Industrial Development
Cape Town has been regarded as an industrial city for many generations now. Its geographical location and historical importance at the tip of Africa have transformed the city into more than just an internationally recognized port. It is a cosmopolitan city whose economy relies heavily on the private sector and foreign investment.
History
In the second half of the 19th Century, the building of railways and the opening of diamond and gold mines in the interior boosted the growth of the Industrial Age in Cape Town. A railway line was completed to Stellenbosch and Wellington in 1863. The discovery of diamond fields furthur afar made the railways more extensive.
The demand for trade forced the port at Table Bay to be more accomodating. Skin-drying, wool-processing, fish-smoking, soap making and boat building establishments were ubiquitous in the bay area.
Farms cropped up over the Cape Flats where dairy and poultry farming was most common, as well as vegetable and flower farming. Before 1914, South Africa depended mainly on foreign countries to buy manufactured goods.
After the World Wars, many overseas manufacturers found it economically advantageous to establish branch factories in the Union. After World War Two, apartheid stunted the economic growth of the country. Ships no longer docked at the port in Cape Town and many residents emigrated abroad.
Cape Town Today
The economic growth patterns in the municipal area focus on different types of industry. For instance, tourism and conference industry and shipping, ship repairs and boat building. An important trend reinforcing Cape Town's international status is the location of the corporate headquarters of national and multi-national forms in the city.
Principal Industries:
Metropolitan Area: Petroleum refining, chemical and fertilizer processing, cement production and automobile assembly
City proper: Most important industry is ship repair.
Light industries: Food processing, wine making, manufacture of clothing, plastics and leather goods.
The Western Cape's Gross Regional Product is about R4.5 billion. That is roughly 13% of the country's total GDP (Gross Domestic Product) while the area only has about 10% of the country's population. The major contributors are agriculture (9%), industry (22%), financial services (22%), commerce, catering and accomodation (17%) and personal and social services (16%). There is virtually no mining in the Western Cape.
Five of the country's six major insurance giants have their headquarters in Cape Town. Clothing and textile making is a large industry where nearly 600 formal manufacturers employ over 40,000 people and produce nearly R1.8 billion a year.
Cape Town is also the headquarters of the South African Oil Industry. Other growing industries include a high quality clothing sector and film, video and television productions. The biggest segment of South Africa's printing and publishing industries are also located in Cape Town. The Western Cape is viewed as being historically freer of labour unrest than in other provinces.
Therefore with the modernization of industry and the freeing up of trade sanctions, Cape Town is no longer just looked at for its port. Foreign investment, especially through tourism, has transformed the city to become the economic and recreational hub of South Africa.