The potential short and long term benefits of major infrastructure projects to the South African economy

M.Ing. (Engineering Management)As a result of its direct relations with the different sectors of the economy, the construction industry is used as a tool by governments around the world for economic recovery. The South African government has taken such a stance following the 2008/2009 global financial crisis, by proposing the government‘s infrastructure spending and expansion programme for economic growth and development. The South African economy took a stalling from 4.1% in 2007 to 2.3% in 2008 and then turning negative in 2009. This research paper seeks to gather insight of the relationship between construction output and economic growth, as well as the potential long and short term benefits of major infrastructure projects to the South African economy. South Africa; as a developing country and with its construction industry currently in the upward trend, there are lessons that can be learnt from the developed countries. To this end, trends in construction output and GDP have been scrutinised to examine any pattern of development relating the construction industry and its relationship with the economy as a whole. The examination spanned over 32 countries grouped according to their respective development status. With South Africa‘s significant increase in the annual change in construction output between 2004 and 2008, amid developments of the FIFA world cup, confirmed the relation between construction investment and economic growth. The contribution of the construction industry to GDP for developed countries all follow the same trend of having high contributions in the beginning of development declining as less and less new infrastructure is required by the country. The contribution of construction averaged at 6 per cent for the entire duration of analysis between 1970 and 2011. Compared to international standards, South Africa‘s contribution of construction to GDP is determined to be very low at 3 per cent for the duration 1963 and 2011. Further, the construction industry has displayed characteristics of instability for South Africa when compared to developed countries over the same period