JOHANNESBURG – South Africa's 10th special economic zone (SEZ), recently designated at Nkomazi in Mpumalanga, is expected to boost the industrial development of the province, the department of trade and industry said on Tuesday.
The Nkomazi SEZ will be developed as an agro-processing hub, supported by logistics and other related services.
To date, the country's SEZ programme has attracted 115 private companies and seen R11.6 billion worth of investments from private investments leveraging on R4.6bn of public investments, while creating more than 14 020 direct jobs.
The programmes carries a reduced 15 percent corporate tax incentive, among other measures to encourage investment.
“Taking advantage of the tax incentive package and the SEZ investment pipeline, the Department of Trade and Industry target is to increase the number of investments into the zones, and double the rand value of operational investments from R11.6bn to R23bn by the end of 2019," trade and industry minister Rob Davies said.
Last month, President Cyril Ramaphosa launched the 124.5-hectare area, Atlantis zone in Western Cape province which is designated for green technologies including alternative waste management, energy-efficient technology and alternative building material.
“The 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 creation of decent jobs," Davies said.