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The Eastern Cape’s ambitions to supply locally produced red meat to the United Arab Emirates could hinge on formally upgrading Bhisho Airport outside Qonce to international status.
Premier Oscar Mabuyane revealed the plan on Wednesday morning as he welcomed the first members of a royal UAE delegation at the airport, which has been designated a port of entry for the visit.
The 90-strong advance team forms part of a larger entourage of about 500, including members of the royal family, UAE businesspeople, and friends of UAE president and Abu Dhabi ruler Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who are expected to spend 10 days at the eZulu game farm near Makhanda, which the emirate’s ruler owns.
Speaking at the airport, Mabuyane urged privacy about the trip, saying the visit was at the request of the Abu Dhabi ruler.
“This is a private visit,” Mabuyane said.
“We have extended an invitation to UAE businesses for our provincial investment conference, so those are people we will be able to take about and showcase them, give them our investment.
“We will give the president, during his leisure, a provincial book to see what we can offer.
“However, at this point, this is a family visit and it has nothing to do with the business delegation.”
The provincial investment conference is scheduled for later in September. A provincial delegation is expected to travel to the UAE before December as part of an investment drive.
Mabuyane said upgrading Bhisho Airport was central to his vision for growing the province’s economy.
“The UAE imports 90% of what they consume — that is a desert. The Eastern Cape, with the arable land we have, we believe we can be that food basket for them.
“Already, meat exported to the UAE from SA gets trucked from here to OR Tambo.
“There is no reason we can’t have a direct flight from here and upgrade this airport to the level it is supposed to be.”
He described the strategy as “economic diplomacy” and said the UAE’s recent entry into Brics could help create opportunities and diversify the province’s trade.
“We believe the Eastern Cape has unparalleled potential, and this event should be a stepping stone for development,” he said.
In March, the province’s billion-rand plan to export and supply red meat products to the UAE and the rest of the continent from the “biggest abattoir in Africa” was revealed.
Plans are currently under way for the mega “beef value chain complex”, of a 10,000-cattle capacity feedlot on a 400-hectare farm in Wesley, Ngqushwa municipality.
This will see a state-of-the-art provincial abattoir also established, together with a cold storage and meat packaging factory in Dimbaza.
Throughout the week, about 13 planes are expected to land at Bhisho Airport carrying members of the delegation, cargo, helicopters and camping equipment.
On Wednesday, a C-17 military aircraft carrying cargo and two helicopters landed shortly after an Emirates Airways flight Boeing 777-200EA brought in the support staff.
Border Management Authority and Sars officials were stationed at the airport for clearances, while Makhanda’s K9 dog unit inspected cargo from the C-17.
Five 52-seater coaches, tow trucks, mini-load trucks and minibuses were in place to transport goods and personnel. Workers from the eZulu game farm also arrived to help unload.
It is understood that the farm has applied for a landing strip and plans to build lodges on site.
“Yes, we are busy with that, but there is still an environmental study being conducted,” a source said.
As cargo was being unloaded, more than 30 residents from nearby villages — KwaNoncampa, Gwaba and Nkqantosi — gathered at the airport hoping to find temporary work.
They were told by law enforcement officers to wait outside the airport perimeter.
Gwaba resident Wandisile Wellem, 40, said he came after reading about the visit in the Dispatch.
“We thought we should come because last time they came here, we got good money, so we are looking for any job we can get,” he said.
Wellem said that on a previous visit by the delegation, he was hired to work with the night staff, safeguarding border management equipment and cargo.
“I was paid in dollars, but those on the night shift were getting more. I went to the currency exchange in East London and it was R1,600 in total for just a few days. Jobs are scarce, so such jobs can assist.”
Details of Al Nahyan’s arrival have been withheld for security reasons.
Daily Dispatch
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