Rob Davies, the minister of Trade and Industry of South Africa, said the recent designation of the Nkomazi Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Mpumalanga will contribute significantly to the economic and industrial development of the Nkomazi region and the province at large
The Nkomazi SEZ will be developed as an agro-processing hub, supported by logistics and other related services.
To date, the special economic zone programme has attracted 115 private companies with a total value of US$831mn from private investments leveraging on the US$330mn of public investments. The SEZ programme has created more than 14020 direct jobs and as well as many multipliers.
The introduction of SEZ tax incentives, which include the reduced 15 per cent corporate tax incentive, employment tax incentives, customs and excise incentive, and accelerated depreciation of building allowance have brought much-needed investment confidence into the programme and the country, according to the minister.
He added that this is attested by the increase in investment attracted and those that are currently under construction.
“Taking advantage of the Tax incentive package and the SEZ investment pipeline, the dti” target is to increase the number of investments into the zones, and double the rand value of operational investments from US$831mn to US$1.6bn by the end of 2019”, he stated.
In December 2018, President Cyril Ramaphosa launched the 124.5-hectare area, Atlantis Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Atlantis, Western Cape Province. The Atlantis SEZ is designated for the manufacturing of green technologies, alternative waste management, energy efficient technology, alternative building material and many other clean technologies.
“SEZ programme continues to be government’s priority industrial infrastructure programme aimed at developing new industrial hubs, attracting new foreign direct and domestic investments, contributing to the development of industrial capabilities and skills development, as well as the creation of decent jobs”, Davies concluded.
