Eastern Cape Business 2024

The 2024 edition of Eastern Cape Business is the 17th edition of this successful publication that, since its launch in 2006, has established itself as the premier business and investment guide for the Eastern Cape. The Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC) is supporting this issue of the journal, both in providing up-to-date information for editorial use and in sharing information about its activities. It will also distribute the journal through its regular channels. While the Eastern Cape has deservedly earned the title of South Africa’s wind energy province, there are other developments taking place in East London, the Coega SEZ and near Humansdorp that promise to give new meaning to new energy. Vanadium batteries, green ammonia and green hydrogen are among the aspects that form part of the Special Feature on energy that appears in this journal. The centenary of the massively important automotive industry is celebrated with reference to Ford Motor Company’s start in the “Auto City” of Port Elizabeth, as it was known, in 1924. The province’s two Special Economic Zones are attracting investors and exports are on an upward trajectory, which will be helped by upgrades of the Eastern Cape’s three ports. Overviews are provided on the other key economic sectors of the province and the potential of the oceans economy and the prospects of oil and gas for this coastal province are examined. The major business chambers in the province have made contributions to the journal and the newest chamber, the Maritime Business Chamber, which has its headquarters a short distance up the hill from the Port of Gqeberha, makes its second appearance in the journal.

A REGIONAL OVERVIEW OF

A REGIONAL OVERVIEW OF EASTERN CAPE PROVINCE In a year which celebrated a century of automotive investment in the province, new sectors such as renewable and alternative energy are growing, and large infrastructure projects are underway. The province’s ports and Special Economic Zones are receiving upgrades and investments. By John Young Ford Motor Company started making cars in what was Port Elizabeth (now Gqeberha) in 1924. That company remains a pillar of the automotive sector in a province that exports more than half the cars that South Africa makes. The other long-time original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are Volkswagen South Africa, Mercedes-Benz South Africa and Isuzu, which started life as General Motors in 1926, becoming the city’s second auto manufacturer. VWSA began as SAMAD in Kariega (Uitenhage) in 1949 and the first East London assembly undertaken by Mercedes-Benz South Africa started in 1954. These marques have recently been joined by Chinese OEM FAW and the Stellantis Group, which will start assembling the Peugeot Landtrek at the Coega SEZ in 2026. The shift to renewable energy which is happening across the world can be seen very clearly on the hills of the Eastern Cape, which has rapidly earned itself the tile of the “Wind Province”. Other forms of green power and battery storage are being actively explored, and this is the subject of a Special Feature elsewhere in this journal. The many new wind-power plants that the province now hosts bring power, but they also bring employment and opportunities for local communities where the wind farms are sited. The province’s most recent wind-power investment will see three 110MW facilities constructed in the Kouga Local Municipality. The Impofu wind farms will supply energy to Sasol and Air Liquide in Mpumalanga. Enel Green Power and Red Cap are building the R9-billion project after a lengthy environmental and public engagement process with EASTERN CAPE BUSINESS 2024 10 PHOTO: Ford Motor Company

SPECIAL FEATURE about 60 landowners, including the Reebok Rant Workers Trust, a dairy operation near Oyster Bay. The automotive industry is also increasingly playing a role in the energy transition, both in terms of powering plants’ operations but also in producing electric vehicles. East London-based Mercedes-Benz South Africa (MBSA) is working to reduce its carbon footprint at its manufacturing plant. The second phase of the company’s solar PV plan will see 22 847 panels bringing the combined total up to 26 539, an array capable of providing 14.6MW. Over the course of a year, this installation should contribute about 20% of the plant’s consumption. Volkswagen has installed 3 136 solar photovoltaic panels at its Kariega plant which will produce an estimated 2 500MWh at full capacity. In addition, Volkswagen is building a wastewater recycling facility, replacing alien plants at its premises and planting a carbon bank of nearly 5 000 spekboom cuttings. Ford’s Struandale Engine Plant has been a winner of the SJM Flex Environmental Award for excellence in environmental management with its improved production methods leading to reductions in water and electrical consumption. Other factors were rainwater harvesting and recycling of 97% of waste produced at the factory. A R22-million investment in a solar energy plant is paying off for Montego Pet Nutrition in Graaff- Reinet. The company reported a 300-ton reduction in CO2 emissions in a single year, the equivalent of planting about 9 000 trees to offset emissions. The nine-month solar project happened soon after a R70-million expansion project which increased the factory’s overall production by 30%. Another of the Eastern Cape’s biggest brands is putting a great deal of time and effort into water conservation. When the dam levels feeding the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan area reached critical levels, Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa (CCBSA) mobilised a comprehensive response. Working together with other entities, CCBSA delivered water, JoJo Tanks and water wheelers to communities suffering shortages but also offered a longer-term solution in the form of a groundwater harvesting and treatment system known as Coke Villes. The Impofu project sod-turning took place in March 2024. PHOTO: Enel Green Power 11 EASTERN CAPE BUSINESS 2024