SPECIAL FEATURE Catalyst
SPECIAL FEATURE Catalyst to economic growth in the Northern Cape The planned Namakwa Special Economic Zone to be established in the Aggeneys region of the Namakwa District of the Northern Cape Province will have a transformative effect on the local, regional, provincial and national economies. Photos: Kevin Wright/Vedanta Zinc International & iStock The Northern Cape Department of Economic Development and Tourism, in conjunction with the national Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic), is in the process of finalising submission documents for the declaration of a Namakwa Special Economic Zone. The anchor investor of the SEZ will be Vedanta Zinc International which is already running the Gamsberg Zinc Mine and intends to build a smelter. The SEZ would advance the aims of developing infrastructure, accelerating skills development and empowerment, and consolidating economic development in the Northern Cape. Executive summary At the official launch of the Vedanta Gamsberg Zinc Mine, President Cyril Ramaphosa suggested that the mine complex could be the core and catalyst for economic development for the region through the establishment of a SEZ. He specifically called for more beneficiation of South Africa’s minerals to take place in South Africa. Vedanta Zinc International started exporting product from the mine in 2018 and has so far invested about 0-million in the project. The company is considering the construction of a smelter; together, these facilities NORTHERN CAPE BUSINESS 2020/21 12
Development in the Norther SPECIAL FEATURE Location would form the base of the SEZ. Investors in related downstream activities such as fertiliser, explosives, paints and sulphuric acid would use product from the mine and the smelter. Further opportunities in renewable energy, transportation, storage and construction would naturally flow from the primary activities. All investors would benefit from the special benefits that accrue to investors in SEZs (outlined below). The plan for the Namakwa SEZ complies with and is aligned with the Provincial Growth and Development Strategy of the Province, the Northern Cape Spatial Development Framework and the National Spatial Development Framework. Furthermore, the plan supports the concept of development corridors and local economic development. Aggeneys is in the Khai-Ma Local Municipality within the Namakwa District Municipality of the Northern Cape Province. Aggeneys is 66km from Pofadder (headquarters of the local municipality) and 110km from Springbok, where the office of the district municipality is located. All three towns are on the N14, the national road that links Springbok with Pretoria. The proposed Namakwa SEZ is strategically located along a bulk commodity corridor, which runs from a planned port on the Atlantic coast (the Boegoebaai Deep Port Harbour) through Aggeneys to the large urban centre of Upington and beyond to the concentrations of iron ore and manganese ore at Sishen and Kathu. Upington Airport is capable of handling large aircraft. The railway line that currently transports ore from Sishen to the coast at Saldanha is one of the engineering marvels of the world, moving 40-million tons every year along an 861km route. Building a new industrial city in the Northern Cape as part of the Northern Cape Industrial Corridor: Namakwa SEZ in Aggenys where you will live, work and play. 13 NORTHERN CAPE BUSINESS 2020/21
