Cape wants to remove red tape for property developments

The Western Cape government hopes to attract investment to the province with "mega projects", including the industrial expansion of Saldanha on the West Coast as one of the growth corridors in the region.

The next mega project for Cape Town will entail using provincial- and national-owned buildings as leverage for private sector investment.

Finance, Economic Development and Tourism MEC Alan Winde told the Southern African-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry yesterday that the province owned about R100 billion in property, but the return on these assets "was almost zero".

The cost of maintaining these buildings was a financial drain on the provincial coffers.

Winde said the province had to remove planning red tape if it wanted to put its assets on the market. The government would have to "pre-zone" certain precincts or areas so these developments could take place.

The Woodstock precinct, emerging as a cultural and tourism corridor to the city, should be pre-zoned so that planning applications in line with tourism objectives for that area would be assured of approval.

"We must zone the precincts in the way we want to steer development (there)."

In other moves to get the most gain from provincial assets, Winde said unused property at schools could be used for low-cost or gap housing. This would also boost safety at these schools.

A provincial building on prime V&A Waterfront land was being used to store medical supplies, Winde said.

If used differently, the building could be a more lucrative source of income.

Winde said the project, driven by the provincial Department of Public Works and Transport, would involve partnerships with all spheres of government and the port authority.

A business plan was being compiled by academic specialists and would be ready for consideration by the business sector by the end of next month.

The province would also have to create the legislative framework to allow these developments to gain approval without being slowed by red tape.

This project would be replicated in other municipalities.

Cape Times

Posted at 09:54AM Mar 12, 2010 by Editor in Commercial  |  Comments[1]