Upgrading Infrastructure will Create Jobs. |
| 2019-04-29. |
| The upgrading of infrastructure in industrial parks located in or near the country’s townships will go a long way in transforming the economy and creating job opportunities. This was said by The Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Bulelani Magwanishe at the launch of the revitalised Nkowankowa Industrial Park in Tzaneen today.
The event marked the end of the first phase of the upgrading of the park by the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) at a cost of R40 million. The renovation was part of the department’s Industrial Parks Revitalisation Programme which started in 2016 and is aimed at upgrading the infrastructure of all of the country’s state-owned industrial parks. “The Industrial Parks Revitalisation Programme, through which the Nkowankowa Industrial Park is launched will go a long way in creating a conducive environment for the companies to create job opportunities and grow the economy of the area. The development of economic infrastructure promotes economic transformation and the establishment of Black Industrialists in productive sectors of our economy by way of shared value and wealth creation,” said Magwanishe. Upgrades of the first phase of the Nkowankowa Industrial Park included the renovation of some warehouses; installation of CCTV system, fence, pedestrian and vehicular gates, as well high mast lights “Situated along the Phalaborwa Corridor, the Nkowankowa Industrial Park remains a strategic location for regional and inter-continental trade as it is connected to Nelspruit, Tzaneen and the deep water port of Maputo in Mozambique. This permits access to a variety of transportation routes, making the park an attractive investment destination for export production, packaging and beneficiation of minerals,” added Magwanishe. He also said that in pursuit of industrialisation, the government will ensure the completion of all related phases to the park, which has attained an 88% occupancy, for the sake of increased job creation and the empowerment of small business in the region. Speaking at the same event, the Deputy Minister of Small Business Development, Mr Cassel Mathale said he was excited about the Industrial Parks Revitalisation Programme because it would benefit mainly small businesses. “Industrial parks like the one we are launching today will go a long way in addressing the triple challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment in township and rural communities like this one of Nkowankowa and the surrounding areas. As a department, we support the work that is being done here by the dti. We are committing ourselves to collaborating with the dti as all three spheres of government need to support initiatives by people who want to do business by making it possible for them to access funding,” said Mathale. Upgrading of the Nkowankowa park was part of the dti’s Industrial Parks Revitalisation Programme which the department started to implement in 2016. The main objective of the programme is to promote industrialisation, accelerate economic growth, attract investment, promote transformation and encourage the establishment of black industrialists in the industrial parks. The programme is also aimed at supporting job creation in manufacturing and related sectors. So far twelve industrial parks have been renovated throughout the country to the tune of half-a-billion rand since the inception of the programme
Enquiries:
|
Share this:
