HIGH-VOLTAGE power lines are being commissioned for the metallurgical cluster in the Coega Industrial Development Zone (IDZ) outside Port Elizabeth in order to ready the site for investors in the metals and aluminium sectors. The work on the lines started in November 2002, and is scheduled for completion in February 2003. Responsible for this crucial stage in the development of the Coega Project is a small, medium and micro enterprise (SMME) electrician who has operated for over 20 years out of a tiny container-office in the dusty KwaNobuhle township near Uitenhage. The Coega Development Corporation (CDC) awarded the R500 000 contract to Khanya Electrical to install and commission temporary 22Kv electrical supply to the metallurgical cluster. The availability of electricity to the site is critical in the development of the Coega Project as it makes this particular cluster ready for the arrival of investors. The CDC is currently involved in advanced negotiations with French aluminium smelter Pechiney to invest in a R18 billion aluminium smelter in the IDZ. If Pechiney decided to invest in the Coega IDZ, the metallurgical cluster would accommodate the smelter. Pechiney's decision on whether the company will invest in the Coega IDZ or not is expected within the the first quarter next year. The company has already indicated its preference for Coega for its investment. The final environmental impact assessment report has been submitted to government for the final go-ahead for the aluminium smelter operation. For the KwaNobuhle father of four and sole breadwinner of his family, Mzwenyaniso Mekuto, and his partner, Neliswa Tshongweni, winning the Coega contract came just at the right time. They were considering closing the business because contracts were coming few and far in between. "Winning this contract is just the beginning for us because it gives us a footing in the door. We're actually looking at the bigger picture of the Coega Project, knowing that our performance on this contract may lead to even bigger contracts," says Mr Mekuto. The CDC's procurement officer, Ncumisa Mayosi has described the award of the contract to Khanya Electrical as both exciting and inspiring in terms of fulfilling the CDC's procurement guidelines. "Not only is the company a 100 per cent affirmable business, black economic empowerment, it is also a local enterprise with women ownership and a SMME with HDI (historically disadvantaged individuals) management," says Ms Mayosi. The CDC defines SMMEs with at least 51% black ownership - like Khanya Electricals - as being affirmable business enterprises (ABEs). In another clear demonstration of commitment to SMMEs in its procurement processes, the CDC acquired the materials needed for the contract and only invited tenders for the labour portion. This made it possible for even a small contractor with limited capital resources to tender for the contract. "This clearly demonstrates the CDC's commitment to SMMEs and empowerment in general, through procurement principles that are based on the social and economic transformation of society," says Ms Mayosi. Out of contracts with a total value of R305-million awarded by the CDC this year, over R91-million's(30%) worth has gone to SMMEs. Khanya Electrical will also be taken through a SMME development programme to improve its capacity, efficiency and overall management to improve its competitiveness as a business. The company is one of the first fully black owned companies that is not a joint venture to win an electrical contract on the Coega Project. Khanya Electrical was established in 1994 and has worked on various projects that included the electrification of housing projects, streets and bundling contracts in the Eastern Cape. On the Coega Project Mr Mekuto and Ms Tshongweni will install two electrical lines from a substation in Motherwell, a township near the IDZ site, to the metallurgical cluster for a distance of about seven-and-a-half kilometres. The completion date for the contract is scheduled for February 13, 2003.