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The figures show that over the first nine months of this year the number of people employed in the construction industry increased by 25 000 to 153 000. The change between the second and third quarters was 19 000.
The construction industry in the Eastern Cape now employs more people than the Western Cape (134 000) and is third behind Gauteng (251 000) and KwaZulu-Natal (230 000).
Describing the figures as "exciting," Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism MEC Mcebisi Jonas said that one factor in the growth of employment in the sector was the pace at which the industrial development zones at Coega and East London were expanding.
"The eight investors secured for the Coega IDZ in the last financial year translated into 1 302 construction jobs while in the 10 years of its existence the East London IDZ has created 21 090 direct construction-related employment opportunities".
A further factor, he said, was the investment by state-owned enterprises and specifically Transnet.
"Transnet has committed significant funding to projects in the Eastern Cape such as the expansion of the ports of Ngqura, Port Elizabeth and East London as well as rail line upgrades that will mean that jobs in the construction are likely to be of a more permanent nature."
He added that Eskom had also committed to investing R2.5bn in transmission and distribution infrastructure, while development around Mthatha as it was developed as the gateway to the Wild Coast was also a contributing factor.
He said there were also the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) projects connected to the upgrading of the N2 between Port Elizabeth and King William's Town and in future the N2 Wild Coast Road as well as a significant number of projects that were being driven by the education and health departments.
Further, he said, there were major private sector initiatives such as the Baywest City development in Port Elizabeth.
Jonas also pointed to the fact that figures provided by StatsSA showed that the value of building plans passed by larger municipalities in the Eastern Cape was growing significantly, providing additional evidence with regard to the employment figures.
"In the first eight months of this year, the value of buildings plans passed increased by 35.2% to R3.3bn, with plans for non-residential buildings such as shopping malls growing by 95.7% to R1.3bn."
The MEC said what made the figures more impressive was that several major projects had yet to get underway.
"Most of the Transnet construction work such as that connected to the new manganese facility at Ngqura and coal export terminal at East London has yet to begin while the pace of investment into the IDZs can be expected to quicken.
"If we then factor in future mega-projects such as the Mzimvubu Dam, Nuclear 1 at Thyspunt, Project Mthombo - the proposed oil refinery - and the manganese smelters at Coega and the multi-model OEM in the East London IDZ, the future of the construction industry in the Eastern Cape looks particularly bright."
