The Maputo Development Corridor: A case study of the SDI process in Mpumalanga

The Maputo Development Corridor (MDC) was officially launched in May 1996 in Maputo by the presidents of South Africa and Mozambique. Within two years it has become known as the ‘most advanced international development corridor in Africa’ (Department of Transport, 1997). As the flagship of the Spacial Development Initiative (SDI) process, the methodology utilised in the MDC is now being applied to the other eight SDIs in South Africa and increasingly is being considered by other African countries. The objective of this article is to examine the lessons learned in implementing the MDC in the Mpumalanga province, South Africa. Having provided a brief orientation and having outlined the short history of the MDC and its institutional context, the article will focus on the progress made by the project in attaining the key objectives set at its launch.