DUBE TRADEPORT HIGHLIGHTS KZN’s MANUFACTURING POTENTIAL
Dube TradeZone 2, which is a 38 hectare, fully serviced precinct open to general manufacturers, is expected to attract about R5 billion in private investment over the next five years.
Manufacturing Indaba 2022, Andile Mnguni, acting chief operations officer, Dube TradePort (DTP) said: “We have found that the current economic uncertainties are still prominent in the minds of the key players in the manufacturing sector.
“The continued supply chain disruptions initially brought on by the pandemic and now exacerbated by the rising costs of logistics are making manufacturers think about their location in relation to the seaport where they receive most of their raw materials.
“This presents an enormous opportunity for Dube TradePort. As we begin to talk to manufacturers in other centres in South Africa, it also opens the conversation around attracting manufacturing capacity from elsewhere around the world.”
Mnguni further noted that people outside KwaZulu-Natal had only heard of the successive incidents of the looting that took place last year, and the recent floods which damaged infrastructure and hampered the manufacturing sector.
In the aftermath of both these disasters, Mnguni and his investment team had been fielding enquires on the available facilities and land within DTP.
All came from manufacturers and logistics providers within KwaZulu-Natal, wishing to relocate there as they had observed that operators located within the Dube TradePort precinct had come through these disasters unscathed.
“Whether it has been the public unrest or the recent floods our location and infrastructure has proven to be resilient. That is what manufactures are looking for – a secure location which affords them business continuity, cushioning the impact of such disasters and making them more manageable for their businesses,” he continued.
With this year’s Indaba theme ‘Reigniting economic growth through manufacturing’, DTP was able to showcase its track record – of more than a decade – in developing infrastructure and driving sustainable investment.
Already, two investments have been confirmed for Zone 2 and construction is about to begin on a second factory for healthcare product manufacturer, LM Diapers, and a facility for industrial chemical manufacturer, Synergy Blenders.
Negotiations for the establishment of a large pharmaceutical plant with new product lines and technologies for an existing manufacturer are at an advanced stage and Zone 2 is also likely to include additional cold storage and another major electronics company amongst its future investors.
Currently, the DTP is developing the last 10 000m² facility in Zone 1 for a new food processing plant to be operated under the combined umbrella of a multinational and large locally owned company.
This follows the development of a thin strip of land into spaces for smaller companies wanting to be in an SEZ either as startups or as service providers to bigger manufacturers. This comprises 18 mini factories and positions the DTP as an industrial precinct that can accommodate a mix of operations stretching from big multinationals, to large local companies and even smaller SMMEs.
