SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES
SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES industrial activities, focusing on agro-processing, manufacturing and logistics. Sliced mangoes. Agro-processing is a key component of the business case of the Nkomazi SEZ. Credit: Chris Kirchoff/Brand SA board. In 2013, the mill started producing dissolving wood pulp (specialised cellulose) for global markets that can be exported through Maputo Port. The geographical position of Nkomazi in relation to the Sub-Saharan countries of East Africa, the proximity to some of the major mining and agricultural production areas of the country’s northern provinces and access to good transport infrastructure provides the SEZ with an advantage as a logistics and distribution hub. The Maputo Corridor integrates the regions of Swaziland, southern Mozambique and the industrialised regions of Mpumalanga, Gauteng and Limpopo. South Africa has developed specialised hubs at Durban, Richards Bay, Port Elizabeth and Coega that take much of its bulk exports, cars, container traffic and others. The proximity of Maputo Port to the above regions presents a very cost-effective alternative to South African ports, while assisting with the overall development and integration of SADC countries. MUSINA-MAKHADO SEZ (LIMPOPO) Over the last few years, the Limpopo Provincial Government has worked hard to get the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone (MMSEZ) off the ground. MMSEZ is a two-in-one project, with the South site zone in Makhado and the North site zone in Musina. The Musina and Makhado municipalities are strategically located along the North-South Corridor and in the vicinity of the second-busiest port of entry, the Beitbridge border post. Guided by recent history in development in Limpopo, particularly the development of the Medupi Power Plant in Lephalale, MMSEZ will be used as a catalytic initiative to unlock various developmental opportunities in Musina and Makhado. The MMSEZ SOC has commissioned a feasibility study for the development of a new Musina Dam through harvesting annual runoff flood water in the Limpopo River. The success of Musina Dam will unlock new opportunities for economic development in the Vhembe District and relieve many communities from ongoing water shortages. The zone is allotted for light-to-medium MALUTI-A-PHOFUNG SEZ (FREE STATE) The R4.8-billion, 1 000ha Maluti-a-Phofung SEZ near Harrismith will provide road and rail logistics and handling facilities for the Gauteng-Durban port corridor and link it to the Bloemfontein- Cape Town corridor. The main industries the SEZ will serve are agriculture, agro-processing, automotive and logistics, and will include container and car terminal facilities. The SEZ will function as a back-of-port operation to ease congestion at the Durban port and will provide South African customs functions and facilities for imported and export goods, including goods moving into Southern African. The primary focus of the SEZ is to act as a logistics hub to take advantage of its strategic location on the Durban-Reef corridor and as a link to the Bloemfontein-Cape Town corridor. It will also provide aggregated bulk rail logistics for agricultural produce between Bloemfontein and Harrismith in the Free State, while bulk freight rail services will extend to Newcastle in KwaZulu-Natal. The SEZ will incorporate an intermodal rail and road facility, with specialist transfer infrastructure and associated storage facilities, including cold chain. Its existing road and rail links position the site ideally to service goods flowing to and from the Durban port and to bolster the existing logistics networks. Rail logistics is central to the Maluti-a-Phofung hub’s capabilities. Improving and using the railway network through the hub will also provide long-term funding for the maintenance and expansion of the network in KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State and Gauteng. State-owned railway operator Transnet is consequently a key partner in the Maluti-a-Phofung SEZ project. The SEZ aims to reduce logistics costs and enable companies to gain efficiencies, grow and expand and, in so doing, help develop the economies of the provinces. TSHWANE AUTOMOTIVE SEZ (GAUTENG) Tshwane Automotive SEZ (TASEZ) was initiated by the Ford Motor Company to help expand its automotive footprint in South Africa through the attraction of its global suppliers into the country. This ambition was further enhanced by the Gauteng government’s plan of developing a new Automotive City in Tshwane, and aligns with the SA Automotive Masterplan 2035, which sets targets for us to increase localisation. TASEZ is the outcome of partnerships between the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, the Gauteng Provincial Government, the City of Tshwane and the Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa. The Automotive Industry Development Centre (AIDC), a subsidiary company of the Gauteng Growth and Development Agency (GGDA), has been tasked to deliver TASEZ on behalf of the Gauteng Provincial Government.
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