Mpumalanga Business 2022-23
The 2022/23 edition of Mpumalanga Business is the 13th issue of this successful publication that since its launch in 2008 has established itself as the premier business and investment guide for the province. With messages of welcome to potential investors from both the provincial premier and the MEC responsible for Economic Development and Tourism, this edition of the journal also contains the official Mpumalanga Investment Prospectus, a comprehensive survey of the province’s assets and the potential of the region. Major catalytic projects such as the Nkomazi Special Economic Zone (NSEZ) and the Mpumalanga International Fresh Produce Market (MIFPM) are examined in detail, outlining how producers, processors and logistics firms stand to benefit and where there is potential for investment. In addition to the Prospectus, the journal contains a special feature on education and a series of brief news briefs about some of the most important sectors in the provincial economy.
The 2022/23 edition of Mpumalanga Business is the 13th issue of this successful publication that since its launch in 2008 has established itself as the premier business and investment guide for the province.
With messages of welcome to potential investors from both the provincial premier and the MEC responsible for Economic Development and Tourism, this edition of the journal also contains the official Mpumalanga Investment Prospectus, a comprehensive survey of the province’s assets and the potential of the region. Major catalytic projects such as the Nkomazi Special Economic Zone (NSEZ) and the Mpumalanga International Fresh Produce Market (MIFPM) are examined in detail, outlining how producers, processors and logistics firms stand to benefit and where there is potential for investment. In addition to the Prospectus, the journal contains a special feature on education and a series of brief news briefs about some of the most important sectors in the provincial economy.
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SPECIAL FEATURE<br />
The Cluster, an initiative of the <strong>Mpumalanga</strong><br />
Department of Economic Development and<br />
Tourism with the support of GreenCape and<br />
the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale<br />
Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), has joined the International<br />
Cleantech Network, a group that has 15 000<br />
businesses affiliated to it across the globe.<br />
National utility Eskom is also moving into the<br />
new era, partly through a process whereby the<br />
entity will be broken into three more competitive<br />
units, but more immediately through the<br />
announcement in July <strong>2022</strong> of 18 winnings bids<br />
from independent power producers (IPPs) for<br />
renewable projects on Eskom land, 4 000ha of<br />
which the utility has made available for this first<br />
phase. Eskom owns 36 000ha in the province. A<br />
total of 1 800MW will become available to the<br />
grid and it will be cheaper to transmit because<br />
the solar or wind plants will be right next to the<br />
existing Eskom transmission lines.<br />
Ten coal plants are due to be closed by 2040,<br />
with four <strong>Mpumalanga</strong> plants (Hendrina, Grootvlei,<br />
Camden and Komati) first in line. Eskom is<br />
undertaking studies to assess the potential impact<br />
on local communities of these closures. Options to<br />
get these plants producing energy again include<br />
gas, biomass and hydrogen but it is possible they<br />
might be used for something quite different. Eskom<br />
wants to be a net-zero company by 2050.<br />
Another major player in the energy market<br />
in <strong>Mpumalanga</strong> (and the world), Sasol, has<br />
announced plans to start producing 1 200MW<br />
of renewable energy by 2030. An integrated<br />
oil, gas and chemicals company with more<br />
than 30 000 employees and operations in 31<br />
countries, Sasol runs several plants at Secunda.<br />
Products manufactured at the complex<br />
include synthetic fuel, petroleum, paraffin, jet<br />
fuel, creosote, bitumen, diesel and lubricants.<br />
The primary feedstock for synthetic-fuel<br />
production is coal, and the plant is in the<br />
heart of <strong>Mpumalanga</strong>’s coalfields.<br />
Sasol regularly spends tens of millions on<br />
upgrades and improvements at the complex. The<br />
Sasol Synfuels refinery is the only commercial coalto-liquid<br />
fuel plant in the world and constitutes a<br />
key component in South Africa’s oil and gas sector.<br />
National government’s Renewable Energy<br />
Independent Power Producer Procurement<br />
Programme (REIPPPP) has seen the investment into<br />
this totally new sector of more than R200-billion<br />
since 2012 and South Africa is now home to 112 IPPs,<br />
whereas just 12 years ago there were fewer than 40<br />
in Sub-Saharan Africa.<br />
The relaxation by national government of the<br />
rules regarding setting up a power plant of 100MW<br />
or less is well suited to the requirements of big<br />
timber-processing companies such as Sappi and<br />
PG Bison and all the large mining concerns that are<br />
active in <strong>Mpumalanga</strong>.<br />
Investment options<br />
Several infrastructure investment projects in<br />
the tourism sector have been put forward by<br />
the <strong>Mpumalanga</strong> Economic Growth Agency<br />
(MEGA). There is a special focus on BRICS<br />
countries and the province was glad to welcome<br />
the announcement of a new flight into Kruger<br />
Timber firm and board manufacturer PG Bison has<br />
been investing heavily in its <strong>Mpumalanga</strong> assets.<br />
Credit: PG Bison<br />
37 MPUMALANGA BUSINESS <strong>2022</strong>/<strong>23</strong>
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