Multipurpose centre at Hermanus Harbour will boost local economic development, create jobs, says De Lille
Minister for Public Works and Infrastructure Patricia de Lille launched a multipurpose centre at the Hermanus Harbour, which is expected to boost local economic development ahead of the tourism season.
The centre was launched on Monday to allow greater access to the harbour for traders and the fishing community, in order to boost their operations and contribution to the local economy, as well as creating more jobs.
Speaking at the launch, De Lille said she was proud of the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure’s Small Harbours Repairs and Maintenance Programme.
“The project has been moving smoothly across 13 proclaimed fishing harbours in the Western Cape, bringing much-needed infrastructure improvements to the harbours, for the benefit of coastal communities.”
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The 13 proclaimed fishing harbours are: Lamberts Bay, Laaiplek/Bergrivier Harbour, St Helena Bay, Saldanha Bay, Pepper Bay, Hout Bay, Kalk Bay, Gordons Bay, Hermanus, Gansbaai, Arniston, Struisbaai and Stilbaai.
“The programme identified the following scope of work in each of the 13 harbours, where applicable: removal of sunken vessels, dredging of the harbour basins, repairs to slipways, shore crane replacements, security infrastructure upgrades, civil infrastructure upgrades and electrical infrastructure upgrades,” she said.
The programme aims to boost investor confidence within the harbours – and many existing tenants are looking to expand their operations.
Scope
“I am very pleased to hear that the overall progress of the programme against the priority scope of work is currently at 94% completion, with the planned completion date of March 2022 still on track.”
To date, the programme has created 737 jobs.
According to the department, the 737 jobs are disaggregated as follows: youth 390; people with disabilities 3; women 98; and men 639.
“At the Hermanus Harbour project, a total of 92 jobs were created under the land infrastructure project,” De Lille said.
The overall cost of the programme amounts to R500 million, while investment into the land infrastructure upgrades at the Hermanus Harbour amounted to just over R15 million.