THE Gauteng mec of the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Environment will conduct a site inspection of the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site on September 2 to review progress on the construction of the Interpretation Centre Complex at Mohale’s Gate. The Interpretation Centre Complex facility will be the anchor of the Blue IQ project. The construction of the complex will bring visible changes to the site as a whole and is expected to increase tourist visitors from 400 000 to one million visitors per annum, according to the World Heritage Site’s marketing team. The construction at the site also aims to be a mechanism for job creation , poverty alleviation and economic improvement through tourism in the area. The Interpretation Centre itself is expected to create up to 1800 jobs in the area, of which 600 are permanent and 1 200 temporary. The building of roads and infrastructure development will also create a further 600 jobs. Construction of the centre commenced in June 2004 and the Sterkfontein site will be opened to the public in time for the holiday season this year, whilst the Mohale’s Gate site will be opened in late 2005. (Lucy Siebert)
