Page 91 - KZN Top Business Portfolio 2024/5 - ebook

today will determine the Durban of tomorrow,” and company with a level one BBBEE score. The project
that by remaining focused, determined, and united, aims to rejuvenate Giba Business Park, support
the city can “build a city that offers opportunities for the eco-tourism appeal of Giba Gorge, and impact
all its residents and serves as a model for sustainable the local informal community, creating jobs and
development in Africa.” business opportunities in light commercial,
logistics, and warehousing sectors.
Invest Durban’s efforts to attract investors can be ƒ Dube TradeZone 2 has attracted R1.8 billion in
grouped into three main categories: private-sector investment, with expectations of
1. Premium Destination: Durban offers a business creating 600 jobs within the next five years.
and lifestyle environment conducive to profitable, Targeting investors in manufacturing, assembly,
sustainable ventures, with ample land available logistics, and the automotive sectors, the second
for development. phase of the TradeZone follows the successful
2. Catalytic Projects: These are large-scale projects implementation of Dube TradeZone 1, which is fully
with the potential to transform the socio- tenanted by 50 investors, including global
economic landscape, triggering a series of companies like Samsung, Mahindra, and DHL.
investments across several sectors. ƒ Westown, led by the Fundamentum Property
3. Priority Sectors: Key sectors receive strategic Group, is one of Durban’s most significant
focus, such as the creation of industry clusters infrastructural investments since the 2010 Soccer
and the development of value chains to promote World Cup. With support from all three spheres
new ventures and investment opportunities. of government, Westown is set to generate around
Renewed Optimism and Future Growth R15 billion in investment over the next 10-15 years.
The development will bring high-street shopping,
According to Curtis, the city is on the verge of a new dining, leisure, and recreation experiences,
era of growth and prosperity, driven by a shift in providing substantial opportunities for the
business confidence and a robust pipeline of private business sector.
sector investments. This new confidence is fuelled ƒ On the KZN North coast, Club Med Tinley is proudly
by a substantial pipeline of flagship investments, being developed by KZN company Collins
estimated at approximately R250 billion in private
sector commitments. Residential, with the French headquartered Club
Med taking the helm as hotel operators. Club Med
International investors have already established a Tinley is expected to generate over 800 direct
significant presence in Durban, particularly in the jobs and an additional 1 500 indirect jobs,
manufacturing, transport, logistics, and distribution stimulating the local economy and empowering
sectors. Companies like PepsiCo and Kerry Foods have individuals and families with new opportunities.
expanded into Durban, along with new FDI from top
shipping and logistics groups, such as CMA-CGM. Building the Future Together
Additionally, South Africa has been rated as the best While Durban has faced challenges, particularly in
place on the planet for contact centres for the last energy, industrial logistics, and water, these issues
five years with Durban leading in several aspects, are now receiving the fullest attention they deserve
including opportunities in legal process outsourcing, at both national and local levels. Initiatives like the
digital animation and film processing, digital health Business for South Africa (B4SA) programme, led by
diagnostics, and consumer protection technology. national business bodies such as Business Unity South
Africa (BUSA) and Business Leadership South Africa
Catalytic Projects Driving Regional Impact (BLSA), as well as provincial private-public partnership
Several large-scale projects are underway in Durban, facilitation through the KZN Growth Coalition and the
poised to make a regional impact by stimulating the Presidential eThekwini Working Groups at the Metro
economy and creating employment opportunities. level, are showing progress.
These developments are strategically positioned on
national trade routes or designed to help break down In conclusion, Curtis emphasizes the importance
old apartheid-era living and working dynamics. of collaboration and partnerships to build a
thriving, dynamic Durban. He urges the city to
Among these projects are: “pull in partners, both international and local, and
ƒ The Whetstone development in the north engage directly with public sector regulators to
Aerotropolis has attracted R2.5 billion in private craft solutions that will accelerate our progress.”
sector investment, in addition to the approximately By fostering these partnerships and addressing key
R500 million already invested by the industrial park challenges, Durban is poised to become a leading
developer. destination for investment, offering opportunities
ƒ The R1.9 billion Giba Business Estate is being for all and serving as a model for sustainable
developed by Sultex Holdings, a black-owned development in Africa.

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