Gauteng's Innovation Hub, an initiative intended to enhance the province's innovative capacity and economic development, is set to take transfer of a site for southern Africa's first internationally benchmarked Science Park.

Construction of the first phase of the R300m park is expected to start in July.

Neville Comins, CEO of The Innovation Hub Management Company, says the site, initially approved for agricultural and research purposes, was given the go-ahead earlier this month after an objection to its rezoning was withdrawn.

The hub will be situated on a 60ha site between the University of Pretoria campus and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), adjacent to the N1 and N4 highways.

Thirty hectares have been earmarked for the development, which will have of a gross floor area of 121000m².

The rest of the site will be developed and maintained in accordance with an approved environmental management plan.

"More than merely creating a cluster of new economy businesses where hi-tech entrepreneurs share state of the art facilities and a smart address, a science park has as a main objective the advancement of innovative and competitive capacity," says Comins.

"This can be accomplished by stimulating and managing the flow of knowledge and technology among universities, research and development institutions, companies and markets, and by facilitating the creation and growth of innovation-based companies through incubation and spinoff processes."

The Innovation Hub is a joint venture between Gauteng's Blue IQ initiative, a multibillion-rand project that aims to stimulate economic growth in the province, and the Southern Education Research Alliance, an alliance between the CSIR and the university.

The first phase of the park's development includes installing infrastructure, erecting core office space and an innovation centre, and building a bridge over the N1 to connect the hub to Meiring Naude Road, opposite the main entrance to the CSIR.