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FRIDAY 7 OCTOBER <strong>2016</strong> THE <strong>BUGLE</strong> 13<br />
Dimbaza to rise out of the ashes<br />
MORE than R300-million has<br />
been earmarked for revitalising<br />
the Dimbaza industrial<br />
hub, with a number of projects<br />
and jobs in mind to boost<br />
the economy in Buffalo City<br />
Metro.<br />
The hub was once an active<br />
industrial node under the<br />
apartheid government, but<br />
over the last decade many<br />
companies have pulled out<br />
and several factories in the<br />
area now stand abandoned.<br />
A start-up budget of R344-<br />
million is to be spread across<br />
three years for the Dimbaza<br />
industrial hub and the establishment<br />
of an industrial eco<br />
park.<br />
In the <strong>2016</strong>-17 financial year,<br />
R118-million will be spent, in<br />
2017-18, R172-million, and<br />
the year after, R54-million,<br />
mainly from the Department<br />
of Trade and Industry (DTI).<br />
The Eastern Cape Development<br />
Corporation (ECDC) is<br />
spearheading and managing<br />
the project, and if council<br />
approves, BCM will play a<br />
role in upgrading the bulk<br />
infrastructure, issuing planning<br />
approvals, environmental<br />
health permits and<br />
re-zoning processes.<br />
A food factory, recreation and<br />
eating space, retail centre,<br />
upgrading of roads and infrastructure<br />
are just some of the<br />
projects in the pipeline for the<br />
area.<br />
BCM’s new council speaker,<br />
Alfred Mtsi, said the new<br />
council would discuss and<br />
decide on the Dimbaza Industrial<br />
Hub and Eco Park<br />
projects soon.<br />
Road construction in King<br />
causing major hassles<br />
OUR main roads are in such<br />
bad condition after the construction<br />
company who is supposed<br />
to be repairing another<br />
section has had to dig up<br />
(due to infracture upgrades)<br />
and leave 'hazardous conditions'<br />
for motorists.<br />
Now there are these huge<br />
'potholes' just getting bigger<br />
and more dangerous.<br />
Who is going to pay for our<br />
vehicles suspension, tyres<br />
and rims to be repaired! Most<br />
insurance companies do not<br />
pay for tyres damaged by potholes.<br />
I just wish they would start a<br />
section get finished then<br />
move on. This is going to<br />
cause the closure of businesses,<br />
which leads to unemployment,<br />
etc, etc, etc.<br />
Did the person who approved<br />
the work really think about<br />
what they were doing. They<br />
should have never closed off<br />
the entire section of Grey<br />
street. Maybe only half, then<br />
get it done then the other half.<br />
And another one, our fuel bill<br />
has gone up because of the<br />
long wait in queues or stop<br />
go's avoiding holes or the<br />
detour we have to travel to<br />
get to work.<br />
DA councillor Annette Rademeyer<br />
responds: I drove<br />
through town and the suburbs<br />
this week and I am horrified at<br />
little bits being dug up all over<br />
the place and the trenches<br />
etc and today I hear that the<br />
N2 from just outside King to<br />
Breidbach will be closed and<br />
residents must use alternative<br />
routes when going to EL!<br />
That's going to be fun. I am<br />
writing to the SANRAl engineers<br />
who had a meeting at<br />
the golf club and who undertook<br />
that the process would<br />
be as little disruptive as possible.<br />
I will also insist that they fix<br />
the trenches - someone is<br />
going to get killed hitting one<br />
of those and flipping their car.<br />
*The Bugle is waiting for a<br />
response from SANRAL regarding<br />
the situation of the<br />
road upgrades in King.
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