Building starts at Gauteng's answer to Silicon Valley

the gauteng provincial government with its agency blue iq yesterday turned the sod at southern africa’s first science park, the innovation hub, south of pretoria.

plans for the innovation hub were implemented three years ago, in a bid to create south africa’s own ‘silicon valley’, a centre for innovation and technology development.

the developers hope that the hub will offer space and infrastructure to high-tech start-up companies as well as going concerns in a climate conducive for networking and producing market-driven innovative products and services.

science parks of this calibre are relatively underdeveloped in south africa currently, although they are broadly developed overseas.

the gauteng government said that it had used international benchmarks as well as the needs of local business in designing the concept.

local and international experts have reportedly viewed the plans for the hub and found them to be satisfactory.

the innovation hub was an agricultural farm until the land was purchased by blue iq and the gauteng government, and is positioned adjacent to the university of pretoria and near research institute the csir, and is therefore deemed to be at the centre of knowledge and information.

the foundations of the first two buildings are already in place, to be funded by blue iq and the provincial government.

ceo of blue iq pradeep maharaj said: “it is amazing how far we have come from the original plans some years ago. from a farm, the new science hub will help to create jobs and investment, also helping to alleviate poverty”.

representative of sappi berthus van der merwe announced that sappi is in its final stages of negotiations with blue iq to be the venture’s first corporate citizen and anchor tenant.

although sappi research centres are based abroad, van der merwe said that it is the company’s intention to build a group facility at the innovation hub for its biotechnological research, where about 70 full-time staff will be present on the premises.

gauteng premier mbhazima shilowa said, “the hub will help to bridge the digital divide in this country, and alongside the csir and the university of pretoria, this location will be the crossroads of science and technology in south africa”.