By Bob Hopkin

ONE of the largest industrial park sites in the southern Cape is to be launched near Mossel Bay soon.

The 32-hectare complex, adjacent to the PetroSA refinery, will comprise 65 industrial plots.

Due to be commissioned in January next year, the Rietvlei Industrial Development Park is a project of developers Cinzaco 104 Pty Ltd in partnership with black economic empowerment investment firm Vuwa Investments.

Cinzaco spokesman Stef Terblanche said investors would benefit from some unique features as a result of its location: “The site is completely flat and easily visible from the main N2 national road, which provides easy access, while it is also close to existing rail, harbour and airport facilities.”

But it has also has another unique drawcard. “Rietvlei will be connected to the same grid as (state oil company) PetroSA, which is never subject to power failures as the three open-cycle gas turbine generators there are always available to provide continuity of supply.”

With the project already having passed all of the approval stages and 20 of the 65 plots sold, the complex seems to be off to a flying start.

Terblanche adds that the local climate, access to beaches and the infrastructure of Mossel Bay have been among the influential factors attracting investors to the site.

The developers have been working closely with the Mossel Bay municipality, which has supported the project because of the several hundred jobs that are expected to be created when it is completed.

The “greenfield” location of the industrial park also offers security and accessibility advantages for owners and local residents.

“Mossel Bay‘s existing industrial areas – and indeed most existing industrial areas in the Southern Cape – are near to residential areas, with consequent high security risks,” Terblanche said.

Access roads serving these older industrial areas are inadequate and often highly congested.

“Rietvlei Industrial Development Park, on the other hand, totally avoids such problems and it would be hard to imagine a better location for an industrial development of this magnitude”.

Source: The Herald