South Africa’s government has appointed Brian Molefe, former CEO of the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), as Chief Executive Officer of Transnet Ltd., the state-owned rail, ports and pipeline operator that hasn’t had a permanent appointee to the post for almost two years.

Brian Molefe will begin his five-year contract with immediate effect, Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba told reporters in Cape Town on 16 February.

“This appointment strengthens the leadership of Transnet and allows the company’s primary focus to return to that of running a stable business,” Gigaba said.

Among other tasks, Molefe will be responsible for overseeing a 93.4 billion rand ($12.8-billion) expansion program over the next five years aimed at ending transportation bottlenecks in Africa’s largest economy.