boost

Gauteng’s controversial Gautrain project looks like it will arrive at the station on time with the announcement that the first phase of the project will come into operation a mere two weeks before the 2010 Fifa World Cup kicks off.

State-owned PetroSA has increased the capacity of its planned crude refinery at the Coega Industrial Zone near Port Elizabeth from 250 000 to 400 000 barrels per day, with the plant now costing US$11-billion, further reducing the need for imported fuel products when it is commissioned by 2014.

Orlando Pirates midfielder Teko Modise was named South Africa's Footballer of the Year at the inaugural Premier Soccer League Awards in Johannesburg on Sunday night.

South African wines continue to show growth in the markets of the world, with a reported 35% increase in overseas sales for the first three months of the year, and exports outstripping local sales for the first time.

The town of Kimberley, a centre of the world’s diamond industry located in the Northern Cape, is set for major expansion with the announcement of a new gold jewellery factory to be developed at a cost of R100-million.

Investment in and exports from South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province are set to increase with the completion of the R6.5-billion Dube Trade Port to the north of Durban.

Oil multinational Royal Dutch Shell has opened a global call centre in Cape Town, which will be used to service the company's customers in Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg, with centre operators conversing with their clients in Flemish and Dutch.

USA-based International Housing Solutions has raised some US$175-million - expected to further rise to $240-million - in capital for its newly launched South Africa Workforce Housing Fund, which will invest in rental and for-sale housing for low and moderate-income families.

Visitors to Southern Africa will soon be able to apply for a single visa for entry to all member states of the Southern African Development Community.

A new agreement has been drawn up between the Tourism Empowerment Council of South Africa and the private sector to promote black economic empowerment (BEE) in the tourism sector.