The Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Mr Andrew Whitfield has expressed his satisfaction and delight at progress that has been registered by the Atlantis Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in its efforts to attract investment, deepen manufacturing and create jobs for the local communities.
Whitfield was speaking at the end of his visit to the SEZ where he held a meeting with the executive leadership and toured construction site whose bulk infrastructure was funded by the dtic for R115 million through its Special Economic Zones Fund.
“Today I visited the Atlantis SEZ in Cape Town and I was very impressed by the presentation of the management team on their plans for the future and the investments that they have been able to land in the SEZ over the last few years. the dtic is very serious about how we can scale up our special economic zones and how we can be creative around identifying new funding models to support their future investments,” said Whitfield.
He added that the dtic was committed to working together with the Atlantis SEZ, the local municipality, as well as the provincial government, as shareholders in an “incredible ecosystem that brings the community together with investments”.
Whitfield learnt during one of the presentations that the Atlantis SEZ was implementing an integrated ecosystem development model that comprises the community integration, skills development and enterprise development. The objective is to ensure that the SEZ impacted positively and meaningfully in the lives of the communities surrounding it.
“This is a big part of the department’s responsibility for inclusive economic growth. What we saw at the Atlantis SEZ is cutting edge, innovative green technology products for export to international markets, but also the inclusion of local communities, skills development and empowering women to perform incredibly important functions in these businesses. So we were very impressed today and I am convinced that the dtic will continue to work very closely with the Atlantis SEZ in future,” noted Whitfield.
“The other key element that we are focusing on in the department is industrialisation and manufacturing-led growth towards an export-oriented economy,” said Whitfield.
The Atlantis SEZ is driving exports and job creation through supporting of targeted industries in the renewable energy value-chain.
During his site tour, Whitfield interacted with management and some of the workers at Everflo, an established manufacturer of industrial refrigeration and off-grid containerised refrigeration units deployed in rural parts of Africa. The company exports 90% of their manufactured products from Atlantis.
The CEO of the Atlantis SEZ, Mr Matthew Cullinan also expressed delight at Deputy Minister Whitfield’s visit, saying it offered a special opportunity to show him what the SEZ has achieved in a short space of time.
“Our relationship with the dtic is crucial for the success of the Atlantis SEZ. We work very closely with National Government and to have the minister here visiting and seeing what we are doing is very encouraging. We appreciate the support that we are getting from the department and the opportunity to interact with the Deputy Minister and inform him about the investment that has taken place and the new plans for the next 12 months,” said Cullinan.
He added that the visit also illustrated the support from National Government for the green economy, which is the focus of the Atlantis SEZ. Renowned as Africa’s first Greentech SEZ, the Atlantis SEZ’s mandate is to mobilise green technology and agribusiness investments. These include renewable energy, energy storage, agro-processing and, recycling sectors.
Cullinan added that the investment pipeline for the Atlantis SEZ over the next five years has reached R18 billion.
The South African government is rolling out the Special Economic Zones Programme to accelerate the country’s industrial development, boost manufacturing, promote economic growth and increase exports by attracting foreign and domestic investments. To date, there are 193 operational investors with an investment of almost R30 billion and 27 000 jobs created in the SEZs spread across the country.
The Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Mr Andrew Whitfield being briefed by the CEO of the Atlantis Special Economic Zone, Mr Matthew Cullinan on the SEZ’s development model and at the construction site
For RSVPs, media enquiries and interview requests:
Bongani Lukhele – Director: Media Relations
Tel: (012) 394 1643
Mobile: 079 5083 457
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E-mail: BLukhele@thedtic.gov.za
Issued by: The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic)
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