New dawn for Outer West hub
A LOCAL development association’s latest steps to put two Outer-west of Durban business districts on the map will be taken next week at a conference which some big corporate, government and other players are expected to attend.
At present Hammarsdale and Cato Ridge are considered to be the most fertile and available ground to do business on in the greater Durban area.
Flat land at good rates, proximity to the N3 freeway, and direct power supply from Eskom are the compelling selling points for investors and entrepreneurs.
Proclaiming the benefits of doing business in this region is what the Hammarsdale Cato Ridge Development Association will do during the conference on November 10 at the Butler Ranch in Drummond.
The association was formed in January 2021 through the prompting of local businesses.
John White, who has been contracted as the association’s chief executive, said their mission was to make the areas a better place to work and live in by supporting growth, employment and transformation.
White said they were passionate about developing a partnership between the residential and business communities.
He viewed the conference as pivotal for their plans.
“This region competes with all others for investment and we need to put ourselves on the map for investment. We target all three spheres of the government, and Infrastructure SA, Treasury, and businesses in the private sector such as banks, property investors, and others.”
White said there was already keen interest in the conference.
“Huge, flat sites are what we offer at good prices, with excellent road access and direct power in a region that is formalising rapidly.
“Austrian investors are sniffing around, there is a new smelter plant in the area, the N3 is being upgraded currently, and is likely to have as many as five lanes in both directions. This is expected to be done in the next 18 months, and will have a 50-year lifespan.”
White cited the multi-modal container terminal at Cato Ridge which was meant to ease bottlenecks, synonymous with containers flowing in and out of Durban’s harbour precinct, by using a privatised rail system.
Catcon is a Transnet-built and -owned back-of-port facility operated by the Cato Ridge Inland Port, and includes a truck staging area.
Containers land there from all directions and are railed to and from the Durban harbour.
Imported containers can also be railed to Cato Ridge first before being ferried to their respective destinations.
The rail line to the harbour was damaged by the April floods and out of action for six months, but is set to run again from Tuesday.
On the collaboration his organisation has engendered between businesses in the region, White said a genuine pact “doesn’t just happen, it has to be developed”.
He said he was approached to pull things together in the geographic-bound cluster because he previously worked for a business that serviced business clusters.
“They had some good ideas and tried to collaborate, but afterwards they would all go back to their day jobs. This got them frustrated.
“Collaboration needs some impetus and direction,” said White, who has a commerce degree, a marketing diploma and has worked for 20 years in the economic development environment.
Having formed the association with 16 companies in the cluster, during the first five months he held various workshops to define the vision and strategy of the organisation. Thereafter, an executive committee, which became the association’s decision-making body, was installed.
“Over the past 21 months we have grown to 52 companies on board as members, which includes many of the bigger local businesses, and four Jse-listed entities.”
White said they had developed a
strategy and their particular areas of focus included human resources, supply-chain management, infrastructure and safety.
Regarding human resources, White said the association ensured locals were hired by the businesses in the area.
To address unemployment, the body has worked with the ethekwini Municipality and created an online recruitment and employment portal.
“It’s expensive when you are unemployed to catch a taxi to find work, use a computer, printer and data. With a few clicks a job seeker applies for a job for free, and the employer doesn’t pay to advertise,” he said.
“We have about 6 000 job seekers on the platform, on which companies affiliated to us and other temporary employment services agencies advertise work.”
The association links local small, medium and micro enterprises (SMME)
to their members, with transformation in mind.
There are at present 92 SMMES in the area, some of which have been largely assisted by the association.
To make the area safer, the association has worked with the four SAPS branches in the region, and with local security companies. To assist, they have supplied seven automatic number plate recognition cameras in various positions to fight crime.
Infrastructure issues pertaining to water, electricity and sewage services were constant, said White.
The pothole-riddled MR385 running through the Hammarsdale business district has presented a big challenge. White said for three years the Department of Transport (DOT) in KZN had not done any work on the MR385.
“Not a pothole has been fixed, and not even a lick of paint for road markings.”
White said the ethekwini Municipality was willing to repair and maintain the road, but the DOT was not prepared to provide a budget.
Fed up with the Dot’s lack of interest, White said the association raised over R1 million, with support from members, and completed about 1 000m2 of repairs this week.
White said they fixed the most critical areas of the road, but there was still a sizeable stretch of work to do.
He said some investors and businesses would be put off by a run-down road.
“It is a tragedy that businesses are thriving in spite of the challenges, which contributes to GDP, yet the businesses do not get the attention they deserve,” said White.
ethekwini Municipality spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela said that the City’s Economic Development unit had been engaging with the KZN DOT to facilitate the upgrade of the MR385.
“The upgrade is necessary due to larger volumes of vehicles travelling on the road, mostly as a result of the logistics park which has been developed.
“As the park was identified by the KZN DOT as a major rates contributor to the City, the department decided to relinquish control of the road asset to the City. The de-proclamation of the road is a long-winded process which has commenced but is yet to be finalised,“said Mayisela
He said the Roads Provision unit had been approached by the Economic Development unit to undertake the technical aspects associated with the upgrade.
“Whilst we await the finalisation of the asset transfer, Roads Provision and Economic Development have concluded engineering designs, stakeholder engagements and applications for funding.”
The DOT had not responded by the time of going to print.