20WESTERN CORRIDORTHE WESTERN DEVELOPMENT CORRIDORRe-industrialising for growth and employment.The Western Corridor or West Rand District Municipality is locatedin the south-western part of Gauteng province, sharing boundarieswith North West and Free State provinces. Within Gauteng, it isbounded by City of Johannesburg to the east, City of Tshwane onthe northern side and Sedibeng District on the south-eastern side.The West Rand District Municipality is close to LanseriaInternational Airport and is traversed by major national roadssuch as the N12 and N14. The R21 regional road provides vitalconnections with the City of Johannesburg and access to OR TamboInternational Airport.It is envisaged that the West Rand SEZ (WRSEZ) will help tocreate jobs in the region by driving re-industrialisation through theestablishment of clusters in the following sectors:• Industrial agro-processing: This includes cannabis that will belinked to the establishment of new wholesale food market facilities.• Green energy (mainly green hydrogen): Large-scale solar farmscan be established to generate renewable energy. Two miningcompanies, Sibanye-Stillwater and Gold Fields, are independentlydeveloping solar PV projects in the area. The South Deep mineproject of Gold Fields will generate 40MW from more than 100 000solar panels on a 118ha site.• Bus manufacturing: Linked to the existing Busmark busmanufacturing plant.• Lanseria Airport: Expansion and the new Lanseria City Development.Work on the development of a masterplan for the development ofthe SEZ has been ongoing and there have been negotiations aboutwhat land parcels might be made available by mining companies.In parallel to the above process, the WRSEZ Project ManagementUnit has also been working on securing additional land from variousmunicipalities. The Rand West District Municipality has resolved todonate one portion of land and a draft lease agreement with themunicipality needs to be signed by all relevant parties.A GGDA document on corridor development recommends thatvarious other steps be taken in support of the WRSEZ project:support the development of deep mining technology; promote thedevelopment of the Gauteng Agro-Processing Hub; promote theWest Rand as a tourist destination; develop and implement theGauteng Township Supplier Development programme.CHAMDOR AUTO HUB AND SMMESThe Chamdor Auto Hub in Krugersdorp aims to reduce barriers toentry to the automotive trade and is run by the Automotive IndustryDevelopment Centre (AIDC) in a partnership between the GautengProvincial Government and Mogale City Local Municipality.Various small businesses are supportedat the centre. In the 2023/24 financial yearthe combined turnover of the province’stownship automotive hubs was R2.1-million,far surpassing the target set for this functionbecause of the operationalisation of theChamdor Hub, which supports 12 SMMEs.Training also received a boost because ofa partnership with Tiger Wheel & Tyre. Thecompany provided training in tyre stripping,fitment, wheel balancing and puncturerepairs at the Chamdor Hub.In terms of the provincial programmeoverseen by the GGDA, township-basedSMMEs are supported with tailor-made skills
programmes to increase their capacity to service clients and becomeprofitable and efficient. The type of skills provided is determined bya needs assessment at each township hub, and include technicaltraining and mentorship programmes, financial skills and marketing,among others. On successful completion, attendees are awardedcertificates of completion.A total of 62 township SMMEs were upskilled during FY 2023/24due to a partnership between AIDC and GBNR Solutions todevelop township SMMEs. The development of township SMMEswill improve market access or trade activities and increase theirrevenue to be self-sustainable.GNBR Solutions is implementing a Small Enterprise DevelopmentAgency (SEDA) National Skills Training Programme targetinginformal SMMEs in the automotive and related industries fromtownship and rural areas.The SEDA Business Start-Up training programme covers thefollowing topics: Marketing the Business, Financing the Business,Managing the Business, Business Compliance (including assistinginformal businesses with CIPC registration), Business Planningand presentation to potential financiers for funding. The courseis presented over a five-day period.LAND AVAILABLEValuable land is being made available for investors within the WesternCorridor by the West Rand Project Management Unit. There are fourportions of land.Rand West Local MunicipalityPortions 47 and 54 Gemspost: The Gemspost sites are located justnorth of Westonaria adjacent to an existing, well-established industrialarea. Portion 54 is zoned industrial and ready for development,portion 47 is zoned farmland. The site is highly visible from the roadand presents branding opportunities. Bordering farmland leads toan environmentally sensitive zone along the Wolfenstein Spruit. Thewestern edge is bordered by Sibanye-owned land containing somemining activity and farmland.Portion 10 of the farm Gemsbokfontein 290IQ: The site is located onthe remainder of portion 10 of Farm 290 IQ, south of the RandfonteinNode. The northern border of the site runs parallel to the R93 roadand the western boundary of the site is located along the R28 road.Remainder of the farm Panvlakte 291-IQ: The site is well-located,accessible and visible from the N12. Large open areas and bigportions are clear of dolomite. Proximity of all services and bigenough to support various phases of development and a variety ofsectors. A portion of Westonaria to the east could be suitable forresidential development. The mining activity is isolated to the north ofthe site and separated by an existing railway.Mogale City Local MunicipalityPortion 3 Witpoortjie: The Chamdor site is located south ofKrugersdorp adjacent to the existing, well-established industrialarea. The land parcels are farmland and township establishment willhave to take place. An industrial park can be developed in phases.The site is highly visible from the surrounding roads with ChamdorRoad representing various branding opportunities. The site is crisscrossedby old mining infrastructure and services which divide itinto developable pockets.
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