The Tshwane Automotive Special Economic Zone (TASEZ) has officially entered into full operation, with all 10 auto component manufacturing companies located in the zone starting full production. This follows Ford Motor Company of South Africa’s (FMCSA) commencement with the production of the next generation Ford Ranger on 14 November 2022.
TASEZ was established as a special purpose vehicle production zone. Its first phase of the development was specifically aimed at creating additional infrastructure and capacity within the FMCSA supply chain to support South Africa to be one of only three hubs in the world to produce the next generation Ford Ranger.
TASEZ is a company that was established in May 2020 through a first-of-its-kind inter-governmental agreement between the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic), Gauteng Department of Economic Development, and the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality.
The Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Mr Fikile Majola says TASEZ’s mandate is aligned and effectively born out of the national strategies of the South African government, particularly the new Special Economic Zones (SEZs) approach that was approved by Cabinet in 2019.
“The approach places an emphasis on the involvement of all three spheres of government and private sector in the planning, development and management of Special Economic Zones. The new approach presents a multipronged approach to industrial development with prominence on building partnerships with the private sector to unleash job-creating investment,” says Majola.
FMCSA made a capital investment of US$1.05 billion (R15.8 billion) for the production of the new generation Ford Ranger, and in support TASEZ was poised to create the much-needed bulk infrastructure and more than 205 000 m² under roof factory space that currently houses ten FMCSA suppliers.
“In January 2021 notwithstanding the economic and investment adversity caused by COVID-19, TASEZ commenced with the construction of the suppliers’ facilities. As early as November 2021 three of these suppliers where already in operations in the Zone, producing part for the previous Ranger. During the past 10 months all investors have taken occupancy and have been preparing themselves for the new start of the production of the new Ford Ranger,” adds Majola.
The investment made by the 10 suppliers within the zone is currently sitting at R3.62 billion against an overall projected investment of R4.2 billion. The total number of permanent jobs created by these suppliers is currently sitting at 1 259 jobs (76 % youth and 32 % women) against a projected target of 2 080 to be realised during the production ramp-up.
A total of 4 848 construction jobs (12% women and 53% youth) have been achieved to date. TASEZ also partakes in driving inclusive economic growth and meaningful economic opportunities through empowering SMMEs in townships. During the construction of phase 1, the total procurement spent on SMMEs, through construction packages, is currently sitting at 38% against a target of 45% with 244 SMME packages awarded to a value of R1.1 billion.
Within the FMCSA’s own facilities 1 200 additional jobs have been created bringing its total workforce to 5 500. An estimated 10 000 new jobs have been created across Ford’s local supplier network.
“The speed at which the Tshwane Automotive SEZ was developed is a testimony to what South Africa can achieve with strong partnership between the private and public sector with a big role played by the communities of Mamelodi, Nellmapius and Eersterust. They ensured that the project continues unhindered in view of the timeframes,” says Majola.
He notes that the TASEZ programme will remain guided by its vision to become a leading catalyst for inclusive industrial development and economic growth as it is already set to commence with the second phase of the development that will focus on mixed use consisting of an industrial node, retail and an Automotive Centre of Excellence Node.
“The acquired expertise from the successful implementation of TASEZ will be instrumental in unlocking and enhancing the potential of the other SEZs throughout the country,” concludes Majola.
Enquiries:
Bongani Lukhele – Director: Media Relations
Tel: (012) 394 1643
Mobile: 079 5083 457
WhatsApp: 074 2998 512
E-mail: BLukhele@thedtic.gov.za
Issued by: The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition
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