Five industrial parks around South Africa will collectively be getting a R216 million upgrade. The Department of Trade and Industry will undertake the renovations and said the projects are scheduled to begin soon as budgets were approved late last year.

The department’s minister, Rob Davies said the renovations are aimed at upgrading the parks’ infrastructure so they can be better positioned to contribute to the country’s industrial development, economic growth and job creation.

Parks previously upgraded

“Last year, the (department) spent more than R180 million for the upgrading of six industrial parks spread across five provinces in the first phase of our Revitalisation of Industrial Parks Programme,” Davies said. “We have set aside R216 million from our critical infrastructure incentive programme to start revitalising five more this year.”

Revitalisation programme

The revitalisation will begin in the Nkowankowa, Ekandustria, Bodirelo, Phuthaditjhaba and Garankuwa Industrial Parks. It will be implemented in four phases focusing on various areas, with the first being the upgrading of security infrastructure.

“Our officials are already in the process of conducting inception meetings to discuss the implementation of the project with key stakeholders,” Davies said. “The positive impact of the programme on the economy on the areas where the parks are located is felt as soon as the implementation begins, as most of the labour and construction materials are procured from those areas.”

Revitalisation promotes job creation

The department said it identified a need to revitalise industrial parks located in various parts of the country, mainly the former homelands, as part of efforts to promote industrialisation, manufacturing and job creation.

Davies said the department would like to see more industrial parks operating as “centres of excellence and beehives of economic activity”, contributing to the growth and diversification of the economy.

“The revitalisation process will ensure that the upgraded parks appeal to private investors, provide a conducive environment and attract investments that will create jobs and assist in promoting economic transformation,” Davies said.

Holistic approach

The department said it is applying “a holistic approach to the revitalisation initiative”. This is to ensure that these enterprises participate meaningfully in the mainstream economy in order to achieve the National Development Plan and Industrial Policy Development Plan objectives.

“Parks must be efficiently run to facilitate market access for goods manufactured there,” the department said in a statement. “They must provide financial and non-financial support and be clustered along industrial sector and value-chain lines.”