DTI director-general Lionel October
Photo by: Duane Daws
With the first phase of the Vulindlela Heights Industrial Park revitalisation programme set to kick off next week, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) plans to inject more funds for the next phase of the upgrade.
Around R22-million had been allocated for the basic critical infrastructure, such as roads, electricity, security and water for the Mthatha-based park.
“In the new financial year, the department will make more money available for the next phase of the upgrading of this park . . . [into] a world-class, modern industrial park,” DTI director-general Lionel October told delegates at an industrial business stakeholders workshop this week.
The DTI had tasked the Development Bank of Southern Africa with rolling out the construction and infrastructure phases.
The move formed part of the DTI’s Revitalisation of Industrial Parks Programme, which aimed to upgrade ten of South Africa’s State-owned old industrial parks to stimulate broader economic and industrial development in the host townships and rural areas, while attracting investments, enabling job creation and addressing inequality and eradicating poverty.
The Vulindlela and Queenstown-based Queendustria industrial parks, in the Eastern Cape, were identified for immediate revitalisation, with a first phase budget of R22-million allocated to each.
The other parks prioritised for revitalisation and refurbishment were located in Limpopo, North-West, KwaZulu-Natal, Free State and Mpumalanga.