Hixonia Nyasulu, the project's marketing consultant, said yesterday.

The project, forming the southern bookend of the Golden Mile, is driven by Moreland, the property arm of the Tongaat-Hulett Group, which was mandated in 2000 by the eThekwini Council to get the stalled project off the ground.

uShaka Island is envisaged as the catalyst for a R2 billion, private-sector investment plan over 10 years.

Construction on phase two of Tsogo Sun's R1.4 billion Suncoast Casino, the northern bookend, will be completed by June.

Bandile Mkhize, the chief executive of Trade and Investment KwaZulu-Natal, said other major investments totalling about R4 billion were being negotiated.

Neels Brink, the uShaka Island project director and a Moreland executive director, said bulk earthworks had been completed last November.

The site was handed over in August to Mpophoma JV (MJV), the black economic empowerment joint venture firm which won the construction tender.

'Construction is well on track for the project's opening at the end of April 2004,' Brink said.

'MJV currently has 173 workers employed directly on site, as well as 339 subcontractors.'

During the construction of uShaka Island and the broader Point Precinct over 10 years, the number of direct and indirect jobs is expected to rise to 18 000, while 980 permanent full-time and part-time jobs will be created.

Brink said the installation of the 23km of process pipework beneath and around the tanks was well under way and construction on retail and restaurant areas had started at the beginning of this month.

'Construction of the waterpark has just begun and work on the seawater intake pier will start at the end of March.

'A temporary fish collection facility is also nearing completion on Salisbury Island, where collection of stocks will begin at the end of March,' he said.

Major industrial projects countrywide include construction on the port of Coega in the Eastern Cape, where a proposed aluminium smelter will be sited, the expansion of BHP Billiton's Hillside Aluminium Smelter in Richards Bay and the expansion of coal, platinum and gold mining.

Nyasulu said the name of the preferred bidder would be announced within a few weeks.