A total of R44 million in infrastructure upgrades in the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park (GSWLP) are well on their way and the major contract for the first phase has been awarded.

The tender for the first phase of the GSLWP reconstruction project has been won by iNsingizi Consortium after being short-listed with 54 other consortiums. The contract is for the detailed engineering design and supervision of work on roads, fencing, view points, environmental management, park planning and management as well as community capacity building.

The tender and selection was done by the Lubombo infrastructure steering committee, chaired by Tourism KwaZulu-Natal, and consisting of key members of Tourism Kwazulu-Natal, KwaZulu-Natal Nature Conservation Service, the Uthungulu Regional Council and the Department of Environment Affairs and Tourism. In addition to these structures the project implementation team, made up of specialists in engineering, the environment, park planning and management and community facilitation.

Through the LSDI process these experts will work with these key organisations, and the South African National Road Agency is acting as advisors on the project.

This follows the signing of an historic trilateral co-operation agreement - the Lubombo Transfrontier Protocol - which create the framework for the borders separating conservation areas between South Africa, Mozambique and Swaziland come down, at the World Economic Summit in Durban, Thursday. These agreements pave the way for putting investment sites to the market in September. Malaria spraying beings in Mozambique in October as part of a five year Malaria rollback programme in the Lubombo SDI.

The GSWLP is the anchor project of the SDI aimed at kick starting the park and economic development in one of the country's most poverty stricken areas. Government's commitment to the consolidation and development of the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park is clear in its R44 million support for the first phase.

"It lays a solid foundation for the Park's future and its optimal commercialisation underpinned by sound conservation management."

"The World Heritage Convention Act, ensures sound conservation and will continue to build on the record accomplishment of conservation in KwaZulu-Natal and the core conservation expertise of the KZN Nature Conservation Service," said Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Valli Moosa. "We know that the Lubombo region has great potential to attract tourists from around the globe. The SDI has provided us the opportunity to put in place a suitable process to attract the investment and expertise to develop that potential."

The infrastructure development and rehabilitation is needed for the consolidation of 16 parcels of land that currently make up the park, bio-diversity conservation and tourism development. The land consolidation will bring together a number of stand-alone nodes such as St Lucia Village, Cape Vidal, Mapelane, and Charters Creek under the brand of GSWLP, comprising 280 000 hectares of land including a 230 km coastline.

As a presidential lead project, the first phase of the reconstruction of the park will use a public works approach, which creates short-term jobs in conjunction with medium to long-term opportunities in tourism. The first phase of redevelopment will concentrate on the southern part of the park where most of the constraints to development such as land claims, the removal of commercial forestry and distance from the tourism market - have been overcome.

The redevelopment and upgrade project has been carefully put together adhering to an environmental impact assessment process and management plan, park and zoning. Land carrying capacities have been set to ensure that any accumulative impacts on the environment are minimised and the over development of the region as a tourism resource avoided.

Included in the project are infrastructure improvements vital to the rehabilitation of the environment such as the realignment of the Cape Vidal - St Lucia road so that it no longer cuts through an important wetland, and the rehabilitation of forestry roads.

Other improvements will be the demarcation of the park's boundaries by game fencing, new entrance gates, the re-introduction of game in the near future by KZN Nature Conservation Service, the upgrading of tourism facilities like picnic sites and the building of interpretation facilities at points of cultural interest.

The money for the project has been drawn from poverty relief funds. As such, a more than half of the project value is aimed at small businesses in the construction sector, which will work on the project, and on the job training aimed at ensuring that the investment becomes sustainable.

Andrew Zaloumis Project Manager - Lubombo SDI (082) 5753620
Gareth Coleman CEO Tourism - KwaZulu-Natal (031) 304 7144
Khulani Mkhize Assistant CEO - KZNNCS (033) 845 1999
BB Biyela CEO - Uthungulu Regional Council (035) 7891 404

Issued by the Ministry of Environmental Affairs and Tourism- 12 July 2000

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