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Limpopo Business 2019-20 edition

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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.

OVERVIEW Transport and

OVERVIEW Transport and logistics The new Musina Intermodal Terminal is operating. The official opening of the Musina Intermodal Terminal near the Beitbridge border post is further confirmation of Limpopo’s status as a leader in transport and logistics. Located in the town of Musina on the N1 highway leading to Zimbabwe, the terminal is used to move cargo from road to rail. Warehousing facilities on site make for loading efficiencies in the main cargoes such as chrome, fertiliser, coal, fuel and citrus. Bulk and containerised cargo are handled, with an annual capacity of threemillion tons per annum. Logistics is a vital feature of the Limpopo economy for two reasons – the province has huge volumes of minerals and horticultural products to be transported to markets elsewhere and the province is strategically positioned. In addition to the N1 highway, the N11 is a primary road corridor and there are nine provincial road corridors. Freight volumes on the N11 (to Botswana and Mpumalanga) have increased since 2006, whereas the R33 carries less traffic. The building of the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone (SEZ) will further boost Limpopo’s importance as a transport and logistics hub. Roads Agency Limpopo (RAL), of which the provincial government is the sole shareholder, accounts for about a third of the budget of the Limpopo Department of Public Works, Roads and Infrastructure. It has been successfully focussed on tackling a backlog of infrastructure maintenance, but it has also created partnerships with the national roads agency and private companies to deliver roads. The South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL) is involved in two major road projects in support of the Musina-Makhado SEZ. The N1 is to be re-routed and a new single carriageway created in the Musina CBD. A bypass into ZCC Moria, the site of huge gatherings every Easter, has been completed. Elsewhere, RAL is working with Implats to build 17km of road near the company’s Marula mine. SECTOR INSIGHTS The Great North Transport company runs more than 500 buses. Since 2014, some R2.6-billion has been spent by the provincial government on building bridges and upgrading gravel roads to tar. Polokwane is the site of major investments in transport infrastructure. SANRAL is building a R640-million ring road and a bus rapid transport system is being introduced to the provincial capital. The scheme is called Leeto la Polokwane. Within the province more broadly, 22.6% of households in Limpopo use bus transport and 45.8% use taxis (2013 Household Travel Survey). Outside Polokwane, the towns of Tzaneen, Lephalale, Burgersfort and Musina (a border post with Zimbabwe) are all important in the field of logistics. Great North Transport falls under the Limpopo Economic Development Agency. The company has more than 500 buses, covers about 36-million LIMPOPO BUSINESS 2019/20 60

OVERVIEW kilometres every year on 279 routes, employs more than 1 200 people and transports 37.6-million passengers. In addition to ownership of Great North Transport buses, the provincial government has 26 private bus subsidy contracts. In 2018/19, R737-million was spent on bus subsidy services. South Africa’s major logistics companies have facilities in Polokwane, and some have warehouses and forwarding facilities in other parts of the province. RTT has offices in Makhado. Limpopo’s biggest exports (minerals and fruit and vegetables) require dramatically different levels of handling. Minerals are poured in great volumes into the freight trucks of Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) and taken onward to Richards Bay Coal Terminal. Companies such as Freezerlines, Fast ‘n Fresh and Cold Chain have developed specialist techniques in getting delicate fruits to market and to port undamaged. Grindrod has a Perishable Cargo division which specialises in transporting cargo by air. The large national logistics company Value Group has only four major regional depots outside Gauteng: in Cape Town, Durban, Nelspruit – and Polokwane. This illustrates the importance of the Limpopo Province and its capital city in the national logistics chain. IMPERIAL Logistics Southern Africa has 70 companies in its group structure, including Kobus Minaar Transport, a firm that began in Tzaneen transporting fruit and vegetables. Other active companies ONLINE RESOURCES Gateway Airports Authority Limpopo: www.gaal.co.za Limpopo Economic Development Agency: www.lieda.co.za Limpopo Department of Public Works, Roads and Infrastructure: www.dpw.limpopo.gov.za Limpopo Department of Transport: www.ldot.gov.za Roads Agency Limpopo: www.ral.co.za Transnet Freight Rail: www.transnet.net in Limpopo include Dawn Wing Logistics, Kargo, F&R Logistics and Aramex SA. Polokwane International Airport (PIA) is wholly owned by the provincial government and run by the Gateway Airport sAuthority Ltd (GAAL), an agency of the Limpopo Department of Transport. It has the potential to be an important regional cargo airport. SA Airlink caters mainly to the business market and offers 21 flights to Johannesburg six days a week. The airline also provides links between Phalaborwa and Johannesburg, and between Hoedspruit and Johannesburg and Cape Town. Many game reserves have airstrips and regional airports in the eastern part of the province provide easy access to the Kruger National Park. Eastgate Airport at Hoedspruit is close to the Orpen Gate. Phalaborwa’s airport is notable for its African-themed terminal which includes a zebrapatterned floor. Musina, near the border with Zimbabwe in the north, hosts the province’s other regional airport. 61 LIMPOPO BUSINESS 2019/20

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