South African public corporations shifted capital spending in 2025

Construction still led, but machinery nearly caught up

New construction works accounted for ZAR 37.330 billion in 2025, down 24.4%. Plant, machinery and equipment reached ZAR 36.121 billion, up 39.1%. The gap between these two categories narrowed to ZAR 1.209 billion. Source 1

Transport equipment had the fastest percentage increase

Transport equipment rose from ZAR 824 million in 2024 to ZAR 2.421 billion in 2025. The 193.8% increase was large in percentage terms because the previous year’s value was relatively small. Its rand increase was smaller than the machinery category’s increase. Source 1

A small movement in the total hid larger shifts within it

Leased assets and investment property increased by ZAR 2.227 billion, while other fixed assets fell by ZAR 665 million and land and existing buildings fell by ZAR 131 million. The published total increased about 1.3%. Source 1

The 2025 figures apply to public corporations

Statistics South Africa identifies 41 public corporations in its 2025 coverage. The figures measure spending on capital assets for those institutions. They cannot be read as expenditure by the whole public sector or as spending by private firms. Source 1 Source 2

Sources

• Statistics South Africa, P9101 capital expenditure by the public sector, 2025 key findings
• Statistics South Africa, October 2026 economic wrap-up and public corporation coverage