Aerotropolis seen as catalyst for change

Johannesburg - Africa’s first aerotropolis, to be constructed over the next 30 years in Ekurhuleni, has finally become a reality.

On Tuesday, mayor Mondli Gungubele made the announcement at the Ekurhuleni Industrial Cluster Development and Investment conference in Kempton Park.

The aerotropolis is a zone, within a 30km radius of OR Tambo International Airport, in which economic regions or hubs will be created for various industries such as manufacturing and hi-tech, medical, agri-business and food processing, education and skills training, logistics and distribution, and natural resources and energy.

Gungubele said the aerotropolis master plan was a solid city development, transformation and investment-attraction instrument that would expose the region to new opportunities.

The three-day conference is being attended by various local and international dignitaries and business leaders with the purpose of discussing investment opportunities.

The ultimate objective for Ekurhuleni is to attract strategic investments in key economic sectors, including aviation and aerospace, advanced manufacturing, logistics and rail, to name a few.

“With Ekurhuleni being a city of high unemployment, the majority being the youth, and with almost a quarter of the population being employed in elementary occupations such as domestic work, street trading, mining and construction, these challenges are the root cause of most of the socio-economic ills that continue to ravage our communities,” the mayor said.

The plan aims to drive sustainable socio-economic development and an economic infrastructure development programme in partnership with other spheres of government within Gauteng.

“Our main objective is to grow the economy, create jobs and improve the general quality of life in the region.

“Its implementation programme intends to balance the distribution of economic activity between the nine affluent areas, the 17 townships of Ekurhuleni and the broader Gauteng city region. After 18 months of putting the master plan together, I cannot wait to traverse the world to tell investors about our unique selling points as a city,” Gungubele said.

The aerotropolis concept has been successful in airport cities in the Middle East, Asia, Europe and North America.

The project will include upgrading of roads and new roads to link the various freight hubs in the aerotropolis, to improve cargo links between OR Tambo and other inland ports, and to link the bus rapid transit and light rail within the aerotropolis.

There will be freight-only lanes in this integrated transport system and the construction of a fast rail freight line from Durban to Gauteng.

anna.cox@inl.co.za

THE STAR