16 May 2014
The Coega Industrial Development Zone (IDZ) outside Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape secured just over R1.8-billion in investments from 10 clients across a range of industries in 2013/14, it was reported on Thursday.
Christopher Mashigo, business development executive manager at the Coega Development Corporation, said the IDZ’s growth over the past three years had been “beyond remarkable”, given the current investment climate.
The 10 investors are:
- SAMRT (automotive) – R400-million invested.
- Qtech Moulding (automotive) – R23-million invested.
- Digistics SA (procurement and food) – R20-million pledged.
- ID Logistics (logistics) – R35-million invested.
- Afrox SA (chemicals) – R300-million invested.
- No. 1 Corporation (agro-processing) – R40-million pledged.
- ITPASA (manufacturing) – R30-million invested.
- Ulba Tantalum Africa (chemicals) – R200-million invested.
- Poweway/Sungrow JV – Inverters (renewable energy) – R127-million invested.
- Powerway/JA Solar JV (renewable energy) – R666.6-million invested.
ITPASA and Powerway/JA Solar JV are already operational in the IDZ.
“About 60% of these investments will be at some point of commencing or commissioning within this calendar year,” Mashigo said.
“This means we are establishing a trend in the IDZ that new investors sign in one year and are on the ground in the next, as is case with some new IDZ investors, such as DCD Wind Towers, Famous Brands and Air Products.”
The 10 new investors are expected to create over 900 jobs in the future, having already created 16 444 jobs in the last year.
“The IDZ is becoming a springboard into the local and international retail sector, and talks to why we actually have IDZs in the first place,” Mashigo said.
Source: SAnews.gov.za
