Pretoria – Pretoria mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa who is currently in Bonn, Germany has welcomed the news that BMW has made a R6 billion investment in South Africa’s Rosslyn Plant.
Ramokgopa said on Tuesday: “The news could not have come at the right time for South Africa.”
He said the news would give a much needed boost to the automotive industry, which Statistics South Africa reported in a recent labour market quarterly survey that the industry was experiencing a decline.
The investmene would see Gauteng’s Rosslyn Plant manufacture the next-generation X3 vehicle.
Ramokgopa added: “We see this investment as a step in the right direction for Africa as a future market for exports as well as the newly reviewed Automotive Production and Development Programme (APDP) by our Trade Ministry , and we are certain it will increase our footprint in the manufacturing industry and automotive industry.”
He noted that the automotive industry creates jobs and employs about 30 000 people, accounts for up to 35% of passenger vehicles exports and that “40 percent of all passenger vehicles manufactured in South Africa are produced in Pretoria.”
The city’s automotive and components industry, he added, which contributes about 3,3 percent to the city’s economy, generated a R30 billion turnover.
He said that the city had plans to enhance its automotive industry’s growth through a three-year partnership agreement with the Automotive Industry Development Corporation, which is aimed at “enhancing support to the automotive sector due to its strategic importance towards the growth and development of the Tshwane Economy.”
Ramokgopa is in Germany as a global champion for Sustainable Development in local government and the C40 Group of Sustainable Cities.
African News Agency
* Use IOL’s Facebook and Twitter pages to comment on our stories. See links below.