DUBE TRADEPORT
Dube TradeZone - Aerial
DUBE TRADEPORT
Gateway of Tomorrow
Back on a Roll PRODUCTION: Colin Chinery
Underpinned by its unique location, Dube TradePort is a priority project for KwaZulu-Natal and forms part of South Africa’s National Infrastructure Plan, and a major economic catalyst for the region. CEO Hamish Erskine speaks to Enterprise Africa about this dynamic emerging Gateway to the Continent.
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After a near-two-year legal stalemate that paralysed work on KwaZulu-Natal’s showcase economic initiative, the Dube TradePort Special Economic Zone project is back in momentum. 30km north of Durban, Dube TradePort is a massive greenfield development, purpose-built to facilitate airport-related business with major benefits for one of South Africa’s most dynamic provinces. Linked to two of Africa’s major seaports, major national roads, home to King Shaka International Airport, and positioned at the intersection of local and global intermodal transport routes, Dube TradePort is a key priority development project for both for KZN and South Africa’s National Infrastructure Plan.
TOP TEN Involving integrated aerotropolis and provincially-driven airlift strategies and considered as one of the country’s top ten investment opportunities, this Provincial Government-owned flagship is promoting foreign and local investment through warehousing‚ manufacturing‚ assembling and airrelated cargo distribution. Designated a special economic zone (SEZ) in December 2016 - a major milestone in reaffirming Dube TradePort’s role as an engine for sustained economic growth for South Africa - Dube TradePort had secured R3.2bn in private sector investment before a legal hiatus put an 18-month brake on development. This ended last May when a disgruntled tenderer who lost out on a R500m contract for the expansion of
Dube TradePort, was given a judicial reprimand for making “spurious allegations” against the Dube CEO Hamish Erskine, and the company that was given the contract. Erskine’s reaction back then was understandably one of relief and exuberance. “This court case has set us back by 18-months. Now we intend to start work immediately. “The second phase of the trade zone – 45 hectares of industrial land in a special economic zone – can now go ahead. It is a huge relief. The whole organisation has a skip in their step today.” Fast forward, and Erskine says Phase 2 – Priority Number One for 2019 – “is the next major industrial expansion in the master- plan, and will bring an additional 50 hectares of new, serviced land on stream.”
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INDUSTRY FOCUS: INFRASTRUCTURE
R18 BILLION PRIVATE SECTOR INVESTMENT TradeZone 2 will serve as the foundation of Dube TradePort’s next phase of investment attraction. Covering 45 hectares of prime light industrial land, it is projected to create 260 construction and 4,265 permanent jobs and is expected to attract R18 billion in private sector investment over a five-year period said Erskine. Zone 2’s locational challenges are formidable. With a work programme that will run for the next 15 months, the project will see the movement of some four million cubic meters of earth for the platforming of the site. “When you try and build a 50-hectare platform on what was previously growing sugarcane, it’s an extremely large engineering project,” says Erskine, who took up his role in September 2016 after two years as acting CEO. “You have to essentially create 50 hectares of level land in an extremely unlevel environment, so there’s an enormous amount of work going on at the moment.” Planned since the late ‘90s and implemented since the mid-2000s, the
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// WE HAVE ALWAYS ENJOYED SUPPORT CROSS ALL THREE TIERS OF GOVERNMENT, AS WELL AS ACROSS ALL PARTIES // project is seen by Erskine as a major economic catalyst for the region. The cumulative employment opportunities created by Dube TradePort - when calculating the downstream and upstream value chain linkages – now totals 13,000 indirect jobs, added to the economy of KwaZulu-Natal. “We are here largely as an economic development project. Our primary objective is investment and jobs and new sector development. This is really what we are all about.” Samsung is one big name in the Phase One segment - now almost fully booked and operational. Understandably at this stage, Erskine is playing the Phase Two name game close to his chest. POISED FOR EXPANSION “We have to keep names under wraps at the moment. But what we are finding is that existing clients, domestic and foreign, have taken an expansion
position, which is great. “And with the new investment drive from the President, we are starting to see a lot more commitment towards expanded operation. “Trade Zone 1 has very much proven to be something of a testing ground, with a lot of investment going into Phase 2 expansion, which is something we strongly encourage. “And here, the sectors we are looking at are pharmaceuticals, healthcare and electronics. And these are investments we are hoping to announce in the next three to six months if not earlier. “We believe over time, these and other industries will introduce new technologies and expertise to KZN, rapidly improving skills both within the operations and among suppliers in the local market, enabling innovation and improving the competitiveness of the province.”
DUBE TRADEPORT
// WHEN YOU TRY AND BUILD A 50-HECTARE PLATFORM ON WHAT WAS PREVIOUSLY GROWING SUGARCANE, IT’S AN EXTREMELY LARGE ENGINEERING PROJECT // Altogether, the Dube TradePort 50-year master-planned airfreight and passenger hub, consists of five business zones: Dube TradeZone, a prime, fullyserviced industrial precinct of 77
hectares and growing to 300 hectares, for electronics, pharmaceuticals and aerospace manufacturing, assembling, and distribution. Dube Cargo Terminal, a state-ofthe-art cargo handling facility with digital tracking and secure cargo flow through on-site statutory bodies, which prides itself on a 0% cargo loss since inception in 2010. Dube AgriZone, an advanced agricultural precinct with world-class facilities and technical support for propagating, growing, packing and distributing high-value perishables and horticultural products through an efficient supply chain. Dube City, a 12-hectare premium business and hospitality precinct, three minutes from the passenger terminal, and Dube iConnect, a cutting-edge telecommunications platform and
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INDUSTRY FOCUS: INFRASTRUCTURE
sustainable alternative gateway to South Africa, Africa and the world,” says Dube TradePort Corporation Chairperson Dr Zanele Bridgette Gasa. Orchestrating the Dube TradePort industrial development zone project has been that critical but often elusive element in South African advancement; a unified all-party approach. “A strong feature of our development has been the cross-party support. And this goes right back to the
CEO - Hamish Erskine
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mid-90s, and then into the early 2000s implementation period, beginning with the R8b re-location of the 7.5 million passenger Durban airport - a mega move – and on to the creation of the special economic zone designation and all that’s emerged since then.” Erskine, a former administrative head of the National Council of Provinces Division in KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature, is full of praise for the strength of inter-governmental support.
“We have always enjoyed support cross all three tiers of Government, as well as across all parties. We have all spoken consistently with the same goal in mind and have been very fortunate in this respect.” As well as Dube TradePort, and nearby Richards Bay IDZ in KwaZuluNatal,, South Africa currently has six SEZs - Coega and East London IDZs in the Eastern Cape, OR Tambo IDZ in Gauteng, Saldanha Bay IDZ in the Western Cape,
DUBE TRADEPORT
Maluti-a-Phofung IDZ in the Free State, and Musina-Makhado SEZ in Limpopo. The original industrial development zones (IDZs), which are evolving into SEZs, were based on the belief that SA’s manufacturing sector should be developed in the interior of the country, around the mines. However, with the Government prioritising the growth of a more exportoriented economy, the IDZs were initially located close to a port. SEZS: EVERYONE GAINS The Government has now broadened this approach, locating SEZs in all the provinces, and in areas where SA wants to stimulate industrial development by attracting businesses through a range of incentives. Erskine does not fear competition from other SEZs and says each plays off its own specific set of advantages. KwaZulu-Natal itself is emerging as an economic powerhouse for 21st century business in South Africa and is actively being positioned to become the Gateway to Africa and the world by 2030. “We are the second largest Provincial economy in South Africa – with only Jo’burg-dominant Gauteng ahead. If KZN was a country, we would be the 11th largest economy in Africa, ahead of countries like Ghana for example, and the idea is to reinforce
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and grow off that base overtime.” Meantime, Dube TradePort’s CEO pilots its advance with passion and a consuming sense of purpose and destiny.
“I’ve been very fortunate to work with brilliant teams over the years, and yes, I’m hugely excited. “Every day you see the next opportunity, and you master plan over a 50-year period, taking that dream forward and making sure that we are equipped and ready to do so. “It’s a big task, and there’s a lot that comes with it. But I think of the vision, what it can give, and how it can achieve so many wonderful things in the economy, for the country, and for society. “That’s the exciting part. It’s been a 20-year journey, and one I’m rather blessed to be part of.”
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Published by CMB Media Group Chris Bolderstone – General Manager E. chris@cmb-media.co.uk Sackville Place, 44-48 Magdalen Street, Norwich, NR3 1JU T. +44 (0) 20 8123 7859 E. info@cmb-media.co.uk www.cmb-media.co.uk CMB Media Group does not accept responsibility for omissions or errors. The points of view expressed in articles by attributing writers and/ or in advertisements included in this magazine do not necessarily represent those of the publisher. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained within this magazine, no legal responsibility will be accepted by the publishers for loss arising from use of information published. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or stored in a retrievable system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the publisher. Š CMB Media Group Ltd 2018
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ENTERPRISE AFRICA
DECEMBER 2018