ENVIRONMENTAL FOCUS BY JESSIE TAYLOR
SANParks
Investing in conservation through ecotourism
M
ore than R370-million will be invested into improving tourist facilities at the Kruger National Park in the next three years, in the hopes of generating more income to support the essential conservation work carried out by the South African National Parks (SANParks). BUILDING A TOURISMFRIENDLY OFFERING
The R370-million investment will include infrastructure upgrades and refurbishments at the Kruger National Park over the next three years. Among these projects are the renovations of more than 100 tourist accommodation units at various parks, as well as the rebuilding of the Letaba shop and Lower Sabie petrol station, which was also damaged by fire, and repairs to the Shingwedzi Main Building roof and viewing decks at Skukuza and Olifants Camp, which were damaged by termites.
Entrance gates at Pafuri, Punda Maria, Orpen, Phabeni and Numbi will also be upgraded, and a picnic spot, camping site and reception facility will be constructed at the Shangoni Gate. Funds have also been allocated for the upgrading of some staff accommodation, the resurfacing of identified tar roads, and the regravelling of selected gravel roads. Kruger National Park managing executive Gareth Coleman says the first phase of the programme will provide focus on improving the visitor experience. The Park annually sees around one million visitors. However, with travel restrictions in place during the COVID-19 pandemic, the visitor numbers dropped dramatically in 2020 and 2021. “The decline in tourist revenues under Covid-19 (sic) impacted our revenue but the need to maintain and upgrade our infrastructure is
26 | Public Sector Leaders | June 2022
ever-present. The infrastructure programme will also help provide much-needed employment in the area,” says Mr Coleman. But this is not the only investment SANParks hopes to channel into the park. The company, which manages South Africa's 20 national parks, has announced more than 100 potential new opportunities for public private partnerships (PPPs) in the next decade. While these include operating the Table Mountain Cable Car and Cape Point, there are also several opportunities for running lodges in the Kruger National Park once the current concessionaire agreements come to an end. In the last 20 years, SANParks has entered into more than 60 partnerships at various parks, which have contributed around R1.4-billion to SANParks and increased the value of infrastructure assets by R955-million.
