THE COEGA industrial development zone and deep-water harbour project outside Port Elizabeth has been given the green light from the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism. The department has granted environmental permits for the construction of a new deep-water port and the rezoning of land for the Coega Industrial Development Zone. Coega Development Corporation (CDC) chief executive officer Pepi Silinga says that, with the granting of the permits, the process of complying with all the necessary requirements for successfully implementing the project is well on track. “Coega has passed a number of critical milestones, and has now passed the point of no return. Nothing will stop Coega happening,” he says. Preparatory work is well under way, both in the planning of the project and physically on the ground. “The detailed planning and design of the infrastructure for the first phase of the IDZ have been completed. All the plans are in place to roll out the infrastructure and once all the legal processes have been completed,” says Silinga. A total of R600-million has been budgeted to provide infrastructure in the first phase of the Coega IDZ, which will cover six thousand hectares. Ground works have already begun. These include the construction of a R4,5-million potable water reservoir on the western side of Coega Kop and the building of a temporary haul road to transport rock from the Coega Kop quarry to the port of Ngqura. “The water reservoir is the Coega Development Corporation’s first physical investment in the IDZ,” says CDC Technical and Planning Manager Eugene Heeger. “It is a clear signal to the many companies which have shown interest in building factories in the zone that the project is really happening. “And, on the practical side, it means the Coega IDZ now has a supply of potable water on tap,” he says. The rezoning of the land from agricultural to special purposes means that the area can now be more actively marketed to potential investors. Silinga says the interest which international investors have expressed in the Coega Project will grow as a result of the project’s full compliance with the legislative requirements. “This is an important step in the process of taking forward the Coega Project.” Two other milestones have been the purchase of the land and the relocation of around 300 families who were living in what is now the Coega IDZ. The CDC currently controls over 70 per cent of the land earmarked for the first phase of the IDZ development, according to Silinga. The zone, which will fall under the control of the Coega Development Corporation, will be served by the port of Ngqura, which has also been given the go-ahead by government. In terms of the Record of Decision issued by environmental affairs minister Valli Moosa, permission has been given for the construction of a deep-water port at the mouth of the Coega river. According to the Record of Decision, five berths will be constructed initially, with two berths each being allocated to the container terminal and dry bulk materials facility and one to a bulk liquid materials facility. The main construction activity associated with the building of the marine infrastructure is the dredging of the approach channel and turning basin; construction of the quay walls and breakwaters; land excavation to create the area for the container terminal and transport corridor and the resulting transport of material to the east headland deposition site; and the building of a sand bypass scheme. The main land based activities involve the development of infrastructure and service facilities for the future Industrial Development Zone (IDZ) tenants and port users. This will involve preparing sites, transport routes, water and electricity services, waste sites and telecommunications. The landside development is envisaged to include a custom secure logistic park, an E-commerce park, areas designated for port related activities and allied industries, mixed-use corridor and electronic and technical clusters. One of the key factors for the go-ahead to the port development given in the ROD is: “This Spatial Development Initiative (SDI) initiated by the South African Government intends to unlock the economic potential of the Eastern Cape Province through job creation and empowerment of the previously disadvantaged communities by encouraging economic growth.” Portnet, which is responsible for the port development, has been given two years to start construction.