Mpumalanga Business 2022-23

SPECIAL FEATURE
Mpumalanga International Airport in 2022 by
the tourist division of Lufthansa, Eurowings
Discover. The TRILAND partnership with Eswatini
and Mozambique is another avenue, as is the
collaboration with KwaZulu-Natal, Eswatini,
Mozambique and the Seychelles. The latter
project is called east3ROUTE Tourism Initiative
and proclaims “Experience, Adventure, Scenery
and Trade” between the participating provinces
and countries.
MEGA is an equity investor in a number of
Mpumalanga concerns, including Afrimat, Highveld
Fruit Packers, Kangwane Anthracite, Loopspruit
Winery and Tekwane Lemon Farm.
In the Nkangala District Municipality, a publicprivate
partnership is due to deliver a hotel and
conference centre in the town of Middelburg in the
Steve Tshwete Local Municipality.
It may seem ironic that R350-million is to be
spent on a Radisson-branded hotel in the aftermath
of Covid-19 but conferences and tourism will return.
Elsewhere, mining and timber companies are
making large investments in increased production
or in extending the life of mines.
A major concern for provincial planners
is to diversify the economy and to grow the
manufacturing sector. The Mpumalanga Economic
Growth and Development Path (MEGDP)
identifies beneficiation, agro-processing and the
development of value chains as priorities. Various
industrial parks are planned which will focus on
agriculture and forestry, mining and metals and
petrochemicals. An International Fresh Produce
Market in Nelspruit and the planned Nkomazi SEZ
(Special Economic Zone) are other priorities.
Steel and associated manufacturing remains
one of the province’s strong suits and Mpumalanga
has rich and varied mineral resources and fertile
soil that support diverse farming operations, agroprocessing
and forestry. The province also hosts
large companies in the manufacturing sector such
as Middelburg Ferrochrome and the Manganese
Metal Company.
The province’s rich agricultural produce is used
by companies such as McCain, Nestlé and PepsiCo
and there are also pulp and paper plants (Sappi
and Mondi), with PG Bison set to start producing
more than 1000m³/d per annum at its Mkhondo
particleboard plant after two investment injections
of R600-million (on a press and forming line) and
R560-million (on a front-end dryer).
York Timbers is another forestry company and
the sugar mills and refinery of RCL Foods (formerly
TSB Sugar) along with fertiliser facilities and textile
manufacturing concerns are all contributors to the
provincial economy.
The southern half of the eastern limb of the
platinum-rich Bushveld Igneous Complex runs
south towards the towns of Lydenburg and
Machadodorp. Deposits of chromite, magnetite and
vanadium in this area are the basis of the ferro-alloy
complex in Witbank-Middelburg and Lydenburg.
The town of eMalahleni is the centre of the
coal industry. Other minerals found in the province
include gold, platinum-group minerals, chromite,
zinc, cobalt, copper, iron and manganese.
Middelburg is home to Columbus Stainless,
South Africa’s only producer of stainless steel, and
several big engineering works. It is about 130km
from Pretoria and less than three hours’ drive from
the Malelane Gate of the Kruger National Park.
Visits to game reserves and nature reserves
have shown signs of recovery from the lockdowns
associated with Covid-19 but for a province where
7% of GDP is derived from tourism, the recovery
can’t come soon enough.
The Kruger National Park remains the province’s
most visited asset but the decision by UNESCO to
afford World Heritage Site status to the Makhonjwa
Mountains near Barberton will boost geological
tourism to the province and supports the efforts of
the province to diversify its offerings. Major projects
to improve tourist experiences are underway at
the Graskop Gorge (where a transparent lift takes
tourists into the depths of the gorge), a Skywalk is to
be built at God’s Window and a cable car is planned
for Three Rondavels.
The international body’s decision has also
had the effect of expanding the curriculum at the
relatively new University of Mpumalanga. On the
basis of the UNESCO ruling, UMP has a new offering
in geology as part of a BSc degree. ■
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