It will house a film and animation studio, a manufacturing centre for ICT products, a residential development, a multimedia and training centre and a Green ICT centre, to list a few of its services and amenities.
The project, which is a partnership between the national Department of Communication and the City of Joburg is part of the 2010 legacy projects.
A small-scale ICT project is currently being piloted in Alexandra and will be officially launched next month.
Economic development MEC Qedani Mahlangu said her department was looking at furnishing the Nasrec ICT hub with the best technologies in the world and was hoping for investors to buy in.
Mahlangu was elucidating her departmental plans for the current and next financial year as mentioned in President Jacob Zuma’s [Zuma plots way ahead News/General] State of the Nation Address and Premier Nomvula Mokonyane’[s State of the Province [Mokonyane lays out plans].
In his State of the Nation Address, Zuma said government would embark on an extensive infrastructure development project to create jobs from now until 2014.
Detailing some of the major plans her department was working on, Mahlangu said the youth job placement programme, which targets unemployed youths between the ages of 18 and 24 years will be implemented with a budget of R100-million from now until 2014.
There are a myriad of positive spin-offs for Joburg in some of the plans announced. The 300 bed Zola Gateway Clinic will be completed in the current fiscal year. The LPG Gas pilot project to convert taxis from using petrol to liquid petroleum gas and the acid mine drainage issue were at an advanced stage.
“Gauteng is really going to be buzzing from where we seat with all these projects [in the pipeline],” said Mahlangu.
Mahlangu’s department will work with municipalities to adopt the technology that converts domestic waste into electricity. “We’ve got the best brains that are helping us to look in this this,” she said.
Announcing his departmental plans, MEC for Infrastructure Development Bheki Nkosi said his department will increase funding for infrastructure projects in an effort to create jobs. Through the Expanded Public Works Programme, Nkosi said about 5 629 permanent jobs and 40 898 temporary jobs will be created in construction projects financed by his department.
He said the Gauteng province was set to create about 90 097 work opportunities and 44 978 fulltime job opportunities through the EPWP. Gauteng municipalities were expected to yield 61 402 work opportunities and 22 320 full time jobs.
About R17-million has been spent in upgrading laundry and high-care maternity facilities at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital and the Forensic Pathology Unit in Diepkloof has been upgraded. The provincial government had partnered with the City in revitalising the Johannesburg inner city.