Coega Development Corporation announces contracts for SMMEs
In a bid to boost participation and growth in the small business sector, the Coega Development Corporation (CDC) has announced R700million worth of contracts which will be awarded to SMMEs in the Bay for projects in the surrounding Sarah Baartman municipal district and other areas in the province.
The announcement was made at a well-attended CDC business stakeholder engagement session held at the corporation’s Vulindlela Accommodation and Conference Centre at Wells Estate yesterday.
The bulk of the contracts – collectively valued at R700-million and which are being managed by CDC on behalf of the Department of Education – will be made available to SMMEs in the construction sector and involve projects to be implemented between this year and 2019 at dozens of schools.
SMME contracts are also in the pipeline for new entrants into the CDC Industrial Development Zone (IDZ) and other CDC infrastructure projects.
Directed by Dr Ayanda Vilakazi, who heads marketing and communication for the corporation, the event saw presentations delivered around CDC projects, which included those in its IDZ and its infrastructure development programme, an update on the imminent entry of Chinese carmaker BAIC into the IDZ, CDC’s supply management process and CDC’s SMME development and support programmes.
With a strong emphasis on local and appropriately qualified and equipped SMMEs, the CDC demonstrated its strong track record in supporting small business to date, with contracts to clear bush and level the 54-hectare new BAIC manufacturing site, collectively valued at around R17-million, cited as one example.
Contracts for the construction of a ring road, bulk electricity supply, and a fire water supply system for the BAIC site will be put out to SMME tender in the near future.
Once these infrastructure projects are completed, the site will be handed over to BAIC.
Vilakazi said SMME participation was considered for every CDC project.
In his presentation on BAIC, Coega’s Mfundo Piti said vast tracts of land had been earmarked in the IDZ for automotive suppliers into the BAIC facility, which in its second phase, is expected to produce 100 000 vehicles a year for the South African, African and Middle Eastern markets.
Shaun Gillham
HeraldLIVE
