City to sell properties to improve Atlantis

TO BOOST Atlantis’s economy, the City has approved the sale of 29 City-owned properties, and plans to declare it a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) with a particular focus on green technology manufacturing, Mayco member for Area North Suzette Little said.

The release of the large open tracts of commercial property, coupled by a recent private sector commercial investment of over R1 billion, were catalysts for muchneeded economic growth in the region, Little said.

“The recent R1.3bn investment by Pegas Nonwovens drives a stake firmly in the ground and validates our assertion that Atlantis is open for business.

“As the City, we feel a great sense of gratitude and elation at this recent investment in the region that will create at least 200 direct jobs. All indications are that Atlantis is en route to revitalisation,” Little said.

Mayco member for Assets and Facilities ManagementStuart Diamond said the sale would help fast-track economic growth and create further economic opportunities in the West Coast town.

Little said that once declared a SEZ, Atlantis’s attractiveness as a place to invest in green technology manufacturing would multiply, as investors would receive benefits, including a 15% tax break.

A survey last year by the City’s Enterprise Development team found that manufacturing; wholesale and retail; financial intermediation, insurance, real-estate and business services; community, social and personal service; construction; transport, storage and communication; and electricity, gas and water dominated the economic activity in Atlantis Industria. “There is huge potential here due to the large tracts of industrial land, a large labour pool, and its strategic location along transport networks,” Little said.