Korsten, Port Elizabeth


Korsten is a suburb of the city of Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa.

History

Korsten was named after Frederick Korsten, one of the first traders to settle at Algoa Bay. It was established in 1896, but only began to develop after 1902 when there was an outbreak of bubonic plague in Port Elizabeth and the town's black population was forcibly resettled into the nearby township of New Brighton.

Geography

Korsten is one of the inner city suburbs, neighbouring Young Park, Schauderville, Ferguson and Sidwell.

Road network

Korsten is situated between three major routes which include the N2 to Makhanda and Humansdorp, the M10 to Bethelsdorp and North End and the R75 to Ibhayi, Uitenhage and Sydenham.
Its main road is the M10 also named the Stanford Road.

Economy

Korsten is a mainly industrial suburb with its residential area lying south and the industrial area lying centrally and in the north. It is an industrial hub of Port Elizabeth and Nelson Mandela Bay because of its strategic location in the city.
Industries operating in the Korsten industrial area range from plastics, metal to the automotive industry.
Parmalat, a popular Italian dairy company has a factory shop in Korsten.

Schools

Since Korsten is mostly an industrial area, there are no schools in the suburb however the nearest schools include the Dedricht Primary School, Frank Joubert Primary School, David Livingstone Secondary School, Abraham Levy Primary School and Adolph Schauder Primary School.

Hospitals

Korsten has a hospital on Stanford Road and just off the N2 highway off-ramp, the Livingstone Hospital. The Livingstone Hospital is a 541-bed public hospital with a helipad. The nearest private hospital is Netcare Greenacres Hospital.

Retail

Notable retail stores or restaurants include Shoprite, KFC and Seaway.

Traffic Department

Korsten has a traffic and licensing centre located on Durban Road.