Mega Smart City envisioned for Southern Africa
A state- of- the art, Mega Smart City in southern Africa is on the horizon. According to the promoters of the project, TAP Tourism, Agri- Business and Property and a Botswana- based infrastructural petroleum supplier, Seth Resources Petroleum, the new development will bring together countries in the region, through the provision of facilities, critical for trade to thrive.
“The Mega Smart City concept therefore focuses on current and future technology, basically it is about creating a new City focusing on complete value chain for almost all the sectors that form part of the region’s economy. We are looking at the link between Sea Land & Air. All the industries must support each other. The other main objective is to create more jobs, whilst sharing global skills,” reads a joint statement between TAP, a South African based company and Seth Resources Petroleum.
The KwaZulu Natal and Eastern Cape ( South Africa) based project will benefit countries such as Botswana as it is expected to provide the muchneeded infrastructural facilities which will greatly improve ease of doing business. Like any another African region, the SADC region continues to experience infrastructural backlog. The project, which is expected to cost well over R6 billion is being done under the Public Private Partnership ( PPPs) model with the South African government and Global Investors as financiers.
The main goal of the project is to create a modern technologically advanced City, consisting of Logistics Hub ( Aviation Hub, Oceans Economic
Hub, Road and Rail), Industrial Zone, Agribusiness Hub, Modern Educational Hub, Tourism Hub, Arts, Sports and Recreation Hub ( Film City, Theatres, Museums, Water Sport, Sport Facilities). There will be mixed use Property Developments. The identified precinct for The Mega Smart City involves four District Municipalities that run across two provinces south of KwaZulu- Natal and East of Eastern Cape, and these are: Ugu District Municipality, Harry Gwala District Municipality, OR Tambo District Municipality and Alfred Nzo District Municipality.
The Mega Smart City will unlock the region’s economic potential, which lies on its population. Southern Africa has a population of over 250 million people and is poised to reach 700 million by 2050. “The economy is about numbers. SADC provides the numbers needed for almost all the industries. Some products/ industries need certain numbers in order to break even. Secondly the consolidation of planning creates opportunities across Southern Africa and beyond. Mega Smart City Concept will focus on providing experience for Africa. For example, the creation of Film City will explore talent across Africa and promote African Continent at all levels.”
The multi- billion Rand project, comes at a time when the continent is pushing ahead with economic independence, through the launch of the historic Africa Free Trade agreement which has been endorsed by over 50 African countries. “We need to localise the production of our products. Our biggest weakness as a Continent is that we export raw materials which end up creating more opportunities for other Continents. What we are going to promote is localisation of complete value chain. We are blessed as a Continent with minerals, plants, ocean, clean air, and energetic human beings,” said TAP and Seth Resources Petroleum.
The project will be launched mid- October 2021. It consists of different elements, which all have different completion times. Firstly, the project, which is certainly one of its kind in the continent, will have an aviation hub which will need 2 to 6 years to construct. There will also be a habour, which is mostly about the ocean’s economy. It requires 4 to 7 years to complete.