Port Elizabeth could soon boast a wildlife theme park that will reposition the city as one of South Africa’s top tourist destinations. The enormous multi-million rand Madiba Bay project, affectionately named after former president Nelson Mandela, will see the establishment of a wildlife theme park and many other attractions five minutes from the airport. It will be on 5 577 ha of nature – the scenic coastal belt of land stretching from Cape Recife Coastal Nature Reserve through to Schoenmakerskop and Sardinia Bay. It will also have “unbelievable” spin-offs for tourism throughout the Eastern Cape as it will act as a giant exhibition and provide visitors – locals and tourists - with a taste of what the rest of the province has to offer. The park, on municipal land will incorporate the nature reserves of Cape Recife, UPE, Driftsands and the Sacramento Trail, and provide the province with what it has always lacked – a must-see tourism attraction. While huge investments are usually needed to develop “must see” attractions, the secret to the Madiba Bay vision is that it will be on the doorstep of Port Elizabeth’s tourism hub and will utilise the vast natural resources. Initially the investment will be in excess of R212 million but the city will be left with a “must see” attraction worth over R10 billion. The philosophy behind the project is that it must offer an affordable and unique diversity of wildlife and eco tourism experiences, as well as a wealth of cultural tourism and outdoor adventure activities. The project has been widely welcomed by environmentalists, educationists and tourism role players and the Nelson Mandela Metro mayoral committee has given developers the go ahead to undertake feasibility and environmental impact studies by October this year. This could mean the initial phase of the project could be open to the public by October 2002. The project is being undertaken through a Public Private Partnership (“PPP”) between government, local government and business. Stakeholders in the project will include the Eastern Cape Government, Madiba Bay Holdings (the project’s management company), financiers and various other broad based empowerment consortia. The PPP is being spearheaded by black entrepreneurs who have been forceful in establishing and implementing various empowerment initiatives in South Africa. These entrepreneurs include:- Fezekile “Fez” Mahlati , who is well known for his involvement in the establishment of Thebe Investment Holdings and Kopano Ke Matla Investment Company (“KKM”), Cosatu’s investment arm as well as his roles as a founder member and director of “M” Syndicate Investments, Lazig, a marine diamond mining company, Sizwe Fishing, and Energy and Utility, focused on initiatives in the Oil and Gas sector. Tumelo “Tumi” Motsisi, the former CEO of KKM and presently Executive Chairman of Prosperity Holdings, a financial services group established as a joint initiative by KKM, Peregrine Holdings Limited and NBC Financial Services. Lee Samuels, formerly of Port Elizabeth - a well-known property owner and the developer of shopping centres. The only local director - and visionary of the project - is Johann Dreyer, well-known as a property developer with tourism related businesses. He is co-owner of some of the Port Elizabeth beachfront’s best known holiday accommodation – Beacon Lodge, Crow’s Nest and Hornby Lodge and of the up-market King’s Tide Boutique Hotel in Summerstrand. Madiba Bay will comprise of three sections – a Safari World, an Agri-World and Edu-World. Highlights will include opportunities to view the “Big 5” in a malaria-free environment as well as enjoy a steam train ride on the “Madiba Express”, a narrow gauge line that will be routed through the game park along Marine Drive. There will also be a conference centre, major entertainment and hospitality areas on the coast and high ground overlooking waterholes and wetlands. The project will be supported by an international leisure company and will seek to include the University of Port Elizabeth as a strategic partner to ensure that the development adheres to sound environmental principles and that empowerment opportunities are maximised