PARASTATAL POWER utility Eskom has been authorised by the South African cabinet to upgrade significantly power supplies for the Coega industrial development zone in Eastern Cape, according to Trade and Industry Minister Alec Erwin. The move would involve an investment of between R1-billion and R1.4-bilion. It will increase both the capacity and the flow of electricity, and will benefit all business in the region. The decision removes the last constraint preventing the siting of a major power-hungry plant at Coega, which could provide an anchor investment to give the project critical mass. It could also increase the attractiveness of the entire Nelson Mandela metropolitan area, which includes Port Elizabeth and Uitenhage, according to media reports. Erwin said that, without the decision to upgrade the power supply to the Port Elizabeth area and to Coega, certain projects would not have been feasible at Coega. He said an upgrade of the supply to the Port Elizabeth area was overdue, and that it was vital for parastatals Transnet, Portnet and Eskom to play their part in making Coega a location which would attract investment. Government is also looking at securing natural gas for Coega, once West Coast gas fields come into production. In the interim, Erwin said a liquid petroleum gas facility could be developed at Coega. He was “very confident” about Coega’s future, and said that, following last a cabinet meeting, “negotiations for a number of investments can proceed”. He said the cabinet’s go-ahead for both a power upgrade and the launch of the industrial development zone at Coega followed the equally vital all clear from the recent environment impact assessment, which would have killed the Coega project if it had been negative. He shrugged off critics, saying government would be negligent not to push for the development. Erwin said investors would benefit from less red tape when they came to the Coega industrial development zone. There would be a one-stop shop in dealing with all three tiers of government. With the development of Coega, Port Elizabeth could become a more attractive destination for tourism, as the current port area in the city was an eyesore, he said.