The eThekwini Municipality has opened 11 beaches and 22 public swimming pools ahead of the festive season after repairing some April flood damage of the city's infrastructure that ensured clean water.
However, the city has yet to outline how the rest of the repair work will be completed but it said most of the beaches in the central Durban and Umgababa areas are functional while others are being fixed.
Municipal spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela said: ''Repair work on sewerage infrastructure is under way and we can't give the exact time as to when it will be finished because the damage was quite huge. However, great strides have been made. For instance, all coastal sewerage pumps have been fixed.’’
''Huge progress has been made to repair sewerage infrastructure that was damaged by floods, hence the quality of water is improving, a reason why some beaches are open,’’ said Mayisela.
The municipality has been scrambling to have beaches ready for the festive period after the closure of some beaches last month due to ‘’unacceptable’’ levels of E.coli as a result of sewerage infrastructure that was damaged by the April floods in KZN.
Tourism KZN acting CEO Nhlanhla Khumalo said holidaymakers need not worry about the availability of swimming areas.
''We assure holidaymakers that KZN beaches are safe and ready to welcome visitors who will be keen to dip into the ocean and enjoy the plethora of beach activities that are on offer across the 600km KZN coastline.
“KZN has several Blue Flag beaches which include three on the north coast, Thompson’s Bay, Willard and Blythedale, and six on the south coast, Marina, Trafalgar, Southport, Umzumbe, Ramsgate and Hibberdene,’’ said Khumalo.
''We are encouraging holidaymakers to explore a mixture of tourism experiences to really create unforgettable memories with their friends and family this summer,” said Khumalo.
Khumalo said an estimated 760,000 domestic trips and 58,000 international visitors are expected over the summer season from December 1 to end of March.
''The combined spend from both domestic and international tourists is predicted to be about R4.1bn, which will be a big boost to the recovery of the tourism sector.’’
kokam@sowetan.co.za
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