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approach seeks to address the lack of diversity of the economy and presents developmental
options to grow the economy ofUlundi.
Emondlo is another significant township, located about 7 kilometres from Vryheid. It is
primarily a residential area with limited services and facilities, and few employment
opportunities. Upongola and Paulpietersburg are small towns, which act as service centres,
while Nongoma fulfils the same role, but with far fewer and lower order services. The other
urban areas are very small and offer few services or facilities. These may be regarded as
urban more by statistical definition than due to their functionality. With the closing of the
coal mines in and around Hlobane and Coronation, the only remaining concentration of
economic activity is Zululand Anthracite Colliery located some 50 km east of Ulundi (IDP­
Zululand District Municipality, 2006).
5.2.4 Transport networks
Zululand District's main internal road network is dominated by three routes which form a
triangle linking Vryheid, Ulundi and Upongola - the 'coal line' corridor (R34 and R33), the
road from Vryheid through Louwsberg to Magudu (R69). and from Ulundi to Upongola
(R66) on the N2 (Figure 5.2). The continuation of these routes connects the Zululand
District's main centres to adjacent districts and urban centres. Another significant road is the
N2, which flanks the district in the north. This network has two significant weaknesses: that
is, 35 km section of the R66 between Nongoma and Upongola is not tarred and a section of
the N2 between Upongola and Piet Retief does not have national road status. Located
adjacent to Ulundi, Nongoma is a service centre that provides urban functions to the
surrounding rural areas. However, its development potential is hindered primarily by its
physical landscape. limiting potential expansion of the land use zones of the town. An
important link road is the P70{), which runs from Ulundi to the Cengeni Gate of Umfolozi
Game Reserve. This is a vital link in order to realise the tourism potential of Zululand.
Coupled with upgrading of the R66. this would complete the network and provide good
access for tourists travelling from Mpumalanga to the KwaZulu-Natal Game Reserves (IDP­
Zululand District Municipality, 2006).
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