Prieska is a town on the south bank of the Orange River, in the province of the Northern Cape. Prieska’s infrastructure is impressive – it has Eskom power; an abundant water supply from the Orange River, with the Gariep and the Vanderkloof Dams on the upstream side of the river; easy access to the main railway line to Namibia; good tarred road linkage with Kimberley, Upington and De Aar; two landing strips for light aircraft; and complete and reasonably inexpensive industrial stands, with or without siding facilities. Industrial activities include: grain silos; a cotton mill; a bakery; manufacture of furniture, built-in cupboards; cattle fodder pellets; and a tiger’s eye processing plant.  Located just off the N10.  The town is 240 km south of Kimberley and lies on the R357 road. Prieska is a town on the south bank of the Orange River, in the province of the Northern Cape, in western South Africa. It is located 130 km north-west of Britstown and 75 km south-east of Marydale.

Located at the foot of the Doringberg, it was originally named Prieschap, a Khoisan word meaning ‘place of the lost she-goat’.

The site of the town, founded in 1882 and renowned for its semiprecious stones, was a fording place used by early travelers. Established in 1892, it was the place where farmers migrated when the rains filled up the pans in the area. It was administered by a village management board from 1882 and attained municipal status in 1892.

PRIESKA PHOTOVOLTAIC SOLAR POWER PLANT: CLEAN AND RELIABLE ENERGY IN SOUTH AFRICA

Total was selected to build and operate one of Africa’s largest ground-mounted photovoltaic solar power plant in Prieska, South Africa. The plant came on line in 2016 and supplies clean and sustainable energy to South Africa, a country in which Total has been active for the past 50 years.

Along with our SunPower affiliate, we were selected by the South African government to build a ground-mounted photovoltaic solar power plant in Prieska, in Northern Cape province. With a capacity of 75 MW ac, the plant will supply electricity to approximately 75,000 South African homes.

Building on our long-term involvement in South Africa, we are proud to contribute to diversifying the country’s energy mix and developing its solar power capacity.

via: https://www.total.com/en/projects

Prieska
Main Place 375005 from Census 2011

Area: 195.52 km²
Population: 14246 (72.86 per km²)
Households: 3461 (17.70 per km²)

Gender People Percentage
Female 7330 51.45%
Male 6915 48.54%
Population group People Percentage
Coloured 9607 67.44%
Black African 3361 23.59%
White 1145 8.04%
Indian or Asian 70 0.49%
Other 62 0.44%
First language People Percentage
Afrikaans 12972 92.58%
isiXhosa 622 4.44%
English 141 1.01%
Setswana 89 0.64%
Sesotho 64 0.46%
Other 35 0.25%
Sign language 26 0.19%
isiZulu 21 0.15%
isiNdebele 15 0.11%
SiSwati 13 0.09%
Tshivenda 10 0.07%
Sepedi 4 0.03%

 

Key Statistics 2011

Total population 14,246
Young (0-14) 30,6%
Working Age (15-64) 63,1%
Elderly (65+) 6,3%
Dependency ratio 58,6
Sex ratio 94,3
Population density 73 persons/km2
No schooling aged 20+ 10,1%
Higher education aged 20+ 5,4%
Matric aged 20+ 20,5%
Number of households 3,461
Average household size 4
Female headed households 45,3%
Formal dwellings 86,2%
Housing owned/paying off 71,7%
Flush toilet connected to sewerage 86,7%
Weekly refuse removal 90,9%
Piped water inside dwelling 43,5%
Electricity for lighting 91,2%

 

Return to the Northern Cape Towns/Cities page or visit the Northern Cape Tourism page.