Construction at the Coega Industrial Development Zone near Port Elizabeth is to begin at the end of July.

Construction on the project, which has been criticised for being environmentally unfriendly and not economically viable, will start with the upgrading of the N2 highway, which runs through the zone, and the electricity network.

This was announced at a media update on the project by the Coega Development Corporation in Port Elizabeth yesterday.

Asked when a decision from French aluminum giant Pechiney on the possibility of constructing an aluminum smelter in the zone could be expected, the corporation's communication manager Raymond Hartle said the Pechiney board would only make its choice known in January.

There was speculation however that Pechiney management could be making a "mental commitment" by the end of July. Coega was competing with Australia for the $1,6bn smelter.

Construction of the port was scheduled to start at the end of August but there was concern that objections to the permit issued by the environmental affairs minister authorising construction might delay it.

The corporation was objecting to some of the clauses in the permit while some environmentalist groups were objecting to the development of the port.

Hartle said his organisation was objecting because the permit gave the corporation the right to develop the port which was incorrect.

He said the permit should have been made out to the National Ports Authority instead.

The mistake is thought to have occurred because the corporation was acting as an "agent" for the ports authority in applying for the permit.

In spite of the delay that objections might cause, Hartle said the corporation did not "want a permit that was flawed".

He said since the start of the project the corporation always followed the principle of "doing things right rather than fast".

Once construction began at the zone, between 4000 and 5000 jobs would be created.

Up to 50000 jobs were expected to be created either directly and indirectly through the project. To assist job seekers in the Nelson Mandela city council, the corporation would be creating a register allowing companies involved with the project to match people looking for work with positions that are available.

The register would take about 200000 applicants but the corporation was tight-lipped on how it would issue registration forms.

Hartle said that the corporation did not want a repeat of 20000 people queuing for 800 jobs as happened at a local vehicle manufacturer.

He said that once the forms were issued, applicants would probably have to post them to the corporation and then come in for interviews.

The next five years would be a "critical time" for the project because construction would begin at a number of sites with tenders being put out on the R100m Coega Bridge, the Neptune access road and the R120m electrification upgrade, said Hartle.

Besides having a register for job seekers, the corporation had created a database for companies in the region, which wanted to be roped in as sub-contractors. So far the database had collected between 500 and 800 companies.

To combat the negative sentiment from some quarters about Coega, Hartle said that an advertising campaign would be launched later this month to promote the project.

The campaign likened Coega to the ancient Egyptian city of Alexandria, that was both an intellectual and trade capital.

Hartle said the campaign would show the rest of SA that with Coega, the Nelson Mandela city council was not a "Mickey Mouse city in a Mickey Mouse province".

With acknowledgements to Larry Claasen and Business Day.