The R173-million, 1 500-seat Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Park in the Coega Industrial Development Zone (IDZ), near Port Elizabeth, would start operating in March 2010, the Coega Development Corporation (CDC) reported on Tuesday.

The CDC was currently looking for tenants to occupy the 18 900-m² facility, which was being built in Zone 4 of the Coega IDZ.

Besides the main call centre floor area, office space, a kitchen and a cafeteria would also be incorporated into the facility, which was being built by WBHO as the main contractor.

To date, the shell structure of the building has been completed, while the roof was about 95% completed, noted project manager Bruno Ponzo.

About 600 jobs, mainly in the bricklaying, steel erection, metal roof cladding, electrical engineering and plumbing fields, had been created through the construction of the BPO Park.

Ponzo highlighted that one of the biggest factors that had to be taken into consideration during the establishment of the BPO Park, was the required information and communication technology capabilities.

“All of the [information technology] work to be done by investors will be conducted from a central hub that will be located within the facility. This will not only support the investors in the building but also others located in other sites in the IDZ,” he said.

The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (NMBM) was in the process of laying cables so that the BPO Park would have a permanent power supply by the end of the year.

The building, which was environmentally friendly and energy efficient, would also have a backup power system, the CDC noted.

The CDC’s Human Capital Solutions (HCS) business unit was responsible for all skills analysis, training and placement, among others, in the zone. It has trained 285 call centre operators, to date.

Some of these operators have been placed with the NMBM, Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism and other private employers, as well as the South African Police Service’s call centre.

Further training in anticipation of the full BPO uptake is planned in early 2010.

“We are looking forward to training more people for the anticipated demand of the BPO Park. The BPO sector provides a lot of career prospects for our youth and therefore the CDC HCS will undertake initiatives to empower the youth to benefit in the BPO sector and from the employment opportunities that will be created in the Coega IDZ,” HCS training project manager Zola Bikitsha said.

All training programmes are government aided either through Further Education and Training Institutes, Sector Education and Training Authorities and the Department of Labour, through the National Skills Fund.  

The training is demand based, and to fill the BPO Park, the number to be trained will be based on the business demands and operational needs and plans of tenants.