Eastern Cape Business 2016 edition

SPECIAL FEATURE Maritime

SPECIAL FEATURE Maritime With its 800km of coastline, South Africa’s pristine Eastern Cape province is set to become a leading hub of maritime economic activity, after some challenging years. The province is home to the two major port cities of Port Elizabeth and East London, both established industrial manufacturing coastal centres, giving the Eastern Cape several strategic competitive advantages. The SA government announced in 2014 that it would be implementing ocean economy projects, which it expected to contribute more than R20-billion to the country’s gross domestic product by 2019. These projects form part of the government’s National Development Plan, its economic blueprint that aims to promote economic growth and job creation. South Africa’s oceans have the potential to contribute up to R177-billion to the GDP and create over one million jobs by 2033, two decades from now, the government said. “A thriving maritime sector will shift the Eastern Cape into an era of prosperity,” says Mfundo Piti, the economic infrastructure development manager of the Coega Development Corporation (CDC). “The momentum displayed so far by the local privatestate nexus shows a strong capacity and desire to further tap the potential of a sector that has largely shaped the history of these two cities.” Ports have always been at the forefront of maritime economic organisation, catalysing economic growth through the trade of manufactured goods, commodities and raw materials. They have helped transform underdeveloped regions into important trade centres which, in turn, has created jobs. Port of Ngqura “As both entry and exit points, the two ports have been critical in the past, present and future of the province and indeed the country,” Piti says. Nelson Mandela Bay’s Port of Ngqura, a deep-water sea port is adjacent to the Coega Industrial Development Zone (IDZ) It is becoming the fastest growing terminal in the world, according to Drewry Maritime Research quoted by the CDC. Construction of the Port of Ngqura is one of the biggest projects of its kind on the continent and one of the largest undertaken in post-apartheid South Africa. The Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) has invested R10-billion to date in the development of the Port, EASTERN CAPE BUSINESS 2016 50

SPECIAL FEATURE The wind sheltered Nelson Mandela Bay has 330 anchor days a year. With only an overnight train or truck trip from the major centres of Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban, these port facilities are ideally situated to meet the needs of all import and export markets. Meanwhile, the South African government has partnered with South Korea to establish a national shipping company. “World sea traffic passes by the Eastern Cape on the East-West pendulum trade routes, opening up major opportunities for ship-building and repairs in the region,” Piti says. Ship building and repairs The world merchant fleet in 2013 comprised 106 833 vessels responsible for shipping goods and commodities between the continents, including visits to the three ports of the Eastern Cape. During 2013, around 5 944 container ships, vessels and tankers were commissioned for construction by various countries. This represents an opportunity for the Eastern Cape to become a marine industrial centre for shipbuilding and repairs. While South Africa’s ship-building industry holds international credibility through its shipyards in Cape Town and Richards Bay, the Eastern Cape’s “world-class industrial manufacturing economy will make the province an excellent contender for future shipbuilding activities in the oceans economy”, Piti maintains. Nelson Mandela Bay and East London dominate South Africa’s automotive industry which means the province is already home to the necessary expertise, skilled labour, logistic services. “But there’s more that can be done,” he says. “The expertise of the industrial base should not only be extended for the ship-building industries but need to be extended further” – augmented by aeronautical components manufacturing, for example. “ which is operated by Transnet Port Terminals (TPT). Port facilities at Ngqura include a 60-hectare container terminal, Transnet’s solution to South Africa’s longtime shortage of container capacity resulting from the growth in global container shipping. The depth of the channel and its location in the protected Nelson Mandela Bay make it one of the best positioned deepwater ports on the South African coast. Food security The CDC plans to establish a R2-billion aqua-farming facility at Coega. Marine animals and plants such as finfish, abalone and seaweed will be farmed on 300 hectares in the Coega IDZ, creating 5 000 jobs. Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) in Port Elizabeth will be playing a critical role in knowledge generation for maritime and marine industries, Piti says. The university formalised ties with the UN-endorsed World Maritime University (WMU) in Sweden in 2013. 51 EASTERN CAPE BUSINESS 2016