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Mpumalanga Business 2019/20 edition

  • Text
  • Africa
  • Transport
  • Water
  • Gas
  • Processing
  • Mining
  • Incentives
  • Sectors
  • Business
  • Investment
  • Parks
  • Forestry
  • Manufacturing
  • Highveld
  • Tourism
  • Sasol
  • Province
  • Economic
  • Industrial
  • Mpumalanga
The 2019/20 edition of Mpumalanga Business is the tenth issue of this highly successful publication that since its launch in 2008 has established itself as the premier business and investment guide for the province. In addition to the regular articles providing insight into each of the key economic sectors of the province, there is a special focus on the new life given to an established site at the Highveld Industrial Park and the Nkomazi Special Economic Zone (NSEZ). A useful article on what incentives are available to investors is included, and the Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency (MEGA) gives investors some perspectives on what is available in the province. Mpumalanga has several investment and business opportunities in a wide range of sectors. Updated information on Mpumalanga is also available through our monthly e-newsletter, which you can subscribe to online at www.gan.co.za, in addition to our complementary business-to-business titles that cover all nine provinces as well as our flagship South African Business title. Chris Whales Publisher, Global Africa Network Media

SPECIAL FEATURE Other

SPECIAL FEATURE Other technology parks in the pipeline are the Petro-Chemical Industrial Technology Park (Govan Mbeki Municipality), Mining and Metal Industrial Park (eMalahleni Municipality) and the Agricultural Industrial Park in Mbombela. A major government-led initiative in Mpumalanga is the Nkomazi SEZ which boasts geographic and logistical advantages and opportunities, given its proximity to the Mozambique border and the Mozambican port of Matola. Located in the town of Komatipoort, the SEZ will provide access to Mpumalanga’s neighbouring provinces Gauteng and Limpopo and the neighbouring states of Eswatini and Mozambique. An agri-hub within the SEZ will deal with the whole value chain from growing fruit through to processing, marketing and logistics. Having manufacturing facilities at the core of the hub will enable a variety of businesses to be established, both upstream (to supply the plant) and downstream (to deal with the products of the plant). Highveld Industrial Park An excellent example of a private initiative in the field of generating growth through the intelligent use of property is the Highveld Industrial Park in eMalahleni. Now a thriving industrial park, the site had been home to Evraz Highveld Steel and Vanadium. When that company went into business rescue the property was repurposed as an industrial park. Tenants have reacted enthusiastically to the new offering. The number of tenants grew by mid-2019 to over 40, having just topped 20 in early 2018. Tenants include a training centre funded by the Construction Sector Education and Training Authority (CETA), several engineering concerns and a mining equipment refurbishment company. The property’s developers were able to leverage all the advantages of the steel company’s site, which is well located in terms of its access to the industrial heartlands of two provinces, Mpumalanga and Gauteng. Two iron plants and a steel plant offer fully-equipped metallurgical and steel-making facilities, supported by environmental monitoring services and metallurgical and chemical laboratories. In addition, there are good rail and utility connections, water supply and purification facilities and a ready supply of gas from several sources. Sasol operates in Mpumalanga and supplies methane-rich natural gas, while industrial gas producers African Oxygen and Air Liquide both have plants on the premises. In 2019 Novo Energy opened a natural-gas compression facility within the park. Fed by the Sasol natural-gas pipeline, the plant operates all day, every day and supplies natural gas via its fleet of trucks to customers in a wide variety of sectors. Highveld Industrial Park has many types of workshops, storage areas and offices, together with canteens, parking areas, change rooms and a clinic. MPUMALANGA BUSINESS 2019/20 20

INTERVIEW Diversity of tenants shows Highveld Industrial Park’s versatility CEO Johan Burger highlights the diverse range of services enjoyed by industrial and office tenants of Mpumalanga’s newest industrial park. Johan Burger, CEO Is there a clustering of enterprises taking place? It was always the intention to create an Industrial Park that operates as a “one stop shop” where businesses are able to operate with ease and we are pleased to see these synergies developing between the tenants. The park offers a host of support services, some of which are offered by current tenants and others through inhouse expertise. This ranges from diesel supply, compressed natural gas supply, security services, onsite laboratory and environmental support services to emergency services. What are the logistical advantages the park enjoys? Highveld Industrial Park has large-scale infrastructure to deal with the high level of traffic and heavy operations including road infrastructure, on-site weighbridges, tipplers and cranes. The park is ideally situated in the heart of South Africa’s coal-producing region and within 80 kilometres of eight Eskom power stations. It is on the outskirts of eMalahleni situated next to the N4 highway and close to the N12. One of South Africa’s largest private sidings is directly linked to the Richards Bay and Maputo line and in the past two years coal, in excess of threemillion tons, has been moved through the site. What is your unique selling proposition? We are logistically well situated and able to provide the necessary support services to our clients on-site, which includes provision of security, maintenance and utilities. The current team are all ex-employees of Evraz Highveld and have specific skills, which range from environmental to engineering. We pride ourselves on the diverse nature of the businesses we have on-site and are able to accommodate with ease; no business is too big or too small. We have a number of facilities – ranging from offices to large heavy industrial workshops – and we can accommodate everything in between. How significant is the recent purchase by ArcelorMittal of Highveld Structural Mill? This is a significant milestone as ArcelorMittal will be one of our anchor tenants at Highveld Industrial Park. However, this purchase is also important for the country as it secures a strategic steel manufacturing asset, which is the only one of its kind in Africa. 21 MPUMALANGA BUSINESS 2017/18 MPUMALANGA BUSINESS 2019/20

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