Agreement imminent over Walvis Bay corridor
ONLY TWO Spatial Development Initiatives (SDIs) - the Maputo Corridor and Lubombo - of the 11 identified by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), are functioning.
BusinessMap SADC specialist, Richard Saunders, said these were likely to soon be joined by the Walvis Bay Corridor for which an agreement between the Namibian government and the DTI was awaiting final agreement.
Three regional SDIs are on hold because of the deteriorating security situation in Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, he said.
The DTI planned to recruit a project manager for the SA Platinum SDI which covered the Rustenburg-Jwangeng areas. This SDI would be a key link in the development of a coast-to-coast development corridor - a compendium of the Walvis Bay, Platinum and Maputo corridors. Further to the north, preparation work was continuing on the Beira Corridor, the Nacala Corridor and Zambezi Valley Development Initiative, he said.
SDIs were started in 1977 to encourage development and investment, said Saunders.
"Departing from traditional approaches to the development of transport corridors, the DTI programme seeks firstly to identify resources in an area which might be of interest to investors, and then help plan and promote infrastructural investments which improve access to these investment targets. Transport remains a key component of projects but as a means to development and not the primary target of investment promotion.
"To date 11 South African SDI projects have been identified, some of which extend beyond South Africa's borders into neighbouring countries. The initial focus was on the development of projects within the country with the identification and promotion of investment opportunities serving as a core activity of the SDI programme," he said.
In 1997, R50 million was allocated by the South African Government for domestic and regional SDI projects.
By Anna Cox
Copyright Now Media (Pty) Ltd
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