​Lerato Mailoane
Infrastructure development plans to revitalise the economy and create jobs in the Sedibeng District will come under the spotlight this week.
The Gauteng Provincial Government will host the Sedibeng Investment Summit at the Vaal University of Technology (VUT) on Friday.
The summit will showcase the Sedibeng District as being ready and open for investments amid the global recession made worse by weak growth locally and the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on economies.
 The summit will bring together government, developers, investors, industrialists and farmers to share development plans, identify shovel-ready projects and get investment pledges that will catalyse the building of the Vaal River Smart City and the Special Economic Zone (SEZ).
 The Sedibeng District has traditionally been South Africa's heavy industrial, manufacturing and engineering hub.
However, owing to an array of reasons, the region is experiencing a decline and de-industrialisation of the steel industry, causing undesired falling output and company closures.
Over the past five years, government has been working with municipalities, business, civil society and community organisations to develop a new vision and one
plan for the district. 
GPG is expected to share its vision and infrastructure plans that will catalyse the development in the area.   
With the completion of the SEZ envisaged for 2024, Premier David Makhura has described this project as a game-changer for the provincial economy.
Many investors have already made their pledges, with the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) committing R1 billion for the development and upgrading of bulk infrastructure in the region.