National Treasury says Transnet's fiscal position remains major challenge

While bailouts for state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are a thing of the past, key entities like logistics giant Transnet remain fragile, according to National Treasury.

National Treasury said Transnet's fiscal position remains a major challenge with rising debt levels and insufficient cash.

But the finance department has noted how fellow SOE Eskom has returned to profitability after nearly a decade of sustained losses.

National Treasury said Transnet remains unprofitable, although it has narrowed its net loss from R7.3 billion in 2023/24 to R1.9 billion in 2025.

It said the entity's focus in the 18 months to March last year was to implement its recovery plan.

Tabling the Budget on Wednesday, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said the Budget Facility for Infrastructure (BFI) will now benefit the likes of Transnet, as it continues to play a pivotal role in enabling funding of strategic infrastructure projects.

Since shifting from annual to quarterly windows last year, the BFI has approved R21.9bn for five major projects.

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These include Transnet's coal and iron ore corridor projects, which will restore rail capacity to 77 million tonnes for the coal line and 60 million tonnes for the ore line, and the Polokwane regional wastewater programme.

Godongwana said over the medium term, public-sector spending on infrastructure will exceed R1 trillion, of which R577.4 billion will be spent by state-owned companies and other public entities.