The 2019/20 edition of Limpopo Business is the 11th issue of this highly successful publication that, since its launch in 2007, has established itself as the premier business and investment guide for the Limpopo Province.
Limpopo has several investment and business opportunities. In addition to the regular articles providing insight into each of the key economic sectors of the province, there are special features on various Special Economic Zones (SEZs) which aim to drive industrialization in the province and the initiatives which are further enhancing the tourism offering in Limpopo.
News related to mining, agriculture, transport and logistics, education and development finance is carried in overviews of the main economic sectors in the province.
To complement the extensive local, national and international distribution of the print edition, the full content can also be viewed online at www.globalafricanetwork.com Updated information on the Limpopo is also available through our monthly e-newsletter, which you can subscribe to at https://www.globalafricanetwork.com/subscribe/, in addition to our complementary business-to-business titles that cover all nine provinces as well as our flagship South African Business.
A REGIONAL OVERVIEW OF
A REGIONAL OVERVIEW OF THE LIMPOPO PROVINCE
New mining projects, investments in Special Economic Zones and superb tourism assets are expected to underpin economic growth in Limpopo. By John Young With R150-billion in committed investments so far, Limpopo’s newest major project, the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone (SEZ), has every chance of being a real game-changer. The SEZ takes advantage of one of Limpopo’s greatest strategic advantages, namely its location. With a stated aim of benefitting the economies of the region, including neighbours Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, the SEZ is expected to create more than 20 000 jobs in a range of sectors. The largest projects will be in minerals, mineral beneficiation, energy and logistics. Another SEZ at Tubatse in eastern Limpopo, together with an industrial park designed to promote and enhance opportunities along the value chain that the marula fruit can bring, and the revitalisation of industrial parks at Seshego and Nkowankowa point to the fact that parks are a central plank of provincial economic planning. Mining continues to be biggest contributor to provincial Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at 24.5%. The number of jobs in this sector reached more than 100 000 in 2018, up from just over 70 000 in 2013. With several big new projects underway, a significant number of new jobs will be created in the short term. Tourism is seen as one of the biggest potential earners (and employers) with almost limitless potential. The sector within tourism that is receiving the most attention from authorities at the moment is biodiversity but there are equally unrivalled opportunities in adventure tourism, culture and heritage, birding, golf and the list goes on. Nearly eight million international tourists have visited the province since 2014 and more than 27-million South Africans have visited some part of Limpopo in the same period. The combined land area of Limpopo’s national, provincial and private game and nature reserves is 3.6-million hectares. According to the Premier’s office, the tourism sector employs about 22 400 people. Limpopo covers about 10% of South Africa’s land mass and is home to about 10% of the country’s population. The 2011 census recorded 5.4-million residents. The main languages of the people of Limpopo are Sesotho, Xitsonga and Tshivenda but English is widely used in business and government. The Limpopo Province’s 125 754km² covers a remarkably diverse geographical and cultural landscape that is also rich in minerals and agricultural products. The N1 highway (“Great North Road”) is a key reason for the province’s important role in the nation’s logistics sector. It passes through Limpopo from the south to the border town of Musina and on to Zimbabwe and its neighbours in the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The busy N11 highway links the province to Botswana to the west and Mpumalanga Province to the east. Most of South Africa’s logistics operators have a presence in the provincial capital city of Polokwane and freight logistics hubs have been established in that city and in Musina. Transport within the city of Polokwane is being transformed by the introduction of a bus rapid transport system, Leeto la Polokwane. In the province as a whole, 22.6% of households in Limpopo use bus transport and 45.8% use taxis. Great North Transport falls under the Limpopo Economic Development Agency. The company has more than 500 buses, covers about 36-million kilometres every year on 279 routes, employs more than 1 200 people and transports 37.6-million passengers. The Polokwane International Airport (PIA) is wholly owned by the provincial government and run by the Gateway Airports Authority Ltd (GAAL), an agency of the Limpopo Department of Transport. It has the potential to be an
