Eastern Cape Business 2017 edition
The 2017 edition of Eastern Cape Business is the 10th issue of this highly successful publication that, since its launch in 2006, has established itself as the premier business and investment guide to the Eastern Cape Province. The Eastern Cape enjoys an abundance of natural and human resources, as well as established industrial infrastructure that drives the economy of the province. This includes three ports and two industrial development zones which are home to a wide range of manufacturers and exporters. The 2017 edition includes an in-depth look at the province’s two Industrial Development Zones, a focus on skills development and investment climate information from the Nelson Mandela Business Chamber and the Border-Kei Chamber of Business.
The 2017 edition of Eastern Cape Business is the 10th issue of this highly successful publication that, since its launch in 2006, has established itself as the premier business and investment guide to the Eastern Cape Province. The Eastern Cape enjoys an abundance of natural and human resources, as well as established industrial infrastructure that drives the economy of the province. This includes three ports and two industrial development zones which are home to a wide range of manufacturers and exporters.
The 2017 edition includes an in-depth look at the province’s two Industrial Development Zones, a focus on skills development and investment climate information from the Nelson Mandela Business Chamber and the Border-Kei Chamber of Business.
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SPECIAL FEATURE<br />
Valley in the southwest has enormous deciduous<br />
fruit orchards, the Alexandria and Grahamstown area<br />
produces pineapples, chicory and dairy products. It<br />
is the leading livestock province in terms of numbers<br />
and supplies a quarter of South Africa’s milk.<br />
Tourism is a major growth industry with a growing<br />
number of national and international events taking<br />
place in the province. Events such as the Ironman<br />
World Championship, to be held in Port Elizabeth in<br />
2018, make a big economic impact.<br />
The Addo Elephant National Park is the largest of<br />
the province’s four national parks and there are more<br />
than a dozen provincial parks and a large number of<br />
upmarket private game farms, lodges and reserves.<br />
The province’s beaches and waves are very popular,<br />
with adventure tourism attracting tourists wanting<br />
to go on 4x4 trails, jump off bridges or fly micro-light<br />
aircraft. The National Arts Festival, held annually in<br />
Grahamstown, attracts huge crowds for 11 days, even<br />
in the midst of winter.<br />
PE plans<br />
The big new retail development in Port Elizabeth’s<br />
western suburbs has spurred a R300-million upgrade<br />
at Greenacres, the city’s first big mall development<br />
which attracted shoppers away from the<br />
central business district (CBD) in 1981. Even the CBD<br />
itself has received an overhaul. The old Main Street,<br />
renamed Govan Mbeki Avenue, was turned by the<br />
Mandela Bay Development Agency (MBDA) into a<br />
useful and pedestrian-friendly precinct.<br />
The MBDA is also behind the most recent change<br />
to the city’s landscape. There has been a total transformation<br />
of the Old Tramway building at the entrance<br />
to the Baakens Valley, near the yacht basin of<br />
the Port of Port Elizabeth. The MBDA has not only<br />
moved into new offices in the renovated building,<br />
but is letting it out as an events venue. Other retail<br />
property developments have happened in the valley<br />
(including a popular brewery), drawing attention<br />
to the potential of Port Elizabeth’s green lung to be<br />
even more useful in future.<br />
A scheme to restructure the yacht basin in the<br />
harbour has been on the books for some time. A<br />
key blockage is the location of manganese storage<br />
dumps on the edge of King’s Beach. When those are<br />
moved to the Port of Ngqura, as is planned, then the<br />
marina development can go ahead. A cruise liner<br />
terminal could also form part of this development.<br />
The Baakens River Valley is one of Port Elizabeth’s<br />
hidden gems and the MBDA has commissioned<br />
studies on how the valley might best be utilised for<br />
leisure and new housing without compromising its<br />
unique natural features.<br />
Alfred Nzo District Municipality<br />
Towns: Matatiele, Mount Frere, Mount Ayliff<br />
The smallest district is located in the mountainous<br />
north-east, with hiking trails for tourists. There is<br />
tremendous scope for expansion of tourist activities,<br />
and a transfrontier park between South Africa<br />
and Lesotho could boost the area’s economy.<br />
Subsistence agriculture and forestry are the major<br />
economic activities.<br />
Amathole District Municipality<br />
Towns: Cathcart, Stutterheim, Morgan’s Bay,<br />
Willowvale, Butterworth, Mazeppa Bay, Alice,<br />
Bedford<br />
The rural Amathole District surrounds the metropolitan<br />
area of Buffalo City. Pineapple and forestry<br />
are two of the most important agricultural activities.<br />
Popular resorts on the Wild Coast attract many<br />
tourists to the area. Hogsback and other towns near<br />
the Amatole Mountains offer beautiful scenery and<br />
popular beaches. The main campus of the University<br />
of Fort Hare is located at Alice.<br />
Sarah Baartman District Municipality<br />
Towns: Graaff-Reinet, Humansdorp, Jeffreys Bay,<br />
Grahamstown<br />
The western part of the province contains the biggest<br />
municipality and is one of the biggest contributors to<br />
provincial GDP. Large commercial farms in the Karoo<br />
produce high-quality meat, wool and mohair, while<br />
the coastal belt has dairy farming and some forestry.<br />
The Kouga Valley is a big deciduous fruit producer,<br />
while the Kirkwood/Addo area is known for its citrus.<br />
Sarah Baartman has three of the region’s national<br />
parks and several private game farms. Grahamstown<br />
hosts the National Arts Festival, Rhodes University<br />
and a number of fine schools.<br />
EASTERN CAPE BUSINESS <strong>2017</strong><br />
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