Durban — R5 million has been allocated for the Inner-City Blue Economy events for the 2024/25 financial year. This was revealed during eThekwini Municipality’s first exco meeting under new mayor Cyril Xaba on Tuesday.
The office of the city manager allocated this budget as part of the City’s Inner-City Regeneration Programme (ICR). The partnership includes:
- Blue Economy Week from September 24-28, featuring beach sports, cultural carnivals and a music festival.
- Africa Maritime Investment Indaba from November 5-8, at the Inkosi Albert International Convention Centre (ICC), bringing together global industry leaders to discuss maritime investments.
In their statement, the City added that the Africa Maritime Investment Indaba was estimated to cost R8 million, with the municipality contributing R1.5m towards the venue. The Blue Economy Week has a proposed budget of R3.5m.
“These events are expected to positively impact the local economy, boost tourism, and position Durban as a global smart coastal port city,” the City said.
The statement said that the City would form committees and partnerships with Africa Oceans Council for Blue Economy programme and that a partnership with the Africa Oceans Council to implement the Blue Economy programme and co-host the Africa Maritime Investment Indaba in November 2024 was also approved.
The City concluded that this report, approved by Exco, will be submitted for final approval by the council on August 1.
In July, eThekwini’s tourism benefited through its hosting of various events. The recently concluded Resurgence Economic Conference – which took place between July 17 and 21 generated R82m directly into the City’s economy, with a contribution of R203m to the City’s gross domestic product.
The international rugby Test between Ireland and the Springboks – which took place on July 13 – generated more than R309m towards the City’s GDP and an estimated 559 jobs were created solely for that event.
At the beginning of the month, the Hollywoodbets Durban July generated more than R2.7 billion in revenue and R6.6bn for eThekwini’s GDP. More than 11 000 jobs were created through these events.
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