Infrastructural investment targets road, rail, air and sea

ED RICHARDSON NELSON MANDELA Bay, which includes Port Elizabeth, Uitenhage and Despatch, is gearing up for large-scale infrastructural projects in order to promote investment in the metro. Five commercial, manufacturing and industrial developments are included in what the council calls its “20/20 Vision” for the metro in 15 years time. Among these are the Coega Industrial Development Zone (including the port of Ngqura), the Uitenhage/Despatch Development Initiative, Mandela Bay Development Agency and the Motherwell Urban Renewal Programme. Plans for infrastructural investment have been welcomed by local business, who emphasise that it has to be matched by provincial and national government which are responsible for supplying the linkages between Nelson Mandela Bay and the rest of the world. “We are eager for the government to fast-track infrastructural development in the rail, road and cargo-carrying sectors to look at providing better solutions to business in the area,” says Alfred de la Costa, CEO of the Port Elizabeth Chamber of Commerce. “There does however need to be a focus on electricity infrastructure for growth to improve investment,” he adds. The South African National Roads Agency Ltd (SANRAL) is currently responsible for roads along the N2 in the Nelson Mandela Bay area. This includes the rehabilitation and maintenance of existing infrastructure.