The Coega Development Corporation has been allocated “additional resources” for the further development of the automotive supplier park in Uitenhage, Eastern Cape Premier Mbulelo Sogoni said in his state of the province address.

Finance and Economic Development MEC Phumulo Masualle said before the address on Friday the trade and industry department and provincial government would support the ongoing provision of infrastructure at Coega and the East London industrial development zone.

Masualle is expected to provide more detail when he presents the provincial budget on February 27.

In Wednesday‘s national budget, trade and industry revealed that the Coega IDZ would receive an additional R141-million in the next financial year for infrastructure, with a total of R859,9-million allocated for the 2009-2010 financial year against R718,4-million in the current financial year.

Trade and industry has increased the East London IDZ‘s allocation from R154-million in the current financial year to R249,4-million in 2009-2010.

Sogoni said that while the automotive sector had performed “very well” over the past five years, attracting investment into the province of more than R3-billion, it had been particularly affected by the global financial crisis and economic slowdown.

Overcoming this would require “innovative partnerships between the original equipment manufacturers, component suppliers, government and labour to mitigate the impacts”.

He noted that the provincial industrial strategy identified concrete measures to diversify the Eastern Cape economy to reduce its reliance on the motor industry. Other priority sectors included tourism, agro- processing, forestry and timber.

“The strategy promotes co- operatives, broad-based empowerment and various efforts that affirm beneficiation.”

Stronger alignment with the national industrial policy framework and economic development plans of local government was also “critical to optimise the impact of our industrial strategy”.

Sogoni said at the core of government‘s approach to stimulating the economy were the continuing efforts to link investment in infrastructure with economic development. More than R2,3-billion had been spent on the upgrading of roads over the past five years.

However, the challenges of poor road infrastructure “remain vast and impact negatively on local communities as well as potential investments”, he said.

“Provincial government has a 10-year plan to upgrade 80% of the provincial road network from gravel to surfaced or tarred roads.

“With additional support from national government the province will be able to meet this target sooner.”

Sogoni said the government, through the Eastern Cape Development Corporation, had so far this year given R95-million in loans to the emerging contractor programme.

A further R114-million had been provided as loans to SMMEs.