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South Africa’s Minister of Tourism, Patricia de Lille, visited the R54.9 million Lighthouse Precinct
project in the Cape Agulhas National Park today to inspect progress on the major tourism
infrastructure development.
Accompanied by the Mayor of Cape Agulhas Municipality, Paul Swart, Deputy Mayor of Overberg
District Municipality, Cllr Helen Coetzee, and other local councillors, the ministerial oversight visit
aimed to emphasize stakeholder collaboration in enhancing the country’s tourism offerings.
The Lighthouse Precinct project, jointly implemented with SANParks, is currently 73% complete and
scheduled for June 2024 completion. Funded by the Department of Tourism in two phases, with
Phase 1 finished in 2018, the second phase includes constructing a restaurant, an interpretation
centre with vendor stalls, ablutions, curio shops, a booking office, and lecture theatre, as well as a
new reception area and offices.
Minister de Lille highlighted the project’s significance, stating, “Investment in infrastructure by the
government shows the private sector that we are serious about growing our tourism offering and by
government investing, we are creating the conditions conducive for further investment by the
private sector.”
The project has delivered substantial socio-economic benefits, employing 77 people during
construction, including 48 youth, 50 women, and 2 persons with disabilities. Eight sub-contractors
from surrounding communities were also engaged for brickwork, steelwork, stone cladding, kerbing,
electrical, plumbing, and roofing work.
This R54.9 million development is one of 25 maintenance projects totalling R94.9 million that the
Department of Tourism has underway nationwide, creating close to 300 jobs so far. Additionally, 29
community-based tourism infrastructure projects valued at R676.44 million are progressing across
several provinces, with 4 nearing completion and 605 jobs created to date.
All stakeholders expressed satisfaction with the Cape Agulhas project’s progress and committed to
continued partnership between the Department of Tourism, SANParks, Cape Agulhas Municipality,
and Overberg District Municipality to ensure the attraction’s long-term success and sustainable
economic benefits for local communities.
