Indian company Cipla BioTec, and Dube TradePort today (Friday) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to build Africa's first fully integrated biopharmaceutical plant.
The R1.3-billion plant will be located within the Dube TradePort Special Economic Zone in KwaZulu Natal (KZN) and will be South Africa’s first biotech manufacturing facility. It will produce a range of affordable treatments for cancer and other autoimmune diseases for the African and global market.
The MoU signing ceremony was held at Cipla Biotec's offices in Goa, India and was attended, amongst others, by the Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Rob Davies; KZN MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Sihle Zikalala; Dube TradePort Corporation CEO, Hamish Erskine; and CEO of Cipla Biotec South Africa, Divian Govender.
Zikalala said that the investment represented the introduction of an entirely new technology into the South African economy which, according to him, will have wide-reaching impact.
“With Cipla's new facility at the forefront, Dube TradePort Special Economic Zone is positioning itself as a major host for medical and pharmaceutical orientated manufacturing investments, positioned to cater to the African and global markets. As part of this sector strategy, Dube TradePort will construct a specialised utility zone to service multiple pharmaceutical plants within a defined cluster,” Eskine said.
The construction of the new facility is scheduled to start in early 2017, with full operations expected to commence in the third quarter of 2018, where it is expected to generate at full capacity.
