Minister de Lille and Councillors inspect progress at R54 million CapeAgulahas National Park Infrastructure Project
Today, together with the Mayor of the Cape Agulhas Municipality, Paul Swart, the Deputy Mayor of the Overberg District Municipality, Cllr Helen Coetzee and
other Councillors from the region, Minister de Lille visited the Lighthouse Precinct project in the Cape Agulhas National Park.
This infrastructure project is one of many being implemented by the Department of Tourism across the country as part of the Tourism Sector Master Plan’s objectives to simulate demand by investing in new and maintaining existing tourism infrastructure and attractions.
The Lighthouse Precinct Project in the Agulhas National Park in the Western Cape is worth a R54.9 million investment by the Department of Tourism into this area to ensure that this site remains attractive to visitors and supports tourism development in the surrounding communities.
Minister de Lille visited the project today with councillors from the Agulhas Municipality and Overberg District Municipality to inspect progress on site and to impress on all stakeholders the importance of working together to grow the countries tourism offerings.
The project is being implemented together with SANParks and overall progress on site is now at 73% and it is anticipated that the project will be completed in
June this year.
The Agulhas National Park is located in the Southern Overberg region of the Western Cape Province and stretches along the coastal plain between the towns of Gansbaai and Struisbaai and includes the southernmost tip of Africa.
The project was funded in two phases. Phase 1 was completed in 2018. Phase 2 is currently under construction.
The Phase 2 – Agulhas Light House Precinct project includes:
- Construction of a restaurant
- Interpretation centre (including vendor stalls, ablution facilities, curio shops, booking office and lecture theatre)
- Construction of reception area/offices
- External works and bulk infrastructure
The project also has a significant socio-economic benefits as so far the project has employed 77 people including 48 Youth, 50 women and 2 persons with
disabilities during construction while 8 sub-contractors from surrounding communities were also employed on the project to do work such as brick and
steel work, stone cladding. laying of kerbs and channels. electric works, plumbing and roofing.
“Investment in infrastructure by government shows the private sector that we are serious about growing our tourism offering and by government investing, we are creating the conditions conducive for further investment by the private sector. As a top tourist destination, we remain committed to constantly diversifying and growing our tourism offering so that we remain an attractive destination that keeps visitors coming back, Minister de Lille said.
The Cape Agulhas Lighthouse Precinct Project is one of 25 maintenance projects being implemented by the Department across the country as committed
to in the Minister’s budget speech in May 2023.
Twenty-two of these projects are now at practical completion whilst three are still under construction. The total value of the of the 25 maintenance projects is R94.9million and together these projects have so far created close to 300 jobs.
The Department of Tourism also has a number of Community Based Tourism Infrastructure Projects underway – the bulk of which are the development or upgrading of accommodation facilities.
One such project is the Mdluli Lodge near Numbi gate in the Kruger National Park and we are working with the Mdluli Traditional Council on this project.
A total of 29 community projects are underway for this financial year in the Eastern Cape, Limpopo, Free State, North West, Kwazulu-Natal, Mpumalanga
and the Northern Cape.
Of these 29 community-based projects, 4 four projects are at practical completion, 21 in construction and the remainder at planning and procurement stage.
The total value of the of the above community projects is R676.44million and so far these community projects created 605 jobs.
All stakeholders were pleased with the progress on site at the Cape Agulhas Lighthouse Precinct Project and we agreed that we must continue working as partners – the Department of Tourism, SANParks, the Cape Agulhas and the Overberg District Municipalities to ensure that this project continues to benefit this area for many years to come. We must work together to ensure its continued success and to ensure that the attraction is properly maintained and looked after so that it can bring economic benefits to tourism and the surrounding communities,” Minister de Lille added.