New harbour to be upgraded
The national Department of Public Works (DPW) has teamed up with the Coega Development Corporation (CDC) on the roll-out of the first phase., worth R400 million, of the upgrade of 13 Western Cape harbour.
The project, spearheaded by the DPW and implemented by the CDC, seeks to boost small-scale fishing and tourism on the West Coast.
“The project is tipped to change the lives of many fishing communities and tourism operators, who rely on 13 of the smaller proclaimed harbours in the Western Cape,” said Riyaadh Kara, DPW Quantity Surveyor and Project Manager.
“The project forms part of our focus on the oceans economy and is a strategic fit to Operation Phakisa.”
The CDC, an implementing agent for DPW, has been at the centre of the roll-out and implementation of the Small Harbours Programme.
“Since the commencement of the project we’ve had a great working relationship with the department,” says Themba Koza, CDC Programme Director. “We have progressed at a rapid pace and hit all the right notes in supporting the DPW’s focus on developing the maritime economy.
The 13 harbours benefiting from the upgrade include Hout Bay, Kalk Bay, Saldanha Bay, Pepper Bay, Gordon’s Bay, Hermanus, Struisbaai, Gansbaai, Stilbaai, Arniston, Laaiplek, Lamberts Bay and St Helena Bay.
The CDC has procured and appointed the necessary marine, civil and electrical engineers as well as marine surveyors.
Since the appointment of the CDC, the organisation has successfully concluded marine surveys and reports for all 13 as well as the testing of the sediment materials that need dredging in order to open up some of the harbours.
Says Koza: “In many cases, lives are put at risk and boats are damaged because the harbour basin and approach channel to the slipways have silted up and boats have to be launched off the beach, or only at high tide, which is why dredging is paramount to the longevity of these harbours.”
With the environmental impact assessments completed, all dredging dumping permits were already obtained from the Department of Environmental Affairs in January.
The tenders for repairs and upgrades to slipways and the replacement of shore cranes have been advertised and are in the process of selecting successful candidates.
“We are speeding up the process as quickly as possible, as we understand that the livelihoods of at least 13 coastal communities are dependent on the harbour which is used by the fishing fleet and tourism operators,” says Koza.
“Work started last year in harbours with the removal of all sunken vessels, and on completion maintenance dredging will have commenced this month.”
The upgrades of the harbours around the coastal area in the Western Cape created 102 jobs in total.
One of the important objectives of the project is to ensure that emerging businesses benefit from the programme. As a result of this, 11 small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) to the tune of R3,5 million have benefited from the programme so far.
Hermanus Times reported last year that the plan for Gansbaai harbour is to move the industrial fishing and fish processing hub to accommodate small-scale fishers.
The vision for the new harbour in Hermanus is to develop it into a tourism hub.