Property and infrastructure projects are promoting growth

The Property Management and Infrastructure Unit of the ECDC provides the framework for businesses to operate.

development, particularly in underdeveloped areas.

The unit also facilitates strategic alliances regarding multi-tenanted residential complexes so as to maximise revenue and minimise costs.

Infrastructure (Strategic Projects)

The ECDC has been entrusted by the Eastern Cape government to manage some of its special functions and projects such as the integrated infrastructure programme and a number of large-scale development projects.

This unit provides the following services:

• Planning and monitoring

• Facilities and property management

The ECDC manages a substantial property portfolio which enables it to rent out industrial and commercial premises at affordable rates or sell property to appropriate investors. The ECDC also functions as the manager of large infrastructure projects for the Eastern Cape Provincial Government.

Property Management

The Property Management Unit offers small-tomedium enterprises suitable premises at affordable rates through its diverse property portfolio. When it is in the interests of the corporation, the ECDC will consider selling its property to the investor.

The ECDC is one of the biggest property owners in the province with residential, commercial, manufacturing and warehousing space. Large areas of vacant land zoned for residential and commercial purposes are also available.

The following suite of services is offered: facilitate commercial and industrial activity; assist new investors to find properties; facilitate SMME

ECDC contact details

Address: 1 Moore Street, Quigney, East London

Tel: +27 43 704 5604

Email: info@ecdc.co.za

Website: www.ecdc.co.za

• Industrial Parks Revitalisation Programme

The primary objectives of this programme are to stimulate economic growth through supporting of SMMEs; to build SMME zones to accommodate SMME start-ups; make the parks an investment destination of choice; devise and introduce incentive schemes for potential investors, to allocate properties to sustainable businesses showing growth and intending to employing local labour.

The parks in the programme are Dimbaza Industrial Park, Butterworth Industrial Park, Vulindlela Heights Industrial Park, Queendustria Park, Fort Jackson Park, Buffalo City Automotive Aftermarket Incubator (shown in the photograph).

• Socio-economic and enterprise development

This area of the unit’s work will be achieved through setting up and managing an SMME database, training and mentoring of SMMEs, placement and recruitment of local labour management, technical and nonaccredited training and intern placement and training. ■

The Chamber has built a relationship with the metro to ensure we create an enabling environment within which businesses thrive. To this end, the Chamber has created initiatives to actively attract investment into our city.

Port expansion remains one of Chamber’s main focus areas, with Transnet still the main stakeholder keeping the future of our region and investors’ interests alive. Present lobby refers to the expansion of the Container Terminal, the widening and deepening of the Port itself. As simple as it is, those three activities will in fact make Buffalo City a more desirable location.

Widening the net also remains one of our guiding principles, and engaging with as many stakeholders as possible toward economic growth sits at the top of our agenda.

As we engage we focus on the collaboration rather than the exception and recently a number of MOUs have been agreed in structuring those engagements. The Chamber’s own projects succeed because we invite participation, and the Call-2-Action with related waste recycling has introduced a new way of approaching the everlasting challenge of littering and waste collection.

On the record, the Border-Kei Chamber of Business has and will continue to support the development of the N2 Wild Coast road development, with the strong belief that the new highway will usher in a new corridor of/for development - a feature this region is sorely lacking.