The
Saldanha Bay Industrial Development Zone has signed new investment agreements,
which bring the total number of signed investors to eight and investment value
to over R3 billion.
These
investors include international stakeholders from the UK, Europe, the Middle
East and Africa, with the rest being local companies.
All these
investors are investing in a variety of fabrication workshops for steel and
other metals, equipment and marine repair facilities, oil lubricant and fuel
plants, as well as specialised engineering services, the Department of Trade
and Industry said on Tuesday.
The
investors are targeting construction to start between March 2019 and March
2020, Minister Rob Davies said.
“The
investments signal a significant start of establishing new industrial value
chains in and around the Port of Saldanha.
“The
Saldanha Bay Industrial Development Zone is part of the dti Special Economic
Zones Programme and is developing into a world-class offshore and maritime
hub,” the Minister said.
Having
established most of the major land-based infrastructure and some of the marine
infrastructure, the zone’s partnership with Transnet National Ports Authority
has already started some of the design and commercial work for expanding the
infrastructure offering, with additional port facilities.
Davies
said the value proposition to the market also includes a free port model for
optimal operational ease in a sector where logistics efficiency and certainty
are as valuable as quality engineering services.
“The
Saldanha Bay IDZ’s investment pipeline includes at least five more investments
that are close to conclusion.
“If these
are realised, they will add another R2.4 billion of investment to the short and
medium term outlook of the zone. The total investor pipeline includes around 40
additional interested companies in various stages of engagement,” the Minister
said.
The
Western Cape government and the dti have partnered with the Saldanha Bay
Municipality and larger companies in the West Coast to start building the
ecosystem for localised procurement and small, medium and micro-sized
enterprises support as a result of the opportunities posed by the new value
chains.
The MEC
for Economic Opportunities in the Western Cape, Beverley Schäfer, says these
investments by local and international investors signal confidence in the oil,
gas and maritime sector will contribute to opportunities for the development of
small businesses in the region.
“We have already seen significant strides in skills development as a result of our focus on the oil and gas sectors and continued growth and investment has the potential for further skills development and job creation opportunities into the future,” said Schäfer. https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/saldanha-bay-idz-attracts-r3bn-worth-investment
