Funding of R1.4 billion (€66 million) from Citibank for the development of an aerotropolis surrounding a new international airport in the Vaal region of Gauteng will be of major benefit to tourism and economic development, according to FEDHSA Chair, Rosemary Anderson.
Citibank South Africa signed an MoU on Thursday (May 25) with South Africa’s Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC), pledging R1.375bn in funding for investment in ‘Vaal River City’, which will comprise an international airport, logistics, manufacturing and agricultural hubs, and retail, leisure and residential facilities close to Vereeniging.
"This is a massive infrastructure project. The timing of the airport itself will depend on a few things: the zoning, the licensing, the authority for the port. But a lot of work has gone into this. A lot of those [things] are being finalised. We are making an application for a special economic zone (SEZ), which will encompass this area that the airport will be built in," said Citibank South Africa’s Country Officer, Peter Taylor, at Thursday’s media briefing, who said that the development could catalyse as much as R30bn (€1.4bn) in additional investment.
Citibank has also confirmed that it will make a grant of R200m (€9.5m) available for black industrialists in the region, as part of the group’s equity equivalent investment programme.
Anderson said the aerotropolis was exactly what was needed to stimulate the area’s economic growth.
“This is exactly what the Vaal region needed – a catalyst that will finally unlock the region’s potential as both a major tourism player as well as capitalise on the many other industries that will benefit from an aerotropolis,” Anderson said, highlighting the attractiveness of the region as a destination.
“The Vaal River has unlimited potential. Already one can play at a number of golf courses on the banks of the river and be transported between them by River Taxi. Where else can you do that in South Africa? We have something unique in the Vaal, and the aerotropolis will bring the necessary focus on the Vaal to finally unlock its potential.”
DTIC Deputy Minister Fikile Majola said the initial phase of the implementation of the proposed Vaal SEZ is anchored by two investment projects valued at R5.6bn (€270m), including a solid oxide fuel cell manufacturing facility and an LPG gas cylinder manufacturing facility.
“These two projects, which are scheduled to break ground within the 2023/24 financial year, will create a combined 2 300 jobs during construction and 1 000 direct jobs at the operational phase.”
Once completed, the aerotropolis project, valued at up to R11 billion (€523m), will cover 1 200 hectares of land.
