KwaZulu-Natal MEC for economic development, tourism and environmental affairs Ravi Pillay says Transnet’s R100bn Durban Port expansion will create new rail and road linkages and contribute to modernising and making the Durban Harbour more efficient.
Pillay addressed delegates at the three-day KwaZulu-Natal Trade and Investment Indaba World Halal Day that kicked off on Tuesday at the Nkosi Albert Luthuli International Conference centre. The event seeks to create investment opportunities for entrepreneurs and investors.
The indaba is part of the region’s efforts to rebuild the KwaZulu-Natal’s economy and curb unemployment following the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak and July 2021 social unrest where rioting and looting damaged the region’s economy, causing R50bn damage.
Pillay assured potential investors that the provincial economy was on an upward trajectory and investors have confidence in the region.
“The Transnet R100bn Durban port expansion of the Durban Harbour is linked to the Richards Bay Harbour. There will be a reorganisation to a certain degree of the Durban Harbour in terms of moving certain functions to enhance the efficiencies of the Durban Harbour,” Pillay said.
“There is a back-of-port major operation that will create linkages and take significant activity to the old Durban airport site. There will be a decentralisation of the container activity with a significant part remaining at the Harbour. A significant part moving to the old airport site and another significant portion to the Dube Trade Port near the King Shaka International Airport and another portion at Cato Ridge, west of Durban.”
Durban and Richards Bay are critical to the province’s economy. The movement of the petroleum sector to Richards Bay is also part of the expansion plan. “I think you all know about the tremendous pressure on Richards Bay because the demand for coal is so high and the price of coal has tripled, so there is pressure on our rail network to get that out. That’s a good problem to have at this point in time”.
Other investments include multibillion-rand investments by Toyota, Sappi and by Wilma Singapore, which is building a palm oil refinery in Richards Bay. He said packaging company Tetro Pak was rolling out a R500m expansion in the province.
“All of these are examples of confidence in the KZN economy which we want to consolidate and grow. KZN is adopting a focused approach to say these are where the opportunities are, let’s invest and we are more likely to receive sustainable returns,” he added.
Pillay said KZN wants to be part of the global $100-trillion Halal Industry as part of the rejuvenation of the provincial economy. “You do not have to be Muslim to consume Halal products. You do not have to be Muslim to produce Halal products. What you need is to understand what it takes to produce Halal Products.”
The Halal Industry is a global economy including food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and fashion targeting Muslim consumers globally.
KwaZulu-Natal will focus on the opportunities and overall development of the halal industry and markets globally. This will be done through creating platforms to showcase halal products and services from around the world with Business to Business (B2B) networking opportunities with buyers, traders, distributors, supermarket supply chains and suppliers.
Syed Mohamed Imran, project director for World Halal Day said: “We are hoping there will be an exchange of business opportunities on B2B and Business to Government platforms driven through this event. There is no doubt that the KZN region will get the much-needed economic uplift as a result of relationships forged through this platform, creating revenue opportunities, and driving job opportunities emanating from the forged partnerships.”
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