'Time for Coega to deliver on promises'

AS THE concept of Coega moves closer to reality, companies that have already put down roots in the region are well placed to reap the rewards. Among these are forwarding major ZA Trans which established a branch in Port Elizabeth four years ago. “We handle the work of a major automotive supplier in the area and have been able to use this as a lever to obtain other business in this exciting area,” chief international forwarding officer Paul Lawrence told FTW. But the company is intent on expanding its presence beyond this specialist niche. “We’ll look at general freight and will also be targeting a lot of second tier suppliers to the automotive industry,” says Lawrence. Chief operating officer Philip Wyllie believes the whole region reflects the optimism of all the industrial change taking place “It’s attracting huge foreign investment and there are moves to reprioritise PE port in the context of Coega. “We see it as an exciting area. Unlike a number of our competitors we’re there and positioned for growth. “There are two elements to Coega - the port itself and the IDZ – and they’re not necessarily linked. “Coega is likely to be a massive transhipment port because the other ports won’t be able to handle the expected volumes. But from a freight forwarding perspective the industrial belt is of interest and we’re keen to take advantage of the opportunities presented by this.”