‘Solutions-driven Coega has it all’

COEGA IS being marketed internationally and locally as a “solutions driven” industrial development zone (IDZ) which allows investors to “have it all,” says Coega Development Corporation (CDC) marketing & communications manager Vuyelwa Qinga-Vika. “Our research has shown that there are not many investment locations around the world which can offer the Coega combination of ample land in an industrial development zone served by an integrated logistics network linking it directly to the rest of the continent and the world with sea, land and air links, combined with an attractive lifestyle. “As an investment destination, Coega offers a highly competitive combination of 11 500 hectares of land for development, the deep-water harbour of Ngqura, existing infrastructure, and a cosmopolitan lifestyle in South Africa’s friendliest city,” says Qinga-Vika. Coega is big enough to cater for the specific needs of individual investors or groups of investors, she says. “Take the logistics links. For some, the port is the main attraction. For others it is the fact that the Coega road and rail links feed directly into the national grids. “The Coega Development Corporation has also established specific zones or clusters within the Coega IDZ to ensure that it can accommodate a wide range of industries. There has been careful planning to prevent one facility from negatively impacting on another,” she says. The CDC, which is responsible for managing and marketing the Coega IDZ, is also able to cater for both individuals and groups of investors. “While something like a smelter starts off as a stand-alone project, potential investors in the textile and automotive industries need cluster developments in order to minimise costs and maximise productivity. “We have set ourselves the challenge of being able to cater for all these needs, which is the reason we are able to market the zone as one in which investors do not have to compromise their business solutions. Coega has the land, transport links, infrastructure and systems to create tailor-made solutions for investors, particularly in the first phase of the development,” says Qinga-Vika. First phase The first 6500 hectare core development area, which is the first phase of the IDZ’s infrastructure construction, incorporates the deepwater port of Ngqura, with direct road, rail and conveyor links between the harbour and the different clusters. Smelter operations will be fed by conveyor linkages directly from bulk quays in the Ngqura harbour, while the ingots they produce will be transported through the port’s container terminal or by land to down-stream producers within the Coega IDZ. Coega’s road, rail, sea and air links are also attracting the interest of logistics companies, says Qinga-Vika. “With Coega becoming a hub for deep-sea container ships, it is only natural that a logistics cluster will develop. We are developing a logistics park close to the harbour and the national road and rail interchanges. “The park has ample space for warehouses and logistics-related assembly facilities,” she says. “A product is not a product until it sells. Otherwise it is merely a museum piece.”