SOUTHERN CAPE BUSINESS NEWS - Peter-John Momsen, owner of local communications and branding agency Southern Cape Corridor, is positive about the future of the region, saying the area offers many opportunities for growth and development.

They focus on attracting investment capital to the region from Plettenberg Bay to Stilbaai in order to create momentum for sustained, economic growth. The following article is his take on the possibilities.

There is a most beautiful stretch of southern coastline and adjacent plain, cooled by the Indian Ocean from the south and protected by the Outeniqua Mountain Range to the north. This corridor stretches from Wilderness in the east to Stilbaai in the west, and is called the Southern Cape Corridor (SCC).

In many respects, this region is better positioned for economic growth and development than the Pretoria-Midrand-Jo'burg corridor was in the 1980s. We do not have the traffic congestion, pollution and crime of Gauteng, yet we have the added advantage of a harbour at Mossel Bay with significant potential.

Furthermore, we have the George International Airport, a stretch of N2 highway in excellent condition, many thousands of hectares of land suitable for housing and commercial development, and an existing regional population of 300 000.

An underpinning economy 

Judged by the developments currently underway in the area between Blanco and the George Airport, it seems that agri-processing is emerging as a key sub-sector of the new economy of the region. To date, the region has largely been dependent on agriculture, fishing, viticulture, beer and beverages, light/medium engineering, industry and construction, logistics, tourism, and timber growing and processing.

Employment and the capital generated from these sectors have kept the regional communities in relative socio-economic stability.

Current projections are that the population of the region will exceed 500 000 by 2025. By this time, the economic sectors on the employment and capital generation menu will need to have grown substantially (quantity) and substantively (quality), or further growth will be short-lived and stunted.

Growth sectors 

A number of opportunities are obvious when one simply considers population growth. These include: 

provision of new low and medium cost housing (low to high density);

adequate, affordable and safe transport and road infrastructure (I'm impressed by what is happening on the road linking the N2 to Stilbaai);

provision of utilities, particularly water and energy;

building of new and/or extension of schools and primary healthcare facilities.

Expansion 

In terms of the expansion and deepening of sectors already in play, the following are possible areas for growth: 

core inputs for agriculture, including fertilisers and machinery;

expansion of food processing facilities (perhaps including canning, refrigeration, abattoir);

expansion of timber processing facilities, and introduction of carpentry/joinery factories;

upgrade and/or expansion of rail network lines, stations, sidings, rolling stock and general infrastructure;

expansion of logistics and warehousing (including agri and agri-processing);

capacity in terms of skills and the supply of material for the construction industry will need to be expanded and increased.

Critical new sectors 

Critical new sectors will need to be established and capital will need to be raised for investment in the following: 

energy - water, wind and solar (could be incorporated with development of new dam and reservoirs);

artisan and technical training facilities (could be done sensibly under the brands of NMMU and/or South Cape College);

telecoms, information and communications technology, electronic/digital infrastructure, provision and maintenance.

Timing 

As is almost always the case with investment, timing is the key strategic issue. Apply capital and get the ball rolling too early and others simply ride the momentum of the wave you create and/or leapfrog over your operation.

If you get in too late, not only is the competition already established, but the cost of entry is significantly higher, and the low-hanging fruit has already been eaten.

Maximising insfrastructure 

If we maximise the current infrastructural and productive capacity of George Airport, Mossel Bay Harbour, road and rail networks, and skilled population, there would be few reasons to doubt that we could enjoy better-than-inflation economic growth in the decade ahead.

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