More red tape is being done away with to speed up the implementation of infrastructure projects.

Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure Patricia De Lille and head of Infrastructure South Africa (ISA) Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa on Tuesday provided an update on the progress of the Infrastructure Investment Plan. They addressed issues such as the financing of projects and efforts to overcome delays.

Infrastructure investment is key to stimulating economic growth and job creation, as outlined in the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan. It includes 62 projects across the country - which are at various stages, and are implemented by different government departments and state-owned enterprises. The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) and ISA are coordinators of the plan and work to raise funding outside the fiscus.

Government has committed R100-billion over 10 years to the Infrastructure Fund, which is ring-fenced within the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA). The provision of public finance de-risk projects and makes them attractive for further private sector investment.

Over the next three years, R24-billion has been allocated to the Infrastructure Fund, for blended financed projects.

Currently, the Infrastructure Fund receives submissions for projects that require blended finance, Ramakgopa explained. These submissions are evaluated by the Infrastructure Investment Committee, which is chaired by De Lille.

The committee includes private sector players and director generals from key departments like Human Settlements, National Treasury, and Mineral Resources and Energy. The committee considers projects and approves them for blended finance - from the Infrastructure Fund and the remainder to be raised from the private sector.

But even after this process, projects still need to go through the Budget Facility for Infrastructure (BFI) at National Treasury for approval of public funding from the Infrastructure Fund.

Among the projects submitted to the BFI include four student housing infrastructure projects - with a cost of over R3-billion. The BFI approved R900-million from the Infrastructure Fund for these projects, over two financial years. The social housing programme, with a cost of R1.1-billion, was also considered by the BFI, which approved R304.5-million for it over two financial years.

The Lepelle Northern Water project, costing R4.5-billion, had R1.4-billion approved over three financial years.

De Lille said that the BFI process caused a lot of delays.

"Towards the end of last year, I started making noises. I took it to Cabinet, I took it to the new minister of finance and said, 'This is not on'. It is delaying implementation and getting blended funding from the private sector."

As a step toward a solution, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has agreed to list infrastructure as a separate budget item. There will be no need for these strategic infrastructure projects to go through the BFI to save time and speed up their implementation, De Lille said.

Ramakgopa further unpacked the significance of the change. He explained that the BFI meets in August each year, and the projects go through the "same level of scrutiny" that they had been subject to through the Infrastructure Investment Committee's process. Essentially it is a duplication.

Although R100-billion is available through the Infrastructure Fund on paper, it is subjected to the BFI process, he said. "Our view was to create a special dispensation so that there is a budget vote dedicated to the Infrastructure Fund," said Ramakgopa.

He added that the BFI is not abolished; social projects for example, can still go through the process. The aim is to have infrastructure projects considered for blended finance as and when they are ready - as opposed to waiting until August each year. "In that way we are able to accelerate the [project] pipeline," said Ramakgopa.

Ramakgopa said that the details of how funding will be made available is still being determined. Options include having the funds as an appropriation with Treasury. So when the Infrastructure Investment Committee approves projects for blended finance, Treasury can be approached to make an allocation from the appropriation. The other option is to have an allocation to the DBSA, ring-fenced for that purpose, he explained. The legal ramifications of either options are being considered.

Until the new dispensation comes into effect, in the interim it is proposed that the BFI does not have to wait until August to consider projects, said Ramakgopa.

De Lille said it had been a "sharp learning process". "If you want blended funding, the private sector will not sit and wait for the budget facility to meet once a year. They will take their money else. It is part of reducing red tape and bureaucracy in government," said De Lille.

De Lille added that the impact of this change would help with the faster implementation of infrastructure projects by helping them secure blended finance faster.