Atlantis

Western Cape

Is Atlantis Diesel still operating?

Atlantis is roughly 40km from Cape Town. It has approximately 210,000 residents. The city suffers under high levels of poverty and unemployment. It was established during the Apartheid era as a community for Cape Town's Coloureds, in order to move them out of the city.

The government of the day attempted, in anticipation of the influx of people, to provide an employment base by instituting a program to encourage industry, through subsidies and other inducements, to locate there; this effort was not particularly successful. Several factors, including the Six Day War between Israel and Arab nations, forced the government of the day to rethink its strategy in terms of subsidisation of industries located in the town.

The withdrawal of subsidies meant that many factories found themselves having to foot bills not formerly anticipated, including high transportation costs. This led to the migration of businesses closer to and into the Cape Town CBD (to be closer to means of transportation, including Paarden Island, Killarney and Epping, as well as the airport and harbour).

Currently, only about 3% of the original companies still have business in Atlantis. But the plethora of organisations lending social and economic assistance to the people of Atlantis are in a struggle to have development here.

Also see: http://placenamessa.blogspot.com/2008/07/alantis-b15.html