East London automotive facility makes headway

Construction begins on shared logistics centre ALAN PEAT IN THE East London industrial development zone (ELIDZ) construction of the automotive supplier park, planned and developed by the Automotive Industry Development Centre (AIDC), is well under way. It is expected to attract further foreign direct investment to the zone. Said Zirk Jansen, AIDC supply chain manager: “The most important beneficiary of the IDZ, of which the automotive supplier park is a major component, will be the local economy - which is expected to benefit immediately through the creation of jobs and other opportunities.” Supplier parks, he added, introduce innovative methods of promoting global competitiveness by driving down ever-increasing supply chain costs. In East London, the AIDC has been able optimise the experience it gained in its involvement with the automotive supplier park in Rosslyn, Pretoria, and the establishment of the Nelson Mandela Bay logistics park in Uitenhage. Construction of the shared logistics centre and central container facility of Zone 1A has just started.