PROJECT FOCUS
DUBE TRADEPORT
www.dubetradeport.co.za
KWA-ZULU NATAL, SOUTH AFRICA
PROJECT FOCUS
DUBE TRA
STIMULATING ECONO
SOUTH A
ADEPORT
OMIC DEVELOPMENT
AFRICA By: Nicholas Paul Griffin
Dube TradePort is KwaZulu Natal’s largest infrastructural project and is considered one of South Africa’s top 10 investment opportunities.
D
ube TradePort Corporation is a government-owned entity and operator of the Dube TradePort Special Economic Zone (SEZ), a 3000-hectare greenfield industrial development 30km north of the important coastal city of Durban on South Africa’s eastern seaboard designed to re-establish the manufacturing sector in the region. With its purpose-built facilities and cutting-edge infrastructure and services, the SEZ is one of the top ten investment and flagship economic development opportunities in South Africa, playing a major part in attracting both local and foreign direct investment.
Special Economic Zone The key objectives of the SEZ are to promote and enhance the competitiveness of the manufacturing sector and encourage the beneficiation of available resources within the region. The aim is to aid the stimulation of economic development, the growth of exports and improvement of the global competitiveness of South African goods. These objectives are achieved by attracting increased levels of both Foreign Direct Investment and investment by the local business sector, as well as the active promotion of integration between existing local industry and international industry leaders. These partnerships play a considerable role in increasing local value-added production and enhancing the calibre of the clusters located in the precinct, which positions suppliers on the global stage, giving them a competitive advantage. 4
Dube TradePort - South Africa
Statue of
John Dube The development is home to King Shaka International Airport and forms the heart of the Durban Aerotropolis, situated north of the City of Durban and driving the development of the Dube TradeZone.
Dube TradePort is the only facility in Africa combining an international airport, dedicated cargo terminal, warehousing, offices, retail, hotels and agriculture.
Dube Tradeport
Dube TradePort Special Economic Zone (SEZ), is a 3000-hectare greenfield industrial development 30km north of the important coastal city of Durban, South Africa
Dube TradePort - Aerial of Precinct Dube TradeZone offers prime and fullyserviced industrial real estate adjacent to the airport, designed to cater to industries such as electronics manufacturing and assembly and medical and pharmaceutical production and distribution.
The space also caters for aerospace and aviation-linked manufacturing and related services, clothing and textiles, warehousing and storage, freight-forwarding and aviation services, as well as logistics and distribution services. Aspire Africa ¡ Issue 5.0
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Dube TradePort distinguishes itself by offering investors continuous support, whether through research and development, training or guiding investors through various regulatory frameworks that may apply. The ease with which business can be done enhances efficiencies for operators within targeted sectors. Dube TradePort also promotes regional development, stimulates the creation of new employment opportunities and enhances current skills and technology transfer levels.
Business and Trade Hub As a business entity of the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government, Dube TradePort Corporation has developed the SEZ as 6
Dube TradePort - South Africa
the province’s biggest infrastructural project, forming a business and trade hub geared around promoting foreign and local investment. In close proximity to Dube TradeZone is Dube Cargo Terminal, a state-of-the-art cargo facility, purpose-built as the most secure in Africa. Digital tracking ensures that all cargo flowing through the facility is secure, with all regulatory bodies located onsite. Owned and operated solely by Dube TradePort Corporation, the terminal boasts an impressive 0% cargo loss since its inception in early 2010, and has received approval from both the South African Revenue Services and Civil Aviation Authority. Also part of the SEZ is Dube AgriZone, providing world-class facilities and technical
Dube TradePort master plan
support for propagating, growing, packing and distributing high-value perishables and horticultural products through an efficient supply chain. Dube AgriZone is Africa’s first integrated perishables supply chain and the most technologically advanced future farming platform on the continent, hosting the largest climate-controlled glass-covered growing area in Africa. In the heart of Dube TradePort is Dube City, an ultra-modern urban ‘green’ hub that follows sustainable development principles, making provision for premium office, retail, hospitality and leisure space immediately adjacent to the airport. Dube City is home to Dube TradePort Corporation’s Head Office, known as 29°
South. This impressive building demonstrates the organisation’s high commitment to caring for the environment. All the zones within the precinct are supported by Dube iConnect, a dedicated IT and telecommunications provider of locallyhosted cloud services, supporting direct connection to high-speed international gateways through commercial partnerships with Tier 1 service providers with onsite presence. Dube iConnect’s Data Centre, with infrastructure offering advanced virtualisation platforms, incorporates Cisco UCS blade architecture and EMC storage, providing resellers with an infrastructure service platform on which they are able to offer hosted solutions to the market.
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The latest in fibre-optic telecoms and high-tech data centres, coupled with a complete air services program, has boosted air connectivity into King Shaka International Airport significantly.
King Shaka International Airport
Dube TradePort has attracted 2.7 billion Rand in private sector investment in the first phase of the Dube TradeZone development.
Attracting Investment After becoming operational in 2010, the Dube TradeZone precinct faced two major hurdles: attracting investment into the precinct and driving air services into King Shaka International Airport, which at the time was used by only one international airline. The provision of world-class logistics infrastructure and industrial real-estate, coupled with a massive investment in bulk infrastructure such as upgraded roads and services, is vital in attracting investment in Dube TradePort and Durban in general. The latest in fibre-optic telecoms and hightech data centres, coupled with a complete air services program, has boosted air connectivity into King Shaka International Airport significantly. Along with one-stop passengers, goods can now be delivered to over 700 international destinations through regional and international carriers flying into Durban, signalling to the world that South Africa and Dube TradePort are committed to creating an open investment climate. The expansion of air services into the rest of sub-Saharan Africa will play a critical role in the development of the region, as these services open access to new markets, stimulating intra-African trade and directly contributing to the socioeconomic prosperity of local communities. Access drives economic growth through investment potential in manufacturing and tourism, local enterprises entering into profitable partnerships throughout the region that enable technology transfer, job creation and skills transfer.
Dube Tradeport To-date, Dube TradePort has attracted 2.7 billion Rand in private sector investment in the first phase of the Dube TradeZone development, as well as attracting high-profile multinational and local enterprises involved in a number of sectors. Some of the major names joining the project are ;Samsung Electronics SA, DB Schenker, Amsted Reelin, Tufbag, Rossi SA, Pilosio, Laser Junction, Retractaline, Air Chefs, Gift of the Givers Foundation, iDube Cold Storage and Yangtze Optics Africa, helping create 4,738 jobs in the precinct. Air services are driven by the Route Development Committee, a group that is jointly chaired by Dube TradePort and Tourism KwaZulu-Natal, and has been directly involved in the attraction of flights to eleven international destinations. This has increased passenger volumes through King Shaka International Airport to 5.2 million, representing a 24% increase in international passenger numbers and a 5% increase in domestic passenger numbers in the last financial year.
Inclusive Economy The intention behind the establishment of Dube TradePort is to drive economic growth and development within South Africa. With an annual average spend of 400 million Rand on infrastructure, the corporation has already had a significant impact on national growth. As a government-owned entity, the corporation integrates both the drive of commercialisation and government work, with both functions serving the bottom line of economic growth and boosting the development of South Africa and its people. Aspire Africa ¡ Issue 5.0
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www.dubetradeport.co.za
Dube Cargo Terminal and TradeHouse The organisation has embarked upon a journey to ensure that opportunities available within Dube TradePort are equally accessible to a vast array of stakeholders, from small businesses to local developers and investors. Dube TradePort Corporation aims to impact on the creation of an inclusive economy, through programmes focusing on the development of Black Industrialists and property developers as well as other procurement imperatives. From an air services perspective, the precinct offers a direct service to the major European hub of Istanbul, the major African Hub in Addis 10 Dube TradePort - South Africa
Ababa, and further direct service to the Middle Eastern hub of Doha. The corporation is currently looking to attract a carrier to provide King Shaka International Airport with direct air connectivity into the United Kingdom, as well as adding a service into central African states such as Kigali. Alongside these projects, work is continuing on the second phase of two of the SEZ precincts, Dube TradeZone and Dube AgriZone, as well as further work on a number of developments within the Dube City precinct, which houses offices and retail facilities. ASPIRE
www.Aspire-Africa.com
www.dubetradeport.co.za 29° South, 7 Umsinsi Junction Dube City, La Mercy KwaZulu-Natal - 4399 T: +27 32 814 0000 F: +27 32 814 0100 E: info@dubetradeport.co.za