By John Young
Infrastructure is a key priority for government at both provincial and local level in the Western Cape. In the decade to 2025, the Western Cape Provincial Government invested a total of R98.8-billion in physical infrastructure.
Infrastructure is closely linked to investment and when the Western Cape hosts the Regional Leaders Summit in 2025, leaders from Bavaria (Germany), Georgia (USA), Québec (Canada), São Paulo (Brazil), Shandong (China) and Upper Austria (Austria) will be able to see for themselves the results of that decade of investment.
With South Africa being the host of the G20, the Western Cape will play host to various events such as Working Group meetings on the digital economy. In November 2025, the first Western Cape Investment Summit 2025 will be held.
Premier Alan Winde reported in his State of the Province Address in 2025 that between 2021 and 2023, the Western Cape recorded 35 direct investment projects from European Union member states alone, totalling R7.37-billion. In 2024/25, 296 Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) projects were recorded, valued at R171-billion. Winde noted that, “Cape Town and Stellenbosch ranked among the top 20 South African cities for inward FDI initiatives.”
Local manufacturers are also investing. PPC announced in 2025 that it would replace and increase existing capacity at its Riebeek West site, pictured, in a R3-billion investment that will see annual capacity rise to 1.5-millon tons of cement. The company’s board said that, “existing plants in the Western Cape will continue to operate during the construction and commissioning of the new plant”. Solar generation and other new technologies will contribute to the plant supplying low-carbon cement.
Illustrating the centrality of infrastructure to provincial planning, in March 2023 the first budget of the newly formed Western Cape Department of Infrastructure was delivered. The department was created by a merger of the Department of Human Settlements and the Department of Transport and Public Works.
For the 2025/26 financial year, the department committed to spending R9.83-billion, with a focus on digital infrastructure, energy security and skills development.
The Western Cape Infrastructure Framework 2050, approved and updated in 2024, guides infrastructure spending in the province and is aligned with the Western Cape Infrastructure Implementation Plan 2050 (also known as the Singular Project Pipeline) which identifies and gives an overview of existing infrastructure pipelines at all levels, private and public.
Three other overarching programmes of the provincial government are tasked with dealing with major issues that affect every area of the province and the ability of businesses to thrive:
- Western Cape Integrated Drought and Water Response Plan
- Energy Resilience Programme
- Red Tape Reduction Unit
Among the results reported for these initiatives are a R2.4-billion saving for business through reduced red tape and the addition of 2 000MW of new energy. More than 1 000MW of that energy is non-Eskom and non-REIPPPP, leading Premier Winde
to speculate that “we may even beat our target before 2035 and become a net exporter of energy”.
Were that to happen, between R21.6-billion and R68.4-billion could be earned, and further investment would be sure to follow. At local level, a R210-million solar plant is being built in the town of Riversdale in the Hessequa Local Municipality.
The province has a dedicated investment agency, Wesgro, which also works to promote the region’s tourism. The Investment Promotion Unit of Wesgro is working with various regions within the Western Cape to attract investment and accelerate exports.
In recent years, the biggest investments have been in renewable energy and manufacturing.
Other important sectors are agro-processing, aviation, business services, education and training, financial services, real estate, ICT, light manufacturing, oil and gas, timber, tourism, waste beneficiation and clean energy.
Another vehicle for attracting investment are Special Economic Zones (SEZ) and Industrial Development Zones (IDZ). Zones at Atlantis and Saldanha aim to tap into growing markets – maritime, oil and gas and renewable technologies.
The Atlantis Special Economic Zone (ASEZ) is attracting investors in the greentech market. An early investor in the zone was GRI Towers South Africa, a wind turbine tower manufacturer.
Film focus brings benefits
The film industry continues to bolster the Western Cape economy. In the six months to June 2024, visiting film crews spent
R148-million on accommodation in Cape Town. Statistics from the City of Cape Town’s Film Permits Office show that more than R2.5-billion in foreign production investment was secured in that period.
Between January and May 2025, 550 production shoots took place in the Cape Town CBD. Of these, 219 were “large and very large” commercial shoots, 106 were micro shoots, 22 were TV series and 14 were feature films.
For every rand spent on film production, an additional R2.50 is generated in the local economy. In addition, the Western Cape produces roughly 80% of foreign-funded film projects in South Africa.
The City of Cape Town supports film investment by holding off on charging for filming permits as well as providing free metro police support for open-air shoots. The Cape Town Central City Improvement District (CCID) works in partnership with the city to provide security and cleaning services. The city’s CBD supports 24 artistic studios, including film studios, and the sector supports more than 35 000 jobs and contributes about R5-billion to the local economy.
Plans for a new airport for greater Cape Town are moving forward.
Cape Town International Airport and the Cape Town Cruise Terminal continue to contribute significantly to the economy of the region. In December 2024, the airport received 160 537 arrivals, a 12-year high. Visiting cruise ships contributed R1.32-billion to the Western Cape’s economy during the 2023/24 season and supported nearly 2 000 jobs across a variety of sectors.
Plans for a new airport for greater Cape Town are moving forward. The existing Fisantekraal Airfield north of Durbanville has been rebranded the Cape Winelands Airport by its new owners and there are plans for it be fully redeveloped with expanded facilities.
An increasing number of oil and gas exploration permits have been granted both onshore and offshore along the West Coast. While this has disturbed conservationists, the results from surveys done in Block 5/6/7 suggest that the oil available in South African waters will at least match the significant resources that have been found in Namibian territory offshore. Premier Winde has claimed for Cape Town three titles:
- Africa’s greentech hub
- Africa’s BPO capital
- Africa’s tech capital
In addition, Cape Town is listed by the Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2021 as the number one performer in Africa for technology ecosystems. It is home to almost two-thirds of all startups in South Africa. There are 22 active incubators and accelerators in the region which provide networking and marketing opportunities and links to funders and markets.
The provincial government’s broadband roll-out project is continuing. The Western Cape Department of Health was the first in the country to go digital, including 265 primary healthcare centres and 181 mobile posts.
Cape Town is also, according to the Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI), ranked second in Africa in 2020 (behind Mauritius) in competitiveness as a financial centre. Neighbouring Stellenbosch is advancing its reputation for technological innovation and the output of the region’s four universities and six TVET colleges ensures that the tech sector has the necessary human capital.
Cape Town’s share of national employment in the financial sector is about 20% and the contribution to gross value-added (GVA) is 15%.
Provincial economy
Finance, business services and real estate combined contribute 28% to the gross domestic product (GDP) of the Western Cape. The financial services and insurance sector are major components of the economy. Although agriculture accounts for just 4.3% of GDP on its own, the sector is responsible for the fruit and vegetables that contribute to agro-processing which accounts for nearly 40% of the province’s export basket. (Agro-processing accounts for 8.1% of GDP.)
Citrus, wine, apples and pears, grapes, fruit juice, fruit and nuts and tobacco all appear in the top 10 of the province’s exports. Seventy percent (70%) of South Africa’s beverage exports come from the Western Cape. Grapes and wine sales to Europe remain strong, but the Chinese market is becoming increasingly important.
The province has a diverse manufacturing sector ranging from textiles, clothing, footwear, boatbuilding and furniture to coke and refined petroleum products. Excluding agro-processing, other manufacturing makes up 6.9% of GDP.
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