SAB expansion to create 25,000 jobs

SA Breweries (SAB) announced an R825m expansion on Monday of its Prospecton Brewery in Isipingo, south of Durban, a much-needed injection into the KwaZulu-Natal economy which is set to create 25,000 jobs throughout the value chain.

The investment was widely welcomed as the province recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic and the July 2021 unrest that set the Durban economy back by more than R70bn with nearly 200 deaths. The April 2022 floods dealt a further crippling blow to the beleaguered provincial economy of a further R16bn and the loss of another 459 lives.

SAB has established a socioeconomic footprint in KwaZulu-Natal with the company investing more than R20m a year in projects in the province, which boosts the development of local communities.

SAB CEO Richard Rivett-Carnac says the project is important for SAB and is a reaffirmation of the company’s commitment to the country and KwaZulu-Natal.

“We’re investing R825m into the expansion of the Prospecton brewery, and what it really speaks to is it’s a long-term investment. It speaks to our belief in the KZN economy, and it’s great to give back to KZN at a time when they really need it most,” Rivett-Carnac said.

“Obviously, we will produce and brew more beer locally, and that means we will need to rely on more local suppliers to transport the beer, to sell the beer, and so a very important boost not only for jobs but also for the economy of the province.

“The reality is we do run a fairly automated process in our breweries. So at the end of the day, it won’t add a significant number of jobs here in the brewery, but what’s important is obviously the expansion of the work that’s been done. We've extensively used local contractors to help us with the building. So that has created a significant number of jobs,” said Rivett-Carnac.

The additional capacity means there will be a significant rise in transport, retail and agriculture jobs in the province, and those jobs will be sustained over a very long term, he said.

Speaking at the launch, KwaZulu-Natal premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube said in the long term the investment will benefit service providers to the tune of R652m as the brewery will procure services from them.

“As the provincial government, we are pleased that this injection will lead to the creation of 25,000 additional jobs throughout the value chain, and we can safely say that this investment will positively impact at least 125,000 people in our province. There is no better pride in someone than being able to put food on the table and to be able to give dignity to a family by taking care of its needs for shelter and education,” said Dube-Ncube.

“We applaud SAB for this show of confidence in the province that will, over time, inject an additional R4.4bn to the province’s GDP. Indeed, this is a major boost for the KwaZulu-Natal economy as it goes beyond the bricks and mortar here at SAB to impact the economic growth of not only the province, but by extension, our country as well. This investment also has another important effect, which is to shine the spotlight on KwaZulu-Natal and to attract further investment into our provincial economy,” said the premier.