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Gauteng Business 2016 edition

  • Text
  • Manufacturing
  • Mining
  • Development
  • Investment
  • Business
  • Network
  • Gauteng
  • Economic
  • Province
  • Provincial
  • Infrastructure
  • Economy
  • Automotive
  • Sector
  • African
  • Johannesburg
The 2016 edition of the Gauteng Business and Investment Guide is the premier business and investment guide for the Gauteng province and the Gauteng Growth and Development Agency (GGDA). In addition to detailed profiles of key provincial organisations, including the GGDA, the Automotive Industry Development Corporation Centre (AIDC), the Gauteng Investment Centre, the Gauteng IDZ, the Gauteng ICT Park SEZ and Constitution Hill, this edition includes well-researched economic and demographic data on the province, as well as insights into the province’s five development corridors and the new industries and development nodes in these corridors; a focus on Gauteng as a global city region; and key growth sectors for the province.

OVERVIEW Green economy

OVERVIEW Green economy South Africa is without doubt the premier energy innovator of Africa, with renewable energy projects streets ahead of the developing world, as South Africans explore the many sustainable options for a better, and certainly brighter future. in Gauteng, while solar panels are already being used by many state buildings in the city centre, showing government’s commitment to the green economy. Gas development One of the main drivers of renewable energy development has been the Renewable Energy Independent Power Project Procurement Program (REIPPPP), which, through serious investment from the Development Bank of South Africa, together with Independent Power Producers has forged ahead with numerous wind, gas and solar project in this energy rich area. Gauteng has seen a rise in roof-top solar, with business generating their own electricity, while putting the power back in their own hands, after a debilitating spell of load-shedding in 2015, which appears to be under control in 2016 with new management at Eskom. At a residential level solar water heaters are being rolled out to municipalities and solar street and traffic lights were being introduced The Bronkhorstspruit Biogas Plant in Gauteng is the first commercially viable biogas project in South Africa, and powers directly into the national grid. An independent commercial enterprise with an initial life cycle of 20 years, it will contribute to diversifying the South African energy mix away from coal. The project has resulted in the creation of long-term direct and indirect employment in peri-urban South Africa, which currently experiences high levels of unemployment. Meanwhile, Natural gas Company, Egoli Gas launched its eight kilometre pipeline, which will initially deliver 1.5-million gigajoules of natural gas per year. The natural gas will be imported from Mozambique by Sasol and at full capacity the pipeline will be able to deliver 2.5-million gigajoules yearly. The pipeline will run from Sasol’s pressure reducing station in Robertsville to MTN’s 14th Avenue Campus, and the gas GAUTENG BUSINESS 2016 96

OVERVIEW will feed a new MTN generation plant as well as other customers in Lakeview and Constantia. Green building Increasingly, new building developments aim to become more environmentally friendly in order to comply with new legislation, reduce costs and ensure the sustainability of buildings in a time of diminishing resources. According to the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA), a green building is a building which is ‘energy efficient, resource efficient and environmentally responsible’ – it incorporates design, construction and operational practices. According to the MasterCard Insights Report on Urbanisation and Environmental Challenges, Johannesburg ranked second among countries from Asia/ Pacific, Middle East and Africa in dealing with urbanisation and environmental challenges. One example of a newly erected envi- ronmentally friendly building in Gauteng is the Nedbank head office in Sandton. This is the first building in South Africa to win a four-star rating from the Green Building Council of South Africa. The rating encompasses key elements such as energy-efficient lighting, an excellent waste recycling system and a full- economy airconditioning system. Altogether the building is set to use 30 percent less energy than a conventional building. Another ‘green’ building is Absa’s huge new office complex in downtown Johannesburg — Absa Towers West. The building has incorporated green design elements including the largest grey-water system ever installed in South Africa with a capacity of 43 000 litres of water per day. In terms of national support, the Industrial Development Corporation has pledged to spend R25-billion on the green economy in the five years to 2016, with a major focus on solar panels, technology to extract carbon from the smoke emitted by power stations, and other technologies. Furthermore, the National Cleaner Production Centre (NCPC-SA), which is funded through the National Treasury and hosted by the CSIR, aims to boost the competitiveness and productive capacity of industry in South Africa through cleaner production methods. Investment opportunities • Development of environmentally friendly infrastructure. • R&D into more efficient environmentally friendly practices and technology. • Establishment of appropriate waste management and waste disposal. • Production of fertilisers from chemical waste. • Recycling (bottles, tyres, etc). 97 GAUTENG BUSINESS 2016

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