Construction of a R15bn titanium dioxide pigment plant in the Richards Bay Industrial Development Zone (RBIDZ) is expected to add new industrial capacity to one of South Africa’s key port-linked logistics nodes.
Trade, Industry and Competition Minister, Parks Tau, expressed satisfaction with the roll-out of several developments in the zone during a recent site visit to the region.
Nyanza Light Metals is constructing the titanium dioxide pigment manufacturing plant in the IDZ, which will be the only facility of its kind in Africa and is expected to support local beneficiation and industrial activity at source.
The zone, which has received funding from the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition’s (DTIC) Special Economic Zone programme, has R252bn in investment in the pipeline, with 23 investors and one strategic partner.
The Nyanza Light Metals project has received direct support of R118m from the DTIC, as well as R920m to the RBIDZ for top structure and bulk infrastructure to help facilitate construction of the plant.
RBIDZ CEO Thabane Zulu said a contract for piling had been signed, enabling preparation of the infrastructure required for the development.
“So, for the next few months, you will see massive infrastructure investment, and the building of the actual plant that would be able to produce on this site,” Zulu said.
Tau said the project had attracted financing from the DTIC’s Special Economic Zones programme, which establishes designated, geographically focused areas to attract foreign and domestic investment and accelerate industrial growth, exports and job creation.
Several development finance institutions, including the Industrial Development Corporation, the African Development Bank, the Africa Finance Corporation and African Export-Import Bank, had funded the project and committed to supporting it as co-mandated lead arrangers, he said.
“We are particularly thrilled about this initiative because it presents a model that can be replicated in similar projects. It shows how private-sector funding can be mobilised alongside support from development finance institutions at both national and continental levels as well as international partners,” Tau said.
“Significantly, the project also mobilises technology transfer from China, which is indicative of our ability to build our industrial base in the country, and in terms of our ability to ensure that we beneficiate material locally and we ensure that industrialisation happens at source,” he said.
The plant is expected to create 850 permanent jobs during operations and employ 3 000 people during construction.
