R35m furniture manufacturing hub for Durban
File picture: Rogan Ward File picture: Rogan Ward
Cape Town - eThekwini will soon be home to a R35 million furniture manufacturing hub, aimed at improving economic opportunities in the KwaZulu-Natal city, the municipality said on Friday.
The municipality’s spokesperson Tozi Mthethwa said the hub, which is known as the PINK Furniture Incubator, forms part of the municipality’s Economic Development Strategy which aims to better residents’ access to services through infrastructure development and economic opportunities.
“The Furniture Incubator has recently been completed and will have a drastic impact on the stimulation and development of manufacturing businesses and community access to locally-produced and custom-made furniture in the Phoenix, Inanda, Ntuzuma, and KwaMashu (PINK) areas,” said Mthethwa.
The incubator is situated at the intersection of Malandela Road and Curnick Ndlovu Highway in KwaMashu, and is the product of a partnership between the municipality and the Furniture Training and Incubation Sector Trust (Furntech).
In addition to providing residents with locally-made furniture, small businesses will be able to work from the hub.
“Small businesses will have access to workshop space, machinery, meeting rooms, showrooms, internet, and other facilities allowing for ease of doing business,” said Mthethwa, adding that the incubator was “a major breakthrough for small businesses in the PINK areas”.
eThekwini Mayor James Nxumalo welcomed the impeding launch, saying: “We are proud of this achievement and the great partnership we have with Furntech. The furniture industry is labour-intensive and can significantly contribute to reducing the level of unemployment, increase exports, and contribute to the development of small and medium enterprises.”
The official launch of the incubator will take place in KwaMashu on Tuesday July 12 and will be attended by officials from the City, the MEC of Economic Development, Tourism, and Environmental Affairs Sihle Zikalala, and representatives from Furntech.
African News Agency