Ekandustria Industrial Park to play key role in linking markets: Rob Davies

The Minister said this when he addressed the launch of the refurbished park which is located outside Bronkhorspruit on Thursday.

The launch of the R49 million Ekandustria Industrial Park will play a key role in linking various markets, says Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies.

"Ekandustria Industrial Park is strategically located in Eastern Gauteng, in close geographic proximity to the Maputo Corridor. The Maputo Corridor links the park with the markets in Mpumalanga via Witbank and Middleburg in the Eastern side and North West until Botswana via the City of Tshwane in the Western side," said Davies.

The Minister said this when he addressed the launch of the refurbished park which is located outside Bronkhorspruit on Thursday. The launch followed the completion of the first phase of the revitalisation of the park under the Department of Trade and Industry's Revitalisation of Industrial Parks Programme.

The improvements comprised of the upgrading of the security infrastructure including fencing, the installation of boom gates, pedestrian gates, vehicular gates, the installation and construction of guard houses as well as the refurbishment of the wastewater treatment plant in the park.

Davies said the first phase of the revitalisation of the park focused on the critical needs of the facility.

The construction work employed 147 local personnel and appointed 20 local Small Medium and Micro Enterprises on site since the inception of the project.

The Acting Chief Executive Officer of Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency, Themba Camane, said the park serves both the people of Gauteng and Mpumalanga.

"If you look at the size of the park and track of land that has already been serviced by the government, it clearly shows the commitment of the government to attract new investors that can come into the park and establish more factories," said Camane.

Asked about how the park has survived economically turbulent times, Camane said their observation as an agency that manages the park is that small enterprise that operates within the park have been the backbone of the park and helped it survive through the years.

The park currently has a 56% occupancy rate comprising of a mixture of tenants who operate in a variety of business industries with a focus in manufacturing including construction material, food, recycling, clothing and textile.

(With Inputs from South African Government Press Release)