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In his comprehensive paper South Africa 2003-04: Apartheid as Infrastructure, American academic Paul Edwards highlights the extent to which the National Party government used infrastructural development as a means to separate communities.
Parastatal corporations constructed highways, railroads, water supplies, electric power grids and communication systems close to and principally for white neighbourhoods. The lower quality development in black townships focused on housing, schools and health services - and where infrastructure was created, its focus was on facilitating the movement of black labour in and out of white areas.
Harry Gwala Road is the physical embodiment both of how this approach to separate infrastructural development kept neighbouring communities apart and how an inclusive political structure is resolving these issues.
Until the mid-1990s the 5km road now called Harry Gwala Road existed in two pieces.
The top end, known as Spine Road, served Life Healthcare Westville Hospital, The Pavilion Shopping Centre and several office park developments and affluent white neighbourhoods in Westville.
The lower end, edging into Chesterville and Cato Manor and leading up to the University of Natal Durban campus (now the University of KwaZulu-Natal Durban campus), was Booth Road. While the two ends were less than 1km apart, the two neighbourhoods operated as mutually exclusive environments.
Specialist hazardous chemical transportation company Runga Trans has its operations in Booth Road. Picture: Terry Haywood Photography
The distance measured between the hospital and campus approached 15km and required travelling down the N3 and across the Berea traffic. Today, it is a direct 7km trip on a single road.
The road name honours ANC and SACP firebrand Themba Harry Gwala; a man remembered for his uncompromising stance against IFP members during the violence that dominated the province in the 1980s and early 1990s.
Yet businesses at both ends of the road typically list their addresses in line with the old names, meaning the names Spine Road, Booth Road and Harry Gwala Road are interchangeable - in a sense a metaphor for South Africa’s evolution.
The link road between Spine and Booth roads was constructed as a single carriageway in both directions, but the foresight that this area has the potential for economic growth and development is apparent in the wide shoulder sufficient to transform the road into a dual carriageway in both directions. In the past decade, a host of companies have demonstrated their confidence through multi-billion-rand infrastructure and building investments - and the pace is gaining momentum.
Two years ago, commercial property developer Newlyn Group broke construction records when it erected the 12500m² Dunlop Durban technical evaluation centre within five months of concluding the contract with client Sumitomo Rubber South Africa. The centre occupies land at the traffic lights where Spine Road becomes Booth Road. A second warehouse is under construction on the same property.
Construction is under way on phase two of the Sumitomo Rubber South Africa Dunlop facility Picture: Terry Haywood Photography
The potential for new neighbours is imminent as the eThekwini Municipality has developed the adjacent property as a small business park.
Located directly opposite the Dunlop warehouse is the Ayoba Cold Store facility established in 2011 as among the pioneers recognising the potential of the road. Further along are several smaller business parks now accommodating a host of entrepreneurial ventures like car washes, shisanyama outlets and welding companies.
Closer to the UKZN Durban campus, the eThekwini Municipality’s Umkhumbane Entrepreneurial Support Centre provides establishing businesses with premises for a three-year period before sending the business owners out into the larger world.
Local commercial property brokers agree the area has substantial growth potential, reflecting that the available land has been acquired and the opportunities for renting commercial space limited.
Among its advantages is the close proximity to the N3 national freeway to the country’s economic heartland as well as being near the Durban harbour as the largest container terminal in Africa.
It has also offered value to buyers with commercial land in Jacobs demanding R25 per square metre and in Harry Gwala selling for around R15 a square metre to the early birds who saw the burgeoning potential.
Companies that saw the benefit of the linked roads
Stallion Trucking is among the businesses that have been established in the Booth Road area with its premises in Bambanani Business and Storage Park. Picture: Terry Haywood Photography
Sumitomo Rubber South Africa (SRSA)
A subsidiary of the Japan-based Sumitomo Rubber Industries (SRI), SRSA has a longstanding relationship with Dunlop tyre brand in manufacturing and distribution. In 2013 SRI acquired Apollo Tyres South Africa as part of its strategic global development plans and renamed the company SRSA.
Ayoba Cold Storage
Established in 2011, Ayoba Cold Store has evolved into a leading force in the bulk freezer storage industry. The facility, where the freezer store operates at -25°C, functions around the clock five days a week and chose its location in Harry Gwala Road on the strength of its proximity to transport infrastructure.
Nomadik Stretch Tents and Canopies
The globally recognised stretch-tent manufacturer has more than 15 years experience as a supplier to the events industry. A proudly South African company with its headquarters in Gauteng, the group has distribution offices in the Netherlands, UK and Spain.
Ayoba Cold Store in Booth Road. Picture: Terry Haywood Photography
Stallion Transport
Founded in 1986, Stallion Transport undertakes the transportation of literally any type of cargo from machinery to chemicals, plastic, steel, containers and abnormal cargoes. The company boasts a large fleet of vehicles across South Africa to promise its clients flexibility and reliability.
Runga Trans
Established in 2005, Runga Trans specialises in transporting hazardous chemicals throughout South Africa. The company entered the industry as transport brokers subcontracting cargo from various customers and sourcing appropriate transporters. The founders acquired long-distance trucks within a year of operation and subsequently shifted focus to transportation rather than brokering.
Business advantages in Harry Gwala Road
The intention to widen Booth Road into a dual carriageway was on the cards when the road was originally built. Informal housing along the roadsides has been cleared in anticipation of further development. Picture: Terry Haywood Photography
Proximity to the harbour
The creation of Harry Gwala Road has paved the way for greenfield commercial and industrial development close to the Durban harbour. Industrial areas like Jacobs and Mobeni, the original sites with their eyes on the harbour, have long been fully accommodated.
Access to the N2/N3
The area is less than two minutes travelling time to the N3 national freeway to Gauteng. It is also five minutes from the N2 freeway that runs along the coast north to King Shaka International Airport and south towards Umbogentwini and Amanzimtoti, where Toyota is developing a motor vehicle supply parts logistics park.
Construction is under way for the eThekwini Municipality’s new roads, stormwater and maintenance department. Picture: Terry Haywood Photography
Labour
Poorer residents of Chesterville and Cato Manor suffer high unemployment rates, meaning businesses can draw from a pool of labour literally located on their doorstep. Efforts are under way to improve the informal housing.
Land available for development
While not expansive, Harry Gwala Road does have some land available for development. Construction and excavation trucks operating along the route demonstrate the growing interest along this strip of real estate.