Some 400 delegates representing the world's financiers and suppliers of rolling stock are expected at an investment conference for the R7-billion Gautrain Rapid Rail Link project, starting today.
The development aims to provide a fast link on tracks between Johannesburg International Airport, the city, Sandton and Pretoria.
The provincial government-driven project is one of the 10 that make up the BlueIQ initiative 'to create a truly 'smart' province' in Gauteng and aims to attract R100-billion in foreign investment in the next decade, to which the province has so far allocated R1.7-billion.
The remaining nine projects include:
· an innovation hub, at the site of the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research in Pretoria, planned to be the catalyst that will spur the next wave of knowledge-intensive industries in South Africa;
· an industrial development zone of light manufacturing industries and avionics and aerospace clusters around Johannesburg International Airport;
· the upgrade of the City Deep Container Depot and establishment of an industrial development zone to offer superior infrastructure and access to a world-class intermodal transfer facility with an inland Port Authority;
· an automotive industry development centre in the Rosslyn and Waltloo areas of Pretoria to facilitate automotive engineering design and testing, automotive research and development and human resource development;
· a super-manufacturing corridor in Wadeville and Alrode to ensure the continued economic wellbeing of the East Rand;
· the development of the Cradle of Humankind - declared a World Heritage Site in 1999 - as a major tourist attraction;
· the development of the Constitutional Hill Precinct at the Old Fort in Hillbrow as 'a beacon of hope and aspiration';
· the creation of a 'cultural capital of South Africa' at Newtown; and
· the development of Dinokeng wildlife reserve, near Pretoria.
Publisher: Business Day
Source: Business Day