Creation of Cape Town’s breadbasket
Develop PHA into dedicated, integrated, self-sustaining agri-park
THE WESTERN CAPE government has backed a proposal that could see the Philippi Horticultural Area bring R8.1 billion in revenue and create around 112 000 jobs. However, the standing committee on economic opportunities, tourism, and agriculture in the provincial legislature is adamant the City of Cape Town conclude its six-month environmental impact and feasibility study before deciding on any developments.
The provincial government wants to develop Philippi into a “dedicated, integrated, and self-sustaining agri-park to capitalise on the agricultural and job-creating potential of the region,” standing committee chairperson Beverley Schäfer said.
“We have previously called for the Philippi Horticultural Area (PHA) to be classified as an Agricultural Development Zone (ADZ) to protect the long-term farming potential of the land.”
Schäfer said she has written to Mayor Patricia De Lille, recommending that the City awaits the results of an impact study into the agricultural footprint and viability of the PHA before decisions are taken.
“Philippi, along with the PHA, have the potential to house a variety of agri-processing industries, specialised agricultural academies, business incubators, and green human settlement projects where the members of the surrounding previously disadvantaged communities can be catapulted into employment in a thriving industrial zone as the breadbasket of Cape Town.”
Philippi will be developed as a regional transport hub with six proposed MyCiTi bus routes and a central station, as well as the development of an an aerotropolis with proposed upgrades to Cape Town International Airport. The Western Cape Department of Transport and Public Works is also building major motorways and connecting roads to nearby towns.
The PHA produces more than 200 000 tons of vegetables and flowers per year and creates 30 000 job. The area has been under a magnifying glass as eager developers want to build there. In the latest move, developer Oakland’s City proposed building 30 000 houses. Schaapkraal Civic and Environmental Association lost the appeal against the proposal and is calling for a judicial review.