Construction of the R4.8-billion inland port near Harrismith in SA’s inland Free State province, and which is on the major rail and road corridor route between the port of Durban and Gauteng, SA’s economic heartland, is progressing well.
The 1000 ha inland port, also referred to as the Maluti-a-Phofung SEZ (special economic zone), also connects up with corridors to the provinces of the Western Cape and Free State, as well as northbound corridors into other Southern African countries. It is expected to relieve pressure on the port of Durban, offering import and export customs clearing facilities.
The 10 000 ha site, which lies at the foot hills of the northern Drakensberg mountains (also known as the Maluti mountains) will provide road and rail logistics and handling facilities for the Gauteng–Durban port corridor and link it to the Bloemfontein–Cape Town corridor. It is expected to come onstream next year.
The main industries the SEZ will serve are agriculture, agroprocessing, automotive and logistics, and will include container terminal and car terminal facilities.
Apart from roadfreight facilities, it will also act as a logistics hub provide to aggregated bulk rail logistics for agricultural produce between Bloemfontein and Harrismith, in the Free State, while bulk freight rail services will extend to Newcastle, in KwaZulu-Natal. The SEZ will incorporate an intermodal rail and road facility, with specialist transfer infrastructure and associated storage facilities, including cold-chain storage facilities.
Department of Trade and Industry SEZ and economic transformation acting deputy director-general Alfred Tau told Engineering News there is more land available in the vicinity that could potentially accommodate expansion, if required.
“Its existing road and rail links position the site ideally to service goods flowing to and from the Durban port and to bolster the existing logistics networks. The SEZ will relieve some of the pressure on the port by offering alternative storage, staging, packaging and agglomeration services.
“The confluence of major road and rail systems and its position above Van Reenen’s Pass also enable it to offer an intermodal transfer point that could relieve some of the road congestion on this route,” he explains. Further, there has also been interest from light manufacturers of medical equipment, clothing and pharmaceuticals.”
The long-term objective of the SEZ is to use this initial interest to attract more value-adding activities and companies by offering a convenient processing hub for businesses looking to serve the domestic and international markets, notes Tau. “It is envisaged that activities will include final assembly and customisation of imported products, and light manufacturing of products destined for the export market, as well as eventually including higher-value processing and manufacturing plants, such as starch production, pharmaceuticals and medical-equipment manufacturing plants,” he says.
The SEZ’s potential to realise large socio- economic benefits in a depressed region of the economy influenced the decision to develop it; however, the manner in which the zone develops over time will be determined by the level and nature of investor interest, adds Tau.
Agricultural Accelerator The hub will draw in agricultural produce from the region and serve as a base for agroprocessing, food processing and light manufacturing, as well as for the consolidation and export of such goods, highlights Maluti-a-Phofung project director Mzwakhe Shoba. He adds that the SEZ is currently focused on strengthening and leveraging rail and the north–south road corridor, with the eventual inclusion of the Harrismith aerodrome as an extension of the SEZ, mainly to move higher- value perishable food goods.
“The agricultural base [of the region] can benefit from a hub-and-spoke concept, where produce is collected for further processing or transportation at the hub,” says Tau.
Small farmers and niche farmers near the railways will benefit from the SEZ, as it will enable them to easily move their goods, he notes, adding that the produce will be sorted and consolidated in the SEZ, while buyers can use the customs offices to quickly obtain all the relevant permits for export.
“The SEZ will now incorporate the Harrismith Logistics Hub concept, to make Harrismith a central accumulation point for agricultural produce to be transported by rail, into its plans,” states Tau. Further, the hub will also have a fresh produce park, which will include a Halaal food park, abattoirs and organic produce companies. The establishment of light processing activities that draw on the raw agricultural materials available in KwaZulu-Natal will also be incentivised to develop higher-value processing and production in the SEZ as the development and growth of the zone progresses, he notes. “The agglomeration of several value chains will provide an opportunity for local entrepreneurs to integrate into these emerging value chains and expand their businesses,” states Tau.
Rail Freight Rail logistics is central to the Maluti-a-Phofung hub’s capabilities. Improving and using the railway network through the hub will also provide long-term funding for the maintenance and expansion of the network in KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State and Gauteng.
State-owned railway operator Transnet is consequently a key partner in the Maluti-a-Phofung SEZ project, says Shoba.
The project is a key test-bed for government’s road-to-rail initiatives aimed at reducing costs of road freight and reinvigorating the rail industry. He says the narrow-gauge rail lines criss- crossing the Free State and KwaZulu-Natal are mainly underused, and the hub will aim to provide its services and rail logistics to broader industries in these provinces, including the clothing and textile industries near the Newcastle area.
“Transnet Freight Rail has played a major role by considering the rail use potential and scoping the requirements for the intermodal facility; it will continue to be one of the key stakeholders in the zone development. Now that the decision to designate [the zone as an SEZ] has been approved by Cabinet, the process of engaging with Transnet and co-designing the required facilities is expected to intensify,” says Tau.
The industrial development zone model has proven highly successful in South Africa, but the cost of logistics in the country hampers the competitiveness of industries. Therefore, the Maluti-a-Phofung SEZ aims to reduce logistics costs and enable companies to gain efficiencies, grow and expand and, in so doing, help develop the economies of the provinces, says Shoba.
The aim is to have three freight trains a day between Durban and Johannesburg initially and to offer the 24-hour rail services as a complementary addition to the road network.
The Maluti-a-Phofung SEZ will provide all the relevant services for companies in the SEZ, including databases of local suppliers and black-owned businesses in the area that can form part of supply chains. “The zone has been registered as an SEZ so that broader incentives can be offered to participants outside of export-orientated industries, which the IDZ regulations incentivise,” says Shoba. Under the current SEZ Act No 16 of 2014, companies located within the South African Revenue Service customs-controlled area of the SEZ are potentially eligible for a preferential 15% corporate tax rate for ten years, as well as a building allowance tax relief, employment tax relief for employees earning below R60 000 a year, and the 12i tax allowance for the development of greenfield operations.
The Maluti-a-Phofung municipality has incorporated the project into its planning scenarios, with prospective investors having shown a keen interest to hire and train people from the local community. “The SEZ will contribute to the development of the region by catalysing skills development and creating opportunities to integrate small enterprises into various industry value chains. This will create opportunities for entrepreneurs and labour in the area,” says Tau.
The recent designation of the hub as an SEZ will lead to the skills audit and the design of specific training interventions being revised to ensure that the local community can benefit directly from the development, he adds. The Maluti-a-Phofung SEZ is expected to develop over 20 to 30 years, with an expected 29 000 employment opportunities emerging over a ten-year period, if all elements of the plan received sufficient business interest and opportunities are realised.
“The SEZ aims to improve business infrastructure for the benefit of all industries in the region. Currently, the interest that has emerged from investors does not compete with any existing business interests and the SEZ intends to host new industries that will use people from the Maluti-a-Phofung community, sustainably aiding the development of the region and its people,” he concludes.
With Engineering News
Harrismith
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the town in Western Australia, see Harrismith, Western Australia.
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Harrismith
View from the north
Harrismith
Harrismith shown within South Africa
Coordinates: 28°17′0″S 29°08′0″ECoordinates: 28°17′0″S 29°08′0″E
Country
South Africa
Province
Free State
District
Thabo Mofutsanyane
Municipality
Maluti-a-Phofung
Established
1849[1]
Area[2]
• Total
138.80 km2 (53.59 sq mi)
Population (2011)[2]
• Total
27,869
• Density
200/km2 (520/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)[2]
• Black African
87.1%
• Coloured
0.8%
• Indian/Asian
1.3%
• White
10.7%
• Other
0.2%
First languages (2011)[2]
• Zulu
49.4%
• Sotho
32.6%
• Afrikaans
10.4%
• English
3.7%
• Other
3.8%
Postal code (street)
9880
PO box
9880
Area code
058
Website
Harrismith – Community Website
Harrismith, named after Sir Harry Smith who was a British governor of the Cape Colony,[3] is a large town in the Free State province of South Africa. It is situated by the Wilge River, on the N3 highway approximately midway between Johannesburg, about 300 km north-west, and Durban. The town is at the junction with the N5 highway, which continues west towards the provincial capital Bloemfontein, around 340 km south-west. This important crossroads in South Africa’s land trade routes is surrounded by mesas and buttes and located at base of one of these called Platberg (“Flat Mountain” translated from Afrikaans).
History
The town was founded in 1849 and named after British Governor Harry Smith, who tried to persuade the Voortrekkers not to abandon Natal.
The town was initially laid out by Robert Moffat about 25 km from the present location, in present day Aberfeldy on the Elands River. This site unfortunately proved to be deficient in water and Harrismith was shifted to its present site in January 1850. Twenty-four years later it became a municipality and during the diamond rush at Kimberley, the town became a busy staging post on the Natal transport route. As a direct result of this, hotels, stores and public buildings sprang up. Harrismith was a major base during the South African (Anglo-Boer) War and visitors can see the several blockhouses, engineering works and a military cemetery that are evidence of this.
The town’s main street, Warden Street, is named after Major Henry D. Warden, at that time a British resident in Bloemfontein.
The town is around 90 kilometers west from Ladysmith, a town named after Sir Harry Smith’s wife that is located in the KwaZulu-Natal province. It is a similar distance east of Bethlehem
The small nearby hamlet of Swinburne is named after Sir Johan Swinburne, a gold prospector.
Present day
Harrismith is well known as a convenient refuelling stop for trucks, vehicles and people but it has much more to offer. Beyond the highway is a tidy town with many elegant late 19th century buildings made of hewn sandstone. There are numerous Bed & Breakfast places catering to visitors. Located near the scenic eastern escarpment border with KwaZulu-Natal Province, it is the best access point to the northernmost Drakensberg including Tugela Falls and Mont-Aux-Sources (accessed via the Sentinel Hiking Trail, in the Qwa-Qwa region of the Free State, 80 km South of Harrismith on the R57), Sterkfontein Dam Nature Reserve (20 km southeast of town on the R74), Royal Natal Park and the uKhahlamba / Drakensberg Park World Heritage Site (66 km southeast via Oliviershoek Pass beyond Sterkfontein Dam) and the spectacular Golden Gate Highlands National Park 50 km south of town on the R712.
Harrismith is the centre of one of the five wool producing districts in Southern Africa.
The town is also home to the largest truck stop in the Southern Hemisphere, Highway Junction.
Two other places in the world bear the same name: Harrismith Beach and Harrismith House near Bottom Bay in Barbados and Harrismith in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia.
Tourist attractions
Harrismith Town Hall – A graceful sandstone and brick building built in 1907, and a National Monument.
Platberg’s western aspect
Platberg Reserve – One of the most famous landmarks in the Eastern Free State is the 9 kilometre long, 2,394 metre high, Platberg. The reserve covers the western slopes and summit of the mountain, including the former Drakensberg Botanical Garden (founded as a national botanical garden in 1967 but unfortunately now defunct), along with numerous trails and the Donkey Pass road to the mountain summit. The reserve is popular with hikers and mountain bike riders. The two dams in the former wildflower gardens are part of a series of aqueducts, flowing from the Gibson Dam on the mountain summit, that were built as a water supply to support the town and the British troops stationed here after the South African War. A well-preserved sandstone blockhouse from that time guards over this water supply. Much of the southern slopes of the mountain are covered in Eucalypt, Wattle, and other exotic timber plantations from the time when a forestry centre was based here. Akkerbos, near the base of Donkey Pass, is a grove of oak trees that provided a picnic site during a Royal Tour by the British monarchy, including Elizabeth II in 1947. The reserve is home to herds of Eland, Black wildebeest, Blesbok and Mountain reedbuck along with introduced species such as Waterbuck and Fallow deer.
The annual Platberg Mountain Race is a 15 km foot race, that includes a scrambling ascent and descent of the mountain. This race forms part of the Berg Bohaai festival (literally “Mountain Mania” in Afrikaans). The race has been described as the “toughest marathon in the world” by Wally Hayward. It originated in 1922 when a British soldier, Major A. E. Belcher, returned to Harrismith where he had been stationed near 42nd Hill during the Second Boer War. He referred to Platberg as “that small hill of yours”, and one of the locals immediately bet him that he could not reach the top in less than 60 minutes. He accepted the challenge and covered the distance with eight minutes to spare. Afterwards Major Belcher presented a floating trophy to be awarded as a prize for the first athlete to reach the top of the mountain (the record time today is 22 minutes and 9 seconds). The 15 kilometre race starts from the town’s sports grounds, and the route ascends the slopes of Platberg, passing through the terrain where the concentration camp once stood. The top is reached via One Man’s Pass, close to which a fort, built during the Second Boer War, is to be seen. After traversing a short stretch along the top, the descent is made via Zig-Zag Pass, and the race is completed at the sports grounds.[4]
Harrismith Golf Course – The scenic 18-hole golf course, arguably the third oldest in South Africa (after the Royal Cape and George Golf Clubs) was founded in 1887.
Dirty Harry – The Dirty Harry is a mountain bike race sponsored by the N3 Toll Company. The Dirty Harry also forms part of the popular Berg Bohaai festival. This festival is held annually in early October.
Sterkfontein Dam with Platberg in the distance
Kerkenberg – The Voortrekkers camped in the area, while their leader, Piet Retief, descended into KwaZulu-Natal to negotiate for land with the Zulu chief Dingane. Retief’s daughter wrote his name and recorded the date, which was also his birthday, on the rock where they held a church service.
Sterkfontein Dam – The third largest dam in South Africa. Practically all the water is pumped up the escarpment from KwaZulu-Natal. Built before the Lesotho Highlands Water Project was developed, this was a vital source of water for Gauteng. Ideal for water sport enthusiasts and anglers. Sterkfontein is particularly popular with windsurfers.
Bushmen Paintings – Around 5 kilometers out of town in one of local caves well preserved Bushmen paintings can still be found.
Neo Paintings – Around 5 km from town, this Sotho king painted in caves close to the Sterkfontein dam.
References
“Chronological order of town establishment in South Africa based on Floyd (1960:20-26)” (PDF). pp. xlv–lii.
“Main Place Harrismith”. Census 2011.
“Sir Harry Smith – An autobiography showing him to have seen warfare in four continents.” (PDF). The New York Times. 1902-05-24. Retrieved 2008-10-21.
“Harrismith Mountain Race”. Harrismith Mountain Race. Retrieved 2011-03-10.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Harrismith.