Limpopo Business 2019-20 edition

FOCUS Building skills

FOCUS Building skills and creating jobs through partnerships The Limpopo Eco-Industrial Park is set to make a huge economic impact. The Limpopo Eco-Industrial Park (LEIP) is an integrated and sustainable industrial development that is aligned with and in support of South African government goals articulated in the National Development Plan and the Industrial Policy Action Plans. The LEIP is a private-sector initiative driven by Eco-Industrial Solutions (EIS), but the development incorporates significant partnerships at local, provincial and national level illustrating the inclusive philosophy of the developers. The park, through its various industrial components, will create tens of thousands of direct and indirect jobs over the first five years, provide about 4 900 permanent housing opportunities in the town of Musina and add more than R15-billion to the revenue of the provincial government. It will also provide a boost to the national tax base. Among the projects to which the LEIP initiative will contribute via partnerships are the National Development Plan, the Green Economy Plan, and the achievement of South Africa’s Transformation and Sustainable Development Goals. In January 2019, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa attended a Business Economic Indaba organised by Business Unity South Africa (BUSA), on the sidelines of which the Public Private Growth Initiative (PPGI) made a presentation on 18 projects from 19 economic sectors, representative of opportunities for South Africa’s private and public sectors to work together to combat unemployment and stimulate the economy. The LEIP is project number 17 on the list of 18 PPGI projects which were promised full government support, while engagements within the PPGI platform will take place with the LIMPOPO BUSINESS 2019/20 20

FOCUS Presidency over the next five to 10 years, with a view to implementing sectoral plans. Partnerships Several key partnerships with EIS involve NECSA, SAFCEC, Lepelle Northern Water, Transnet Freight Rail, Musina Local Municipality and LEDA. SAFCEC will be responsible for quality monitoring of their construction members. The Nuclear Energy Corporation of South Africa has signed an agreement with EIS and LEIP to jointly develop and implement plasma gasification of municipal and gaseous waste on a localised scale, thereby minimising the adverse impacts of longerdistance logistics. The Lepelle water utility has signed up to be the LEIP’s water service provider. Plans for a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in the Musina area have been aligned with Transnet’s requirements. Transnet Freight Rail intends to operate its new intermodal terminal facility within the LEIP as a dry port extension of a seaport. It is expected to have an initial storage capacity of 50 000 units. A train ferry is intended that will be able to carry roughly 1 000 vehicles per day across the Beitbridge-Zimbabwe border. The Musina Local Municipality has approved the land development application for the LEIP and will at financial close become an equity partner in the project, holding a 10% share on behalf of the local communities. LEIP is the first part of a broader initiative, the Musina to Africa Strategic Hub Initiative (MUTASHI), of which the Musina-Makhado SEZ is the other major component. The Limpopo Economic Development Agency (LEDA) has signed an agreement to work with EIS to establish the LEIP as the Musina SEZ Operator within the Musina-Makhado SEZ. Economic and social benefits The LEIP has been designed to ensure that local women, youth and disabled people benefit from the project. The housing developments are designed as integrated communities with the natural environment and with amenities such as five schools, a children’s hospital as well as local churches, shopping and community centres. The following innovations are aimed at benefitting local communities: • Establish a Research and Development Industrial Ecology Faculty within the LEIP in collaboration with local universities (University of Venda and University of Limpopo). The LEIP aims to support innovation, research and development, community engagement and literacy and numeracy. • A Skills Development Centre and Trade Test Centre is to be built and fully equipped in consultation with the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), which will invite the participation of the various Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs). The goal is for the skills centre to also be available for use by learners from the SADC region. Transformation The transformation imperatives of the LEIP project as a private development are mainly aimed at contributing towards the empowerment of the following targeted groups of South African citizens: • Youth (in support of the Youth Empowerment Service YES programme) • Women • People with disabilities • Military veterans • Rural and township communities. • Only construction companies rated no less than Level 2 BEE status will be contracted to do work at the LEIP, and such companies will be vetted to assess their state of competence and readiness to undertake quality construction services. In special cases, for technical reasons, contractors and service providers with less than Level 2 BEE status will be allowed if they form SMME partnerships with locals, who will jointly carry out the work on site. 21 LIMPOPO BUSINESS 2019/20