New ports as nodes for industrial and urban development: The cases of Richards Bay and Saldanha in South Africa

Richards Bay and Saldanha were officially opened in 1976 as new deep water ports, primarily for the export of coal and iron ore respectively. The heavy investment in both infrastructure and industrial development by the South African government led to considerable urban and industrial growth in Richards Bay, whereas the port of Saldanha was initiated by one big concern and failed to produce a far reaching multiplier effect. The development of ports as growth centres has to be considered in terms of the location relative to the Pretoria-Witwatersrand-Vereeniging complex, which dominates the economy of the subcontinent, and within the context of the official decentralisation-growth point policy.