Predicted Record Economic Growth in Port Elizabeth

Experts have recently reported that record economic growth in the Nelson Mandela Bay is expected to only get better as thousands of middle-class professionals flock to fill jobs created by the major developments around the city as well as Coega.
 
The major projects around the Bay are estimated to bring in well over 2 300 working professionals and their families to the city over the next 5years. This is a result of companies bringing in experts as they expand and open up operations in the Bay. Of course, this will bring many important benefits for Port Elizabeth!

The phenomenal developments taking place at Coega alone will bring in an estimated 2 000 professionals as planned industries join the influx leading up to 2010 and shortly thereafter.

Alcan has already started the process of advertising some of the 1 000 jobs it is expected to create at Coega ‘s IDZ. Numerous major multi-million rand developments soon to take place are set to completely change the face of the Nelson Mandela Bay over the next short-to-medium term especially in the run-up to the 2010 World Cup and before 2020. 

The R1 billion construction of the World Cup stadium has already brought in 15 professionals from a Dutch architectural firm which specialises in constructing European stadiums. In addition, contracts handed out for the plumbing, roof construction and electrical fitting of the stadium during the next few months could bring in even more specialists from outside the city if not found locally.

The influx of a large number of middle-class professionals with their families hold numerous important benefits for Port Elizabeth. Not only will these people bring with them education, skills and expertise which are the building blocks of economic growth, but they also bring both current and future additional wealth, investment and spending power to the city. Additionally, these people will also form a body of new ambassadors for the city that will undoubtedly attract other professionals, entrepreneurs and skilled management personnel to the region. The Nelson Mandela Bay welcomes all newcomers and investors to the Bay.

Situated opposite Uitenhage‘s Volkswagen plant to service the motor industry, The Nelson Mandela Bay Logistics Park, will house over 3 000 motor industry workers by 2010, of which well-over 300 will come from out of town.

All developments, especially those spearheaded by the Mandela Bay Development Agency, that are planned to come to fruition by 2010, will attract additional engineers, architects, urban designers, land economists as well as town planners from outside the Bay. Because of the shortage of professionals in the Bay, outside professionals will be required to live in the city until the projects are completed. Some of these projects are expected to take 5 or more years to complete. 

Some of these large and fantastic developments bringing in outside and including local professionals include:

• The transformation of the Old Tramways Building into a business node with an expected budget reaching R100-million
• Projects planned as part of Vision 2020 include the building of the 1 000-seater International Convention Centre with a budget reaching R500-million
• The development of the Freedom Statue spiral which is budgeted at over R60-million to be developed at the harbour‘s breakwater wall subject to the manganese dumps being moved in 2014.
• The construction of the Business Process Outsourcing call centre planned for partial operation from the end of 2008  employing 4 000 mostly locally employed agents.

Port Elizabeth is growing from strength to strength. The predicted strong economic growth will have a positive impact on creating employment for the local population. In addition, the potential for the tourism sector to blossom is massive!