Mpumalanga Business 2017 edition

SPECIAL FEATURE
A phased development would see a private developer
work with MEGA, who would assist with all landuse
issues and planning approval. The plan envisages
a mix of residential, commercial and public land-use.
Across the province, there is a housing backlog
of 600 000. The provincial government owns many
parcels of land throughout the province that are suitable
for housing developments and seeks investors
who are willing to build mixed-use developments
that includes low-cost housing and rental stock.
This may mean that higher income-generating
units have to be incorporated into the broader development
(office spaces, retail, etc) but affordable
housing must form part of the package.
Energy
Mpumalanga is one of the most important provinces
in South Africa in terms of power generation, but
coal-fired power stations cannot be the only solution.
To that end, the national government has started a
programme to get private investors to build renewable
energy plants to provide to the national grid.
Mpumalanga aims to provide at least 2 000MW as part
of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer
Procurement Programme (REIPPP). The Boschejskop
Hydro Dam project would achieve two goals –
alleviate the water shortage in the provincial capital of
Mbombela and provide 300MW of power.
A private investor would be asked to do the
feasibility study and then finance and construct the
facilities with two future revenue streams in prospect:
a water off-take agreement with Mbombela
and the sale of electricity to the national power
utility Eskom.
Other projects suitable for public-private partnership
include the construction of a solar park to
power the Nkomazi Special Economic Zone and a
wind power plant to be built at Sabie and Lydenburg.
On a smaller scale, solar street lighting is seen as
the answer to providing lighting for areas that are
currently don’t have street lighting. Concessions are
on offer to private operators who can install, operate
and maintain such a system. The provincial government
will sign a power purchase agreement (PPA)
with the concessionaire.
Tourism
Mpumalanga is already a much-visited area. The famous
Kruger National Park, several exclusive private
game reserves and many areas of great natural beauty
ensure that Mpumalanga is a must-see destination for
most international visitors. Further leveraging these
advantages could bring greater economic development
to the province. To that end, MEGA has identified
several priority projects that have been packaged
to appeal to international investors:
Blyde River Tourism Cluster
More than a million visitors every year look into this
awe-inspiring canyon, but they seldom stay for long.
This project aims to give the visitor something to do
and a closer look at the canyon via a cable car trip to
Blyde Lake. A related hotel and restaurant development
(and a skywalk for another, adventurous, way of
looking) are all part of the proposal, which could be
parcelled out to a number of investors.
International Convention Centre
Land is available for developers in the province’s capital
city of Mbombela to create an International Convention
Centre. Conference delegates always like to be in nice
places, and the selling point here would be to link the
centre to the province’s greatest tourism assets like the
Kruger National Park, the Blyde River Canyon and God’s
Window. Space is also available for the construction of
a related hotel and multi-purpose recreational facilities.
Visitors to the Kruger National Park can fly into
the Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport, which
is on the outskirts of Mbombela, and the town is
located near to Swaziland and Mozambique, both
tourist destinations of their own.
Mandela Iconic Eye
Mbombela aims to build a statue to pay tribute to
Nelson Mandela, an icon of the struggle against apartheid
and the first president of democratic South Africa.
The statue is planned for a hill overlooking the town,
and will be accompanied by a tourist wheel, a cable
car, restaurants and a conference facility. The value of
the whole project has been estimated at R2.2-billion.
www.mega.gov.za
25 MPUMALANGA BUSINESS 2017