A R5-million boost to the Graskop Gorge Lift Company in Mpumalanga by the
Tourism Transformation Fund will jumpstart more development in the popular
Panorama Route. ¡§We are proud to announce that this project will
receive R5-million funding for its next development phase through the
Tourism Transformation Fund of the Department of Tourism,¡¨ said Tourism
Minister, Derek Hanekom.
The Minister announced the funding of the next development phase of the
company recently.
The R5-million investment, is a shave off the R120-million Tourism
Transformation Fund, established by the Tourism Department to support black
investors and communities to develop and expand tourism-related projects.
¡§The Graskop Gorge Lift Centre will work as a node to stimulate further
development in the Panorama Route. This project therefore fits in neatly
with the department¡¦s destination development plans which focuses on
precincts and nodes development. By clustering several attractions together,
they can feed off each other and grow together to make South Africa a more
competitive destination,¡¨ said Minister Hanekom.
Along with the Graskop Gorge Lift Company, Tala Collections Private Game
Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal will receive R3,6-million funding.
The Minister also announced that the application window of the Tourism
Transformation Fund had been extended to 30 November 2018.
The fund is administered by the National Empowerment Fund (NEF) on behalf of
the Department of Tourism. It aims to reduce funding gaps between the
investor¡¦s own contribution and the approved loan/equity contribution by the
NEF.
Funding is capped at a maximum of R5 million for each successful applicant.
Applicants are encouraged to submit their application forms and supporting
documents directly to the NEF, who will comb through applications for their
commercial viability.
Information, application forms and guidelines are obtainable on the NEF
website at
www.nefcorp.co.za and enquiries can be directed to
tourism@nefcorp.co.za
¡V Source: SAnews.gov.za |