africa.

Private Actor 1 Private Actor 1 Role Private Actor 1 Sector Relation Private Actor 2 Private Actor 2 Role Private Actor 2 Sector
- - - - Transnet SOC Ltd, Client Transport

Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

NDB Team Leader:

Jitesh Ketkar - Public Sector Department

No project contacts provided at the time of disclosure.

Borrower - Transnet SOC Ltd.:

Monicca Motloung
Email: Monicca.Motloung@transnet.net

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit an information request for project information though a form at the bottom of the following webpoage https://www.ndb.int/about-us/contact-us/. Alternatively, you can send an e-mail to info@ndb.int. 

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF NEW DEVELOPMENT BANK

The New Development Bank (NDB) does not currently have an independent accountability mechanism to accept complaints related to NDB-financed projects. The Bank does have a whistleblower mechanism that receives complaints about misconduct related to corruption, fraudulent practices and instances of money laundering in projects financed by the NDB and/or against the NDB staff members. To learn more about the whistleblower mechanism and how to file a complaint, access this webpage at: https://www.ndb.int/about-us/whistleblowing/.

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How it works