Addressing more than 1,000 delegates at the 2nd International Special Economic Zones Infrastructure and Investment Conference at the Durban Exhibition Centre on Thursday, Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Parks Tau said the country's network of SEZs had become a significant contributor to industrial development.
"Thirteen Special Economic Zones are designated across eight of South Africa's nine provinces. Two hundred and twenty-four companies operate within them. They have invested a combined R31.7 billion, a net increase of R17.2 billion over the past eight years. They have created 28,821 direct jobs. The dtic has supported this performance with R12 billion in top structure and bulk infrastructure since inception," Tau said.
Flagship Zones Driving Performance
Among the country's standout performers is the Tshwane Automotive Special Economic Zone (TASEZ), which has rapidly established itself as one of South Africa's flagship industrial zones. Situated adjacent to Ford Motor Company's Silverton Assembly Plant in Pretoria, the automotive-focused SEZ has become a benchmark for integrated industrial development.
Minister Tau highlighted the scale of the achievement:
"Ford's expansion at the Tshwane Automotive Special Economic Zone has unlocked R16 billion in private investment, alongside R5.9 billion from other TASEZ-based investors, delivering 3,333 direct jobs to date".
The Richards Bay Industrial Development Zone has also emerged as a significant success story, growing from a slow start to a pipeline of 24 potential investors with projects valued at an estimated R247 billion. The second phase of the Nyanza Light Metals titanium dioxide project—an African-led initiative replacing a product that is 100% imported—has reached financial close on a R14.5 billion investment, creating more than 800 direct jobs once fully operational.
A Global Endorsement
President Cyril Ramaphosa, delivering the keynote address virtually at the conference's Presidential Gala Dinner, described SEZs as more than just designated industrial sites:
"Special Economic Zones are not simply designated industrial sites. They are engines of economic transformation. They are places where policy is translated into production, where investment becomes enterprise, where innovation becomes competitiveness and where hope becomes opportunity".
The President confirmed that a recent World Bank assessment found that South Africa's SEZ programme had attracted more than R34 billion in investment, created over 30,000 direct jobs and generated more than R14 billion in revenue for the fiscus. He noted that government would carefully consider the World Bank's recommendations, including enhanced investment incentives and the introduction of privately-owned Special Economic Zones.
A Revised Implementation Model
Deputy President Paul Mashatile, speaking at the conference on Friday, said the SEZ programme had produced notable projects that support skills development and downstream supply chains, including the Coega Industrial Development Zone in the Eastern Cape.
"We have 5,400 SEZs globally competing for the same capital. We cannot compete simply by being the cheapest. We compete by being the most strategic, the most reliable and the most inclusive," Mashatile said.
Government is now finalising a revised SEZ implementation model following the World Bank review. Minister Tau confirmed the reforms would include:
- More private-sector-developed industrial parks
- Stronger non-financial incentives
- A formal process for turning around underperforming zones
- Designation of two further zones: Fetakgomo Tubatse and Vaal
"We are designating an additional set of two SEZs over and above the ones that have already been designated. Beyond that we are extending incentives and SEZ support programmes to industrial parks, a lot of these found in townships and rural areas that have become dilapidated," Tau said.
The Road Ahead
President Ramaphosa said SEZs would play an increasingly important role in advanced manufacturing, electric mobility, renewable energy technologies, green hydrogen, battery manufacturing, digital industries, pharmaceuticals, agro-processing and mineral beneficiation.
"They will enable us not merely to export raw materials, but increasingly to export higher-value manufactured products. They will help position South Africa as a leading industrial economy on the African continent".
The reforms form part of government's broader effort to strengthen the competitiveness of SEZs, improve accountability and position the zones as drivers of industrialisation, export growth and regional trade integration.
With reporting from SAnews.gov.za, TASEZ, the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, The Presidency, SABC News, and World Ports.
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