Industrial park continues to draw strong support

A new industrial park in Kwa Zulu Natal – with a strategic location close to Dube TradePort and King Shaka Airport – is still “selling like hot cakes”, according to SA investor Paul Izzard, partner in Index Property Services and Amber Dawn Developments, which is developing and marketing the property. The combine of UK and SA investors is busy developing the two-phase Imbonini industrial park in Ballito north of Durban – a 10-minute drive from the new international and its accompanying tradeport development. Phase 1 of the development – consisting of serviced industrial sites from 1 500 to 20 000 m2 in a fully fenced park with 24-hour security and access control – was completed last July, and is 80% sold. Izzard and partner Ed Peen expect the balance to sell out this year. The developers, Izzard added, are gearing up to start the civils on Phase 2 – with a total platform area of 450 000 m2 and double the size of Phase 1. “Although we are still busy selling phase one, we also have phase two out on the market,” Izzard told FTW, “and we have had a substantial number of enquiries flooding in.” New container supply division opens in Durban BLG Lead Logistics expands its portfolio There is a new force in container supply, leasing and conversion in Durban, as BLG Lead Logistics launches BLG Container Sales & Leasing as a specialist division in this marketplace. Heading up the operation is Wesley Turk, who is confident that the groundwork has been established to allow the company to effectively compete in the SA market for the sale, leasing and customised conversion of both new and used marine containers. The start of BLG’s national network has been established, with branches in Durban, East London and Port Elizabeth. “We can supply from these branches to anywhere in the country,” said Turk, “but we going to grow until we can justify being represented in all the other regions.” With a focus on the company’s customised conversion division, Turk pointed to BLG having developed workshop facilities in its fully-fitted East London depot. “The next aim,” he said, “is to develop similar facilities in Durban, and supply the whole country with conversions from these two sources.” And BLG is not only sticking to the basics when it comes to conversions. “We can convert new and used, 20-foot or 40-ft, standard or refrigerated (reefer) containers,” said Turk. “The only limit is the customer’s imagination – with a choice of customised boxes serving as offices, accommodation and ablution units, spaza shops, phone booths, machine control booths, workshops, reefers (in both blast freezer and cold room formats) and the like.” The market is equally widespread, he added, but tends to be mostly to customers in the retail chains and land-based industry. “Big construction companies are also major customers,” said Turk, “with a big demand for on-site offices, tools storage and ablutions, for example. “We also supply extensive delivery facilities for moving the boxes, using crane trucks, for instance, for delivery and offloading direct on to site.”