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KwaZulu-Natal Business 2019-20 edition

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A unique business and investment guide to KwaZulu-Natal Province in South Africa. The 2019/20 edition of KwaZulu-Natal Business is the 11th issue of this highly successful publication that, since its launch in 2008, has established itself as the premier business and investment guide for the KwaZulu-Natal Province. In addition to the regular articles providing insight into each of the key economic sectors of the province, there is a special feature on the surge in investment in new tourism projects, from casino expansions to the building of a dedicated cruise-liner terminal. Another special feature surveys other large investments in a wide variety of sectors, showing the diversity and strength of the provincial economy. For monthly updates about the region, subscribe at https://www.globalafricanetwork.com/subscribe/ or visit our portal at https://www.globalafricanetwork.com/category/regions/kwazulu-natal/

OVERVIEW Construction

OVERVIEW Construction and property Infrastructure and multi-use developments are forging ahead. SECTOR INSIGHT Development on the N3 is underway. Job losses and business rescues were recurring themes in the South African construction sector in 2017 and 2018. The announcement in late 2018 that work on the R4.3-billion Oceans Umhlanga project had been halted confirmed that KwaZulu- Natal was not immune to these trends, but indications were that work on the residential, hotel and retail mall development will resume in 2019. A number of other large projects in the province are bucking the national trend. According to the organisers of the KZN Construction Expo, which was held in February 2019, infrastructure will attract more than R200-billion over seven years and R35-billion will be spent over 15 years at the Port Waterfront development. The King Shaka International Airport and associated Dube TradePort are also attracting property investments. Two new industrial parks are being developed: Cornubia is part of a larger project near Umhlanga and Clairwood in Durban South will offer more than 300 000m² of A-grade industrial space. Tongaat Hulett has for several years been rolling out a series of developments on land it owns north of Durban, but in 2018 it launched the nTshongweni Urban Development on either side of the busy N3 highway west of the city. Land use will be housing, light industry and logistics with a private developer, Fundamentum Asset Management, committed to building a shopping mall in the central business district. The website of Tongaat Hulett Developments (THD) lists 16 completed projects, including La Lucia Ridge and the Zimbali Coastal ONLINE RESOURCES Construction Industry Development Board: www.cidb.org.za Master Builders Association KwaZulu-Natal: www.mba-kzn.co.za SA Estate Agency Affairs Board: www.eaab.org.za SA Institute of Valuers: www.saiv.org.za Resort. Some current projects are massive in scale. Cornubia covers 1 300 hectares about 7km from the airport and encompasses industrial, commercial, residential sections. The Sibaya Casino and Entertainment World is located within the Sibaya Coastal Precinct which THD is building as seven distinct nodes along 1 000 hectares of coast. Bridge City (pictured) is one of the most ambitious projects: a joint venture between the eThekwini Municipality and Tongaat Hulett, it is a presidential project that combines industrial, commercial, retail and residential opportunities located between Pinetown and Umhlanga Ridge. KwaZulu-Natal has a number of brick companies and four cement factories. Three of these are run by NPC-Cimpor (at Simuma, Durban and Newcastle), and the company has a further six sites for concrete and two for aggregate. Lafarge has a large depot and cement clinkergrinding operation in Richards Bay, six aggregate quarries and eight Readymix plants around the province. The Supreme Award for Excellence in Construction (Master Builders KwaZulu-Natal) was awarded in 2018 to WBHO Construction for the Absa Regional Office KwaZulu-Natal. KWAZULU-NATAL BUSINESS 2019/20 48

Water OVERVIEW South Africa’s first mobile desalination plant has been installed. SECTOR INSIGHT Durban wastewater is to get new technology. Richards Bay has installed a 10-container desalination plant next to the municipal water treatment plant at Alkanstrand. The first mobile sea water purification unit in South Africa, it comprises 10 containers and is located adjacent to the water treatment plant at Alkantstrand. It can deliver 10 megalitres of drinking water. However, the high cost of electricity means that the unit is used sparingly. Solar energy is being investigated as a possible alternative. In 2018 JG Afrika delivered a R72-million desalination plant (pictured) to South32's Hillside aluminium smelter in the same town. New technology has been installed at the Verulam Wastewater Treatment Works of the eThekwini Municipality. Murray & Roberts Water and its European technology partner, Organica Water, has installed an environmentally-friendly system that uses 30% less energy and produces 30% less sludge. The area north of the Durban central business district is one of the fastest-growing urban areas in South Africa, with a number of large office and accommodation projects going ahead simultaneously. This is a welcome development for the economy, but the new buildings also create pressure on infrastructure. The multi-year, R250-million Northern Aqueduct Augmentation project was initiated in 2014 and the fifth phase of the project has recently begun. This will provide water for Durban North, Umhlanga, Newlands, KwaMashu, Phoenix and Cornubia. ONLINE RESOURCES Mhlathuze Water: www.mhlathuze.co.za National Department of Water and Sanitation: www.dwa.gov.za Umgeni Water: www.umgeni.co.za Water Research Commission: www.wrc.org.za One of the many challenges faced by the South African water sector is a shortage of engineers. A study jointly commissioned by the Water Research Commission and the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) found that the country's four-in-a-million ratio of engineers is a long way from the required 50-per-million. Umgeni Water currently supplies more than 400m³ of potable water to its six large municipal customers: eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, iLembe District Municipality, Sisonke District Municipality, Umgungundlovu District Municipality, Ugu District Municipality and Msunduzi Local Municipality. The company has five dams, 10 waterworks, five watertreatment plants and two wastewater works. Large parts of the northern part of the province are served by Mhlathuze Water. The utility has assets valued at more than R3-billion and its area of supply covers 37 000m². Nedbank is putting R9-million over five years into clearing alien vegetation in the country's watercatchment areas, including in KwaZulu-Natal. The Nedbank sponsorship of the WWF's Water Balance Programme has seen water flowing more freely in the Umgeni catchment area. 49 KWAZULU-NATAL BUSINESS 2019/20

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