Ed Richardson
TRADE AND Industry minister Alec Erwin will make the final decision on a private sector partner for the Coega project outside Port Elizabeth shortly.
The Coega Development Corporation has short-listed three partners after inviting participation through a local and international advertising campaign.
Murray and Roberts Holdings, which has been involved in the Coega development since its inception, is a major player in one of the bid consortia. Murray and Roberts was part of a Section 21 Coega IDZ Initiative company that kick-started the project.
The Coega IDZ Initiative included representatives from local business, the province, the DTI, the city council and labour. At the time Murray and Roberts said it was interested in building a steel mill in the Coega industrial zone.
A steel mill is now part of an offset agreement that will see investment in South Africa in return for the purchase of military hardware.
P&O Nedlloyd heads up a second consortium.
Its connections with Coega also date back several years, with Richard Burmeister in his capacity as sales director calling on Portnet to include a deep-water container terminal in its plans for the Coega port.
Coega, it is argued, will have both the draft and the space necessary to accommodate a new-generation container hub that would include container refurbishment and even manufacturing facilities.
The third group has been formed under the name
of The Coega Industrial Development Company. The names of the companies in the consortium have not been made public.
All bidders had to put down a non-refundable R250 000 deposit on
application. The successful
bidder will have to pay a further R750 000.
Coega Development Corporation communications manager Raymond Hartle says the CDC
is looking for financial strength and the ability to provide financing for part of the infrastructure, bearing in mind we're talking of a public-private partnership.
We are also considering each bidder's ability to provide investor networks that will leverage further investment into the Industrial Development Zone.
Erwin is expected to announce the winner soon.
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