GREEN TECH
The fully-fledged state-owned enterprise In the last two years, the Atlantis Special Economic Zone has made significant strides in putting the company on the right track to begin doing business with investors. BY ATLANTIC SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONE
B
uilding a Special Economic Zone is akin to constructing a city. It evolves gradually. The Atlantic Special Economic Zone (ASEZ), unlike other SEZs in the country, does not have a decade to get off the ground. We must move much more quickly and set a good example. When the 2020 fiscal year began, the ASEZ had no business scheduling, no land, no capital and were still on Wesgro’s books because we were unable to open our own bank account due to the lack of a business scheduling and no offices. The Atlantis SEZ Company (ASEZCO) is now a fully-fledged
56
state-owned enterprise and the land acquired from the City of Cape Town, through a shareholders’ agreement, is now on ASEZCO’s balance sheet. Our first tranche of capital for civil works in the zone has been approved and we have been independent of Wesgro since 1 April 2022. We now have a debt-free asset of R60-million with all the necessary systems and structures in place. The above is our greatest achievement. ASEZCO prides itself on the work we do with the Atlantis community. Some of the programmes we have successfully implemented are to be celebrated as much as the above two milestones.
