The Dube Trade Port Corporation in La Mercy in KwaZulu-Natal, a state owned enterprise, was launched on Thursday by SA President Jacob Zuma.
Zuma explains that the Dube Trade Port is strategically located between the two largest seaports in the Southern hemisphere - Durban and Richards Bay.
The project is named after the founding President of the ANC, Dr John Langalibalele Dube.
The Dube Trade Port Corporation has been assigned to deliver a unique airport city north of Durban, stretching from Umhlanga to Ballito.
“In doing so, we will be able to boost economic development and job creation and take forward our campaign against poverty, unemployment and inequality,” says Zuma.
Many projects have been completed in the past 22 months, including the Cargo Terminal, the Trade House, the Trade Zone, Dube City infrastructure, the Agrizone and the IT and Telecommunications platform are the others.
Zuma explains that the Dube Trade Port is strategically located between the two largest seaports in the Southern hemisphere - Durban and Richards Bay.
It is also set to be Southern Africa's premier logistics platform, given that the Port of Durban provides connectivity to 53 international destinations and access to local distribution networks.
“This project is intended to connect the major economic centres of Gauteng and Durban/Pinetown and link these centres with an improved export capacity through our sea-ports and improved railway lines.”
He says they expect this corridor to also stimulate growth in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, a major agricultural and industrial region through which this route will pass.
A logistics hub such as the Dube Trade Port is also critical for growth given the fact that we are located far from the main global marketplaces in America, Europe and increasingly the emerging markets in Asia.
Already, the construction phase has generated close to 20 000 jobs in the past two years.
Zuma notes that King Shaka International Airport is an important part of the project and that the time has come to think of the airport as South Africa's secondary hub and not just a regional feeder airport.
For the financial year that ended on 31 March 2010, the former Durban International Airport before relocation to La Mercy facilitated 4.4 million passengers, according to the Airports Company of South Africa.
Zuma notes that King Shaka International Airport is an important part of the project and that the time has come to think of the airport as South Africa's secondary hub and not just a regional feeder airport
The number of passengers increased to 4.8 million during the 2011 financial year following the move to King Shaka International Airport.
Passenger traffic is growing at a healthy 3.8 percent, which compares favourably with the national average passenger traffic growth of 2.8 percent for the current financial year.
It is anticipated that the airport's passenger traffic for the 2012 financial year will surpass the five million mark, he says.
“King Shaka International should aggressively market itself as a key entry point for international routes and must attract various international carriers to Durban via additional bilateral air service agreements.”
Durban also has significant potential to develop air cargo flows between South Africa and its neighbouring regional markets, he says.
“There can only be positive results from this strategic move noting that there is a major African Union move to develop a continental free trade zone.”
He says three regions alone - SADC, the East African Community and COMESA - bring together about 600 million people.
Africa provides a market of one billion people and the focus on our continent is therefore a step in the right direction in terms of the country's strategic goals, he adds. –Denise Mhlanga
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