Transnet said the R300 billion ($US37.5 billion) plan would be implemented over a seven-year period through a market demand strategy aimed at expanding South Africa’s rail, port and pipelines infrastructure.

The company said it would enable freight volumes in major commodities, including coal, iron ore and manganese to rise.

“The main objective of the strategy is for Transnet to invest in building capacity to meet validated market demand that will enable economic growth,” the company said in a statement.

The MDS aims to position Transnet Freight Rail as the world’s fifth biggest rail freight company, with rail freight volumes increasing from approximately 200Mt to 350Mt during the seven years.

Transnet said successful implementation of the MDS would see Transnet’s revenue almost triple from R46 billion to R128 billion over the next seven years, driven by strong volume growth.

It said R205 billion would be allocated to rail projects and R151 billion to general freight to support growth volumes to 170Mtpa.

The coal export volume would to increase from 68Mt to 98Mt, while iron ore export volumes would rise to 83Mt, up from 53Mt.

Transnet claimed its investment programme over the period would create up to 588,000 direct and indirect new job opportunities across the economy.

While Transnet admitted the plan would be a challenging, it said it had developed a comprehensive implementation plan to ensure a successful delivery of the strategy.