20 June 2008
The Coega Development Corporation (CDC) has signed up its fifth investor, following a decision by parcel and freight company UTI Sun Couriers to lease a R20-million warehouse within the industrial development zone’s automotive cluster area.
In a statement last week, the CDC said the speculatively built 3 040 square-metre warehouse was leased to UTI at the beginning of June, only two months after its completion.
“This proves that companies are keen to operate from within the IDZ. It also shows there’s a demand for high standard facilities in Nelson Mandela Bay,” said CDC business development manager Gustav Meyer. “The CDC noted the need and delivered according to the requirements of industry.”
According to the CDC, such speculative developments are ideal for potential investors who have tight time frames and who want to move into ready-built facilities – such as UTI Sun Couriers, which specialises in the movement of envelopes, parcels and freight throughout South Africa.
The warehouses are being constructed in anticipation of high demand due to the number of signed investors and the opening of the Port of Ngqura in the first quarter of 2009.
“This is in line with the CDC’s commitment to deliver world-class-solutions to its investors in the shortest possible timeframes,” the statement reads.
UTI manager Jenny Hayes said that the company chose to operate from the new industrial area because of the high quality of infrastructure, as well as due to the close business relationships it had developed with the CDC over time.
“The warehouse is situated on a prime piece of real estate, directly next to the N2 out of Port Elizabeth,” said Hayes. “This location will give us excellent exposure and great advertising at no additional costs.”
Additionally to the speculative warehouses, various other ready-built facilities are being developed to suit the needs of potential investors, including shared industrial facilities and a business process outsourcing facility.
SAinfo reporter
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