Industry sources said this week that German steel company Ferrostaal, which represents a submarine consortium involved in the offset programme, had put forward the investment in Coega by a German condom maker.
The plan had been put to the trade and industry department for approval.
Coega, which lies near Port Elizabeth in Eastern Cape, is the site of a planned deepwater port and industrial development zone but, although the port construction is to go ahead, to date there has been no announcement of a serious industrial investor.
'The condom factory could be the first project to be announced,' said the source.
Alistair Ruiters, the director general at the department, had floated the idea of a condom factory investment in August last year, noting SA's serious HIV/AIDS problem. 'It would cost just R10m to build such a factory,' he said at the time.
Ferrostaal must find R600m in investment offset projects, on top of a stainless steel coldrolling mill which may be based at Coega, but which could also be located at Middelburg, near the Columbus Steel plant.
Efforts are also underway to persuade the department to agree to include tourism projects in the offset programme.
If this is agreed, there are plans to establish a game park to be called Madiba World after former President Nelson Mandela very close to Port Elizabeth.
And whether or not the coldrolling mill is established at Coega, a number of downstream value-added steel projects are on the drawing board for Coega in an industrial cluster which is expected to be called Steel Park.
Industries involved could include the manufacture of tanker containers, parts for catalytic converters, as well the converters and car exhausts. 'There is the possibility of the ceramic core in catalytic converters being replaced by a stainless steel core, coated with palladium,' the industry source said.
Pepi Silinga, the CE of Coega, said last week that negotiations were underway with at least 10 serious international investors.
