Thabang Mokopanele
Trade and Industry CorrespondentTHE East London Industrial Development Zone (IDZ) on Friday announced that it had secured a further four investments worth R165m in its drive to lure investors to fill up space.
This brings the number of confirmed investors in the country’s first operational zone to 14, and the value of their investments to R920m.
Simphiwe Kondlo, East London IDZ CEO, said the investments also added 195 direct manufacturing jobs to the 1118 jobs already created, of which 600 are already active.
The new investors are automotive component suppliers Molan Pino, TI Automotive (Fuel Systems) and Caravelle Automotive Carpets, as well as KwaZulu Natal logistics company Big Foot Express.
The first three had already started the construction of their plants, while Big Foot Express is scheduled to start construction of its plant next year.
Kondlo said the investors had helped affirm the country’s IDZ programme, which targets manufacturers that want to take advantage of opportunities.
The East London IDZ offers original equipment manufacturers in this sector access to the state-of-the-art automotive supplier park (ASP).
Kondlo said that 2007 “has been the year of opening doors for our investors. Not only have our ASP investors met the highly stringent requirements of Mercedes Benz for the production of its C-Class model, but several of these investors are taking advantage of further export opportunities.”
The ASP is now home to 10 automotive component suppliers, which provide 12 key components for the Mercedes Benz C-Class.
“We are making encouraging progress in terms of attracting investors in our key sectors such as biofuels, automotive and general manufacturing. We are working closely with a range of private and public sector players in order to strengthen our biofuels value proposition and are in negotiations with several interested parties,” Kondlo said.
The East London IDZ also aims to establish an aqua cluster, which will help grow its footprint in this sector.
Existing aqua culture investor Seatek, which cultivates abalone, intends to expand operations in the zone.
Business Day
Publisher: I-Net Bridge
Source: I-Net Bridge
