The National Treasury of South Africa has launched a new Infrastructure and Development Finance Bond under the government’s domestic borrowing programme, aimed at supporting large-scale public investment in energy, water, transport, and social infrastructure.
According to the Treasury, this is the first time South Africa has issued a dedicated infrastructure bond. The initiative is intended to leverage investor demand for infrastructure as an asset class while securing funding at favourable market rates.
Funds raised from the bond will be channelled through the Infrastructure Fund at the Development Bank of Southern Africa, with disbursements tied to project delivery milestones. Eligible projects will be financed exclusively through the Budget Facility for Infrastructure (BFI).
The bond is part of a broader suite of reforms first outlined in the 2024 Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS), which seeks to boost infrastructure investment as a driver of economic growth and improved service delivery. The reforms include new long-term financing instruments and a reconfigured BFI, which now operates four bid windows annually. In the first two quarters, the reconfigured BFI received 28 project submissions, nine of which progressed to detailed appraisal.
“Raising the level of public infrastructure investment remains central to South Africa’s long-term growth strategy,” the Treasury said. The bond also forms part of a strategy to broaden funding mechanisms, improve capital allocation efficiency, and increase transparency in financing major public investments.
