Programme Director,
The Mayor of eThekwini Municipality, Councillor James Nxumalo,
Minister of Public Enterprises, Mr MN Gigaba,
Minister of Transport, Mr B Martins,
Members of the Business Fraternity,
Members of the diplomatic corps present this morning,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
All protocol observed.
On behalf of the provincial government of KwaZulu‐Natal (KZN) and the people of this province, we wish to express our greatest delight for being part of this occasion where we are witnessing the official hand over of the old Durban International Airport, an event that, indeed, gives the clearest indication yet that the multi billion rand dig out port is going to be realised in our lifetime.
As the provincial government of KwaZulu‐Natal we are exceedingly thrilled that today we can say without a shadow of a doubt that this project whose economic domino effect would be felt by the entire economy of the country, is about to take off. As other speakers have eminently explained, this project is part of the Durban‐Free State-Gauteng Logistics and Industrial corridor, which is aimed at, among other objectives, strengthening the logistics and transport corridor between the country’s main industrial hubs.
As all of us know, our province, at 17% is not only the second contributor to the gross domestic product (GDP) of the country, but is one of the critical economic lynch‐pins around which the entire economy of South Africa is built. Not only is KwaZulu‐Natal home to two ports, the Port of Durban, which is one of the busiest on the continent, and the Richards Bay Port, but over 80% of South Africa’s imports and exports pass through KwaZulu‐Natal, making the province the logistics hub of the country.
In our collection of logistics platforms, the province has recently added the Dube Trade Port which because of its spanking new international airport and its cargo handling capability plays a complimentary role to the two ports, giving KwaZulu‐Natal the edge as a transport and logistics hub.
Programme Director, we are harping on this because we firstly want to emphasise the strategic importance of our province to the South African economy, and secondly to amplify the importance of this infrastructure project to the country. We believe, therefore, that the dig out port would open a confluence of economic opportunities and improve the country’s global competitiveness, and would result in one of the critical puzzles in South Africa’s collective economic jigsaw falling into place.
Programme Director, it is because of this reason that the province of KwaZulu‐Natal has produced the Provincial Growth and Development Strategy (PGDS), a document which is our economic compass for the future. Taking its cue from the national development plan, the PGDS, is aimed at ensuring thatKwaZulu‐Natal is a prosperous province by 2030. Key to this is, using the province’s competitive and comparative advantages, position KwaZulu‐Natal as the gateway to the African continent.
The development of infrastructure and the ports, in particular, is one of the critical interventions, which in our view, will unlock the province’s economic potential and enhance the province’s status as the gateway to the continent.
As all of us know, the global economic landscape is currently undergoing a tectonic shift, with the developed economies struggling and the developing economies recording relatively high levels of growth and development. This change in the global economic arena has resulted in the continent of Africa emerging as the new economic frontier for growth and development. Currently, Africa is the second fastest growing region after Asia.
Even the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted that in the next few years, six of the ten fastest growing economies will be from the African continent. It is because of this reason that as the province we have taken a conscious decision to locate our economic fortunes within the context of these exciting developments on the African continent.
In this regard, as the provincial government of KwaZulu‐Natal we have also identified the following key interventions in order to build on the province’s competitive advantage and to create infrastructure that will result in sustainable job creation.
- Optimise the Dube Trade Port aerotropolis
- Plan and develop an inland multi modal logistics hub
- Improve and expand the Durban’s back of port operations
- Develop the Richards Bay Container Terminal
- Establish a feasibility of development of small craft habours and
- Develop regional airfields
Programme Director, as stated above, the impact of projects such as the dig out port in the province cannot be overemphasised. This is corroborated by the macro‐economic impact assessment that we have done to ascertain the impact of the Dube Trade Port‐ in which the province and national government invested more than R8 billion to construct.
The study shows that the total impact on employment was more than 64000 over five years, while construction activities contributed to the GDP over the last five years to the tune of R11.0 billion. The study also estimates that due to construction activities at the Dube Trade Port, a total of R7.9 billion was generated in terms of South African household income over five years.
This, Programme Director, illustrates clearly that infrastructure projects such as the dig out port are not only the bedrock on which to construct a better economic future, but have a catalytic effect in the economy of the country and in the lives of ordinary people.
In conclusion, Programme Director, as the provincial government we want to congratulate the Department of Transport and the Department of Public Enterprises for this historic handover of one of strategic sites in the eThekwini Municipality. As the provincial government we strongly support this initiative.
However, we hope that with the site now having been formally handed over to Transnet, all the parties will work in concert with determination and speed to ensure that this project is realised in our lifetime.
I thank you!
