Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Patricia de Lille this week said she was pleased that the Small Harbours Repairs and Maintenance Programme was 94% complete and on track to be concluded in March 2022.
The Minister on December 6 visited the Hermanus harbour to inspect the recent infrastructure upgrades by the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI).
The Small Harbours Repairs and Maintenance Programme was gazetted as a Strategic Integrated Project as part of the Infrastructure Investment Plan approved by Cabinet in May 2020.
De Lille noted that the primary purpose of the repairs and maintenance programme by the DPWI was to bring harbours to greater operational efficiency.
The Small Harbours Repairs and Maintenance Programme has been progressing well at 13 proclaimed fishing harbours (PFHs) in the Western Cape, including Kalk Bay, Gordons Bay and Hermanus.
The programme identified a scope of work in each of the 13 PFHs, and included the removal of sunken vessels, dredging of the harbour basins, repairs to slipways, shore crane replacements, security infrastructure upgrades, civil infrastructure upgrades and electrical infrastructure upgrades.
The investment into the upgrades at the Hermanus harbour amounted to just over R15-million. About R6.75-million had been spent on the procurement of goods and services from local small, medium-sized and microenterprises.
The work undertaken at the Hermanus harbour included slipway repairs and shore crane replacements, extensive renovation and repair to the vandalized Lusitania Building office block and installation of a closed-circuit television camera network system.